Review: "AVATAR"

Over thirty years ago, a little film called Star Wars hit theaters. Made for $11 million (mind you, that's not very much, even in 1977 dollars) and viewed as a potential flop by its distributor 20th Century Fox, George Lucas' cinematic gamble not only became (at the time) the highest-grossing film in history, but was regarded as a film that revolutionized the industry as we knew it. It was touted as a breakthrough in special effects and high-concept storytelling, and generally cited as a transcendent, groundbreaking experience not unlike The Wizard of Oz and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

After its release, Star Wars not only became a pop culture phenomenon, but a benchmark for all amateur filmmakers to follow. One of them was a young truck driver named James Cameron. After seeing Lucas' masterpiece, Cameron promptly quit his job and set out to become of film director. Starting out as a miniature model maker and art director, Cameron made his directing debut for the low-budget B-movie Piranha II. But after crafting the cybernoir action film The Terminator, Cameron's career took off, following Lucas' trend of creating new innovative filmmaking technology, especially in the realm of special effects, helming The Abyss, Aliens, Terminator 2, and True Lies.

Then, in 1997, a certain movie about a famous British passenger liner prone to crashing into huge-ass icebergs was released, becoming the highest-grossing film in history (and still holds that title to this day), and earned 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Cameron. Though many cynics lambasted Titanic for its weak story and predictable love story, it nevertheless received raves for its mindblowing special effects and sound design.

But after Titanic's huge success, Cameron took a long break from moviemaking (save for a couple underwater documentaries), reportedly preparing for his dream project that's been in his head for decades, a project that Cameron had to wait for since he "needed the technology to catch up". Starting preproduction in 2004 and principal photography in 2006, the project, intially known as Project 880, was hyped as being the next Star Wars, a film that changed movies as we knew them.

Now, after years of waiting, Cameron's Avatar has hit theaters, and for the most part the rumors are true. A spine-tingling, highly imaginative, and jaw-droppingly beautiful work of technological genius, Avatar will truly change the landscape of cinema, just as Lucas' space opera did.

The year is 2154. The Earth's natural resources ravaged, humans have traveled to a far-off Earth-sized moon known as Pandora, mining the lush jungle planet for a valuable mineral. Unfortunately for the corporate powers-that-be, the native species of the planet, nine-foot-tall blue humanoids known as the Na'vi, aren't that willing to relocate from their sacred home. As such, the corporation's administrator Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) employs former marines, lead by the gung-ho Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang), as mercenaries as a means to potentially force the Na'vi out.

But Selfridge is willing to go for diplomacy, utilizing the talents of Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), a botanist in charge of the "Avatar" program, where human-Na'vi hybrids are created and controlled remotely by humans sharing genetic material with the Avatar. Since humans cannot breathe Pandora's atmosphere, the Avatars are used to interact with the Na'vi. Meanwhile, paralyzed marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) arrives at Pandora, where he's promised by Quaritch to get his mobility back if Sully, via an Avatar, infiltrates the Na'vi, learns their ways, and finds a way to get the blue-skinned aliens to relocate.

While escorting Grace and fellow scientist Norm (Joel Moore) in Avatar form in the Pandorian jungle, Jake is separated from his group, and eventually encounters Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a Na'vi princess who almost kills Jake, but relents when she believes she sees a sign from the Na'vi goddess Eywa, telling her to bring Jake to her clan. Unaware of Jake's human origins or his mission, Neytiri convinces her clan and her father, chieftain Eytucan (Wes Studi), to teach Jake in the ways of the Na'vi. Despite feeding intel to Quaritch and Selfridge in the intervening months, Jake learns more about the customs and life of the Na'vi, coming to appreciate the species' connection to their planet. Jake begins to not only doubt the morality of his mission, but comes to regard the Na'vi as his own, as well as falling for Neytiri. As the military begins to move in on the Na'vi, Jake questions his allegiances, and begins to fight for the Na'vi rather than against them.

On the surface (well, OK, on all layers), the story is basically Dances With Wolves, only with blue aliens instead of Native Americans. In fact, the subtext is rather heavy, touching on subjects ranging from the past treatment of American Indians, the Vietnam War, the use of military forces as security detail (think Blackwater), and the oil controversies in the Middle East. And the story isn't anything new, having been touched upon in the aforementioned Kevin Costner movie, as well as the story of Pocahontas, and even the 1993 animated film Ferngully.

But if you think about it, the story of the first Star Wars film wasn't terribly original. Sure, the film as a whole is regarded as a triumph of storytelling, but Lucas' tale followed the usual blueprints for the Hero's Journey, gaining inspiration from comic books, movie serials, and Flash Gordon. And when you think about it further, you didn't really focus on Star Wars' story, but rather the exhilarating and cutting-edge technology on display.

With Avatar, it's no different. Though Cameron may be infamous for his perfectionism and his arrogance (watch his acceptance speech for his Best Director Oscar win in 1998, and you'll see why the latter is so true), his innovative contribution to the world of CGI and technological wizardry is never in doubt. Cameron reportedly helped develop new technology specifically for Avatar, including improved 3D cameras, more advanced motion-capture tech, and stereoscopic filmmaking techniques. And brother, the results are nothing short of heavenly. The richly envisioned world of Pandora is probably the closest we'll get to visiting another planet.

Here, Cameron's perfectionism and eye for detail shows: his Pandora is meticulously detailed to the smallest leaf and tiniest insect. Despite being produced by computer graphics, Pandora breathes with palpable life, a wonderