AVATAR (2009)
Written and Directed by
James Cameron
Executive Produced by
Colin Wilson
Produced by
James Cameron, Jon Landau, Brooke Breton, Josh MacLaglen, Janace Tashjian and Peter M. Tobyansen
Cinematography by Mauro Fiore
Production Design by
Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg
Editing by
John Refoua, Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron
Visual Effects by
WETA and Industrial Light & Magic
Costume Design by
Mayes C. Rubeo and Deborah Lynn Scott
Original Motion Picture Score composed by
James Horner
I See You (Theme from Avatar) performed by
Leona Lewis
Sam Worthington ... Jake Sully
Zoë Saldana ... Neytiri
Sigourney Weaver ... Dr. Grace Augustine
Stephen Lang ... Colonel Miles Quaritch
Michelle Rodriguez ... Trudy Chacon
Giovanni Ribisi ... Parker Selfridge
Joel David Moore ... Norm Spellman
CCH Pounder ... Moat
Wes Studi ... Eytukan
Laz Alonso ... Tsu'tey
Dileep Rao ... Dr. Max Patel
Matt Gerald ... Corporal Lyle Wainfleet
Sean Anthony Moran ... Private Fike
Jason Whyte ... Cryo Vault Med Tech
Scott Lawrence ... Venture Star Crew Chief
Kelly Kilgour ... Lock Up Trooper
James Pitt ... Shuttle Pilot
Sean Patrick Murphy
Shuttle Co-Pilot
Peter Dillon ... Shuttle Crew Chief
Kevin Dorman ... Tractor Operator
Kelson Henderson
Dragon Gunship Pilot
David Van Horn ... Dragon Gunship Gunner
Jacob Tomuri ... Dragon Gunship Navigator
Michael Blain-Rozgay ... Suit #1
Jon Curry ... Suit #2
Julene Renee ... Ambient Room Tech
Luke Hawker ... Ambient Room Tech
Woody Schultz ... Ambient Room Tech
Peter Mensah ... Horse Clan Leader
Sonia Yee ... Link Room Tech
Ilram Choi ... Basketball Avatar
Kyla Warren ... Na'vi Child
A crippled marine travels to an alien moon for a research mission to help secure a rare mineral for Earth. But when he begins to question both the alien races nature and his own races intent, his loyalties begin to blur.
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James Cameron
is back.
After a lengthy 13 year hiatus since 1997s Titanic became the highest grossing film of all time, Hollywoods more notorious and fulfilled perfectionist has pulled his own Prodigal Son routine with 2009s high-flying (and equally anticipated) Avatar.
Just how anticipated?
People have been abuzz about this thing everywhere Ive gone for the past 6 months
the industry has been so for even longer.
And why wouldnt they be?
Its James Cameron!
More than that
its James Cameron doing Sci-Fi! Just when we all thought that the success of that Boat Flick would curb the techno-wizard responsible for bringing up an Austrian Death Machine from the future and Ripley kicking Alien Queen Ass in a power-loader
here he bounces right back with a bold new vision for his first narrative film in over a decade.
The year is 2154
four light years from Earth resides a giant tumultuous gas planet adorned with several moons. One of them is a moon called Pandora, where a broad range of beautiful landscapes and deadly creatures resides
its splendor is matched only by its danger. Calling this world home is an indigenous populace called the Navi
an ecologically attuned warrior race of 9 foot tall, agile, blue-skinned humanoids who live in peace. However, as with all peace it seems, its inevitably doomed.
Pandora is also the only known deposit of a rare ultra-magnetic mineral; Unobtanium. The recent (and quite relevant) energy crisis plaguing Earth has left our home world without oil
and this leads mankind to seek out the mineral
and they will do whatever it takes to get their greedy hands on it.
Leading the campaign is the RDA Corporation
a multi-national conglomerate specializing in the recovery and refinery of materials such as Unobtanium. Equipped with a privatized army of Marines turned hired guns, RDA has had no luck in making peace with the Navi
unable to gain their trust.
So ingeniously
or perhaps devilishly
RDAs Science Division has engineered the Avatar program.
From an established medical facility, a humans mind and being are linked to and projected into a genetically engineered Avatar, allowing the patient to take Navi form so they can breathe and function on the moons surface, which is toxic to humans.
The story of Avatar centers around Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a former Marine crippled and stuck in the confines of a wheelchair. When his twin brother, one of the patients meant to take part in the Avatar program, is shot dead Jake decides to take his place. Given that the Avatars have to be in sync with their human host on a genetic level, he has little choice in the matter.
Jake travels to Pandora, a proclaimed land of opportunity (a reference to our economy perhaps?) where he meets such personalities as Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), a hard ass RDA Colonel obsessed with carrying out his objective of extracting the mineral and dealing with the Navi
and Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), the physician responsible for the Avatar program.
