By Malice Intended

Avatar is a science fiction epic set in the year 2154 on the fictional moon of Pandora.  Pandora is inhabited by the Na’vi, a race of bipedal sapient beings with feline characteristics and blue skin.  A major corporation sets up shop on Pandora in hopes of exploiting its mineral reserves.  The corporation’s interests are represented by Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi), who enlists former Marines to ensure that any obstacles are eliminated.

The Na’vi are intelligent and spiritual, possessing a profound respect for all living things.  They are also suspicious of outsiders.  Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) heads up a research team that develops the Avatar program, which allows human beings to “pilot” synthetic Na’vi bodies.  This program was developed with the express purpose of interacting with the Na’vi and gaining first hand knowledge of their customs. 

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic former Marine, is chosen to pilot an Avatar.  Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) orders Sully to gain the trust of the Na’vi’ and convince them to relocate as they live atop a giant deposit of precious minerals.  Sully becomes indoctrinated into the Na’vi way of life and falls in love with female Na’vi warrior Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña).  When the corporation plans an assault on the Na’vi, Jake is compelled to defend his newly adopted race and home world. 

Avatar is director James Cameron’s first feature film in 12 years, his last being the all time box office champion Titanic.  Cameron’s penchant for showmanship has grown considerably throughout his career.  Avatar is the culmination of an 11 year gestation period and envelope-pushing advancements in FX technology.  It is a sci-fi adventure of staggering scope and imagination.

On a technical front, Avatar has to be seen to be believed.  Digital Domain has rendered the jungle moon of Pandora with an impeccable eye for detail.  Color rich and picturesque landscapes stretch out as far as the eye can see.  The cinematography consists of panoramic wide shots that engulf the viewer.  You could spend hours gazing at the amount of work that went into creating this world.

The Na’vi themselves, while not being exactly photo realistic, somehow avoid the “uncanny valley” effect and appear lifelike.  The same goes for the animal and plant life on display, which employ a brightly varied color palette and creature designs that evoke the dinosaur age.  The designs are not wholly original, but are rendered with a sense of wonder and awe that radiate from the screen.

The cast provides the film with an emotional core.  Sam Worthington makes for a sympathetic protagonist.  His intoxication with Pandora and its inhabitants parallels our own.  Sigourney Weaver is convincing as a woman of science who holds contempt for the corporation’s goals and the militaristic way they go about accomplishing them.  Stephen Lang is perfect as the war mongering Colonel Miles Quaritch.  Zoë Saldaña injects Neytiri with feisty warmth.

Avatars flaws are considerable though not fatal.  Cameron’s shortcomings as a writer have never been more obvious.  His stock characterizations and clichéd plot devices stand in jarring contrast to the care and imagination invested in the visuals.  As a result, the story isn’t as engrossing as one would hope.  Thankfully, the immersive atmosphere of the film ultimately wins out, proving to be a potent narcotic.

Avatar is an old fashioned thrill ride, done with cutting edge technology and liberal sensibilities.  Cameron uses the opportunity to expand not only the palette that filmmakers have to work with, but the canvas as well.  His flaws as a filmmaker notwithstanding, he is an artist that thinks big.  His conviction to see his vision fully realized proves to be his saving grace.  He is a showman in the most literal sense of the word, and Avatar is a visual experience like no other.

Out of 5

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