film reviews

Everyone says beauty is in the eye of the beholder, well I think most people will agree that beautiful, is a perfect word to describe the movie Avatar. James Cameron returns to film making after a 13 year layoff and looks like he hasn’t missed a beat. Avatar is the product of hard work and love and it shows that for every minute it’s on the screen. The story is pretty simple; humanity has bled the earth dry of its natural resources and now is looking for new energy sources on other planets. This brings them to Pandora, where they find an energy source that will supply them with the power they need. The only obstacle to obtaining it is the humanoid Na’vi, who calls the tree home where they need to mine the mineral. The plan they come up with it, is to infiltrate the Na’vi and hope that they can convince them to leave their home. The do this by using Avatars, they look like the Na’vi, but are controlled by human host hooked up to a machine. This is where we meet Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Jake is there because his brother, who was assigned to the mission has died. Jake is a former Marine, but whom now has no use of his legs and takes the job more for the pay. Once there he meets Norm Spellman (Joel Moore), who is also one of the people who will be controlling the Avatars. The project is led by Dr Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), who is not too happy that she has an ex grunt taking the place of someone who had trained for months. Once Jake starts to control the Avatar, he is overwhelmed by the fact that he has the use of legs again and starts to use them right away. The company that is trying to obtain the minerals is led by Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi), whose only concern is obtaining what they came for. Jake and the other Avatars are dropped off to explore and while doing that, Jake gets separated from the others. He is later rescued by Naytiri (Zoe Saldana), and it taken back to her tribe. Jake starts to learn the way of the Na’vi and their trust, and at the same time he is also reporting to Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and supplying him with Intel. The movie is stunning and mind blowing, James Cameron just seem to reinvent movies every time he decides to make a new one. Everything just looks perfect as we watch Jake become part of the tribe and wrestle with what side he truly is on. The 3D in this film doesn’t feel like it is a big part, that’s because it just fits with the film so perfectly. If James Cameron wants to take another decade off after this film, I think he has earned it, because movies like this are worth a 10 year wait. So if you see this film, sit back and relax and be prepared to be amazed.

Brian Taylor