At first, Jake is meant to use his former experience as a Marine to gain the trust of the Navi
as well as access into their society to start securing their removal from their lands (which just so happen to be sitting on top of the largest deposit of Unobtanium on the moon).
But Jake begins to realize that the Navi arent savages
but a beautiful race of culture and wonder. When he begins to fall in love with the Navi princess Neytiri (Zoë Saldana), he questions where his loyalties lie and discovers that, in his heart, hes one the wrong side of the conflict.
Now before I get into the thick of things Ill be totally upfront.
I think Avatar is a triumph.
I walked out of the film with the same feelings dancing along my spine and in my gut that I get whenever I watch Star Wars. That incredible yet subtle rush that tells me THIS is why movies are made and THIS is where movies are going.
Its true that Camerons involvement played a pivotal part in my anticipatory admiration of the project. Perhaps it was premature, but I was already loving the film before I even walked in.
But that doesnt matter now. Not after seeing just what the hell it was Jim had been up to all this time.
It might not sound like it, but I AM trying to set aside my being a Cameron admirer when I say this.
The world of Avatar is so meticulously detailed and incredibly vibrant that, no matter how skeptical you might be prior to seeing it, you are instantly infatuated and eventually captivated.
For essentially being a nearly 3 hour long visual effect, you believe in Pandora
youre intrigued by it. Your eye is all over that canvas that Cameron and his team have worked on and you dare not look away.
Im not even sure if I blinked during the film, I cant remember
my point is simply this
I walked into Avatar wanting to love Avatar because of Jim Cameron.
I walked out of Avatar loving Avatar because of Avatar.
Easily among my favorites of the year.
Im well aware, however, that many people might not agree with me
and thats fine; theyre just as entitled to an opinion.
Given both the time its taken been now and Titanic and the time between now and when Cameron was in the thick of Sci-Fi (at least theatrically), skepticism has been just as abundant as anticipation. People have said just about everything they can to keep the spirit of the film down.
1: It has no story and its only about effects.
2: The Blue People look like Smurfs.
3: This looks dumb.
4: It rips off Dances with Wolves.
5: Thisll only do 175 million in the U.S. period.
Again theyre entitled
but lets go back to one.
1: Of course it has a story
and (shocker) a message to. Now are both original? Not really
more on that with 4.
2: This ones just stupid. Just because theyre blue, the Navi are compared to Smurfs? That logics almost as ridiculous as when FOX took Nightcrawler out of X-Men 3 just on the basis that he was blue
saying they didnt want to confuse the audience with both him and equally blue Beast in the film (um
werent Nightcrawler and Mystique both in X2 sans blue-confusion?). Ill break it all down for you. The Smurfs are pint-sized cartoons
and the Navi ARENT Smurfs.
3: Without an argument, not worth the time.
4: Okay yes, there are striking similarities between the films plot and the plot from the Kevin Costner picture. But holding that against Avatar is ignorant and foolish. Its like condemning Star Wars because of its utilization of mythic archetypes, samurai films and Saturday movie serials. Art inspires Art
whats created now is a relfection of what was created then. This concept is nothing new and the fact that people are still trying to argue with his has more than outworn its welcome. Besides, just like Star Wars, Avatar mightve taken inspiration
but its spun it through a totally different, sci-fi blockbuster vernacular that, I have to say, looks more intriguing than Dances with Wolves ever did.
5: Its obvious this wont do Titanic numbers
it wont even do Dark Knight numbers. But to think it wont break $200 mil in its entire domestic run? Thats just naivety, plain and simple. I wont presume to know what its numbers will be, but cmon
it HAS to do better than that.
I think the sign of a great filmmaker is when everyone at large wants to see them fail. Theres been resentment and disdain for Cameron ever since the success of Titanic and Im not quite sure what thats all about. But maybe its a good thing
because it challenges Jim to continue bringing his A game to the table. After all people were skeptical (AND cynical) about Titanic and, while I do find it to be a tad overrated, we all know how that ended up turning out.
Now as I stated, Avatar has both a story and a message.
The story is one of self-discovery
of fighting for whats right and just
of becoming a more admirable version of yourself.
The message is one of love and respect
both of the environment around you and of the unknown. The culture you dont understand or the way of life different to your own
these arent things to fear but, rather, to embrace.
Again are these that new? No, not really.
But youre missing the point.
Its not how fresh the message is
its how significant it is
And in the troubling times weve been facing of late, with our real energy crisis and economic decline
messages of unity and ecological harmony are more important now than ever.
And if we can get that message to people in a broad, sci-fi blockbuster film
I think thats a very good thing.
THATs what, aside from technological advancement, makes Avatar important.
On the flip side of this eco-tranquility that the Navi represent, youve got Quaritch and his trigger happy squad
a deadpan love letter to the Bush Administration (both of them, really).
Now heres the intriguing thing
having the RDA defeated and taken off of Pandora is another message.
And thats the message of forging change.
We all know thats what Obama fed us
but Im not talking about the thoughtful yet hollow words of a President-Elect.
Im talking about real change
the kind that can only be provoked by the people.
The Navi rose up, banded together, fought for and demanded that change.
Doesnt that make you wanna get off your ass and do it to?
Im not saying you need to start a large scale assault or anything, but this paired with the aforementioned message makes for very compelling and powerful notions.
Quite a lot for a film that apparently has no story huh?
Another neat concept is one that Jim dabbles in regularly in his work; that of his social statement that the meek or seemingly insignificant are in fact quite so.
With The Terminator youve got the mother of the savior of the entire human race
and out of the billions on the planet, its a college student/waitress living in LA who cant even balance a checkbook.
Then theres Aliens where Burke constantly berates the Colonial Marines; calling them grunts incapable of making snap judgments concerning Weyland-Yutanis multi-million dollar Atmosphere Processor installations.
The most obvious example of this is Titanic which, for reasons both thematic and historical, literally splits the characters between the three class on the ship. While First Class waits comfortably for the lifeboats after the Iceberg has hit the Third Class is caged like animals, desperate for the survival theyre just as entitled to as the water level continues to rise. Little do they know that the bond between Jack and Rose not only perverts that established social dichotomy
but said bond is obviously the most significant aspect in the picture.
This idea carries forward to Avatar in perhaps the most straight forward example with the RDA ignorantly believing the Navi to be nothing more than savages
when, in truth, theyre consciousness and way of life are more heightened and aware and beautiful than humanities crudeness could ever fathom.
Cameron is clearly always in favor of the proverbial underdog and thats a practice I can certainly get behind and enjoy.
The cast, at the end of the day, isnt among Camerons strongest (that honor, like so many others, falls to Titanic) but perhaps with more viewings itll be seen as his most ambitious.
Especially given that, on top of his leads being relatively unknown, half of the main players are digitally synthesized alien beings.
Sam Worthington more than holds his own when thrust into Camerons vision, but
I hate to say it
I wasnt terribly impressed.
That sounds bad
Ill rephrase. Because Jake WAS an interesting character
in Avatar form.
So basically whenever Sam isnt on screen in the flesh hes good.
That sounds terrible to haha
I just got the impression that he was still in Marcus Wright mode here, wheelchair or not. Im just not that convinced that hes the next big thing. Maybe Clash of the Titans will change that, who knows.
Thankfully I wasnt banking on Sam being the one to keep an eye on.
From Sarah Connor to Max from Dark Angel, Jim has always been known for preferring strong female protagonists in the bulk of his material.
Needless to say that tradition continues and, personally, I found my favorite performance in the form of Zoë Saldana
which is ironically a complete 180 on how I felt about her role as Uhura in this summers Star Trek.
Her portrayal of Princess Neytiri is unbelievably captivating and heartfelt. This is a credit both to Saldana and the technicians and artists at ILM and WETA responsible for her motion capture. Every eye blink, every emotional facial tick and hand gesture all make for an incredible performance
her emotions, for being CG, are absolutely palpable and tangible. Whether shes sobbing over her dead father after the destruction of Hometree or engaging in vengeful combat with the RDA you can just feel Zoë pushing through the visual effect in a lovely yet powerful way.
The remainder of the cast manages to carry the film and round it out well enough.
Having Sigourney team up with Jim again feels like a long time coming and despite her role being a tad miniscule it was more than worth it. She brings a very Ripley-esque strength to Grace
a bit more weathered and older to highlight the difference in her age between now and Aliens.
Stephen Lang is wonderful as the Love to Hate bad guy obsessed with destroying the Navi. The whole film from Hometrees destruction on youre just aching for Quaritch to get his and bite it; the fact that Langs deadpan grit and resolve makes you feel that way speaks volumes for how much his skill can provoke an audience. While he may not carry the charisma of Khan Noonen Singh or the Joker, hes most certainly a formidable and worthy adversary.
I was also quite a fan of CCH Pounder as Neytiris mother, Moat. Aside from Alfre Woodard I cant think of a stronger black actress who couldve brought what CCH did to the role
that certain presence about her just works for the characters benefit quite well.
Even smaller bits seem infinitely detailed
like Giovanni Ribisi as Parker, doing his best to channel Paul Reiser from Aliens as a sleazy pencil-necked company man trying to dominate a situation he has, in his own awkwardness, no place being a part of.
, so great job, CFE 
. With the fact that the film by in large is visual effects based, the task of lighting Pandora and portraying Cameron’s vision and his story is an overwhelming one. But with Jim’s aid (obviously he’s known for being very hands on) Fiore breathes a sense of majesty into his frame with lighting that expertly doesn’t play to the intangible faults of the fact that the world we’re on is fabricated. Nearly every shot in the film, given we’re under the umbrella of “James Cameron’s Return,” is epic…to put it mildly I suppose. The scale is monstrous, the lighting is gorgeous and I think it’s a very clear advancement in the field of lighting artificial locations.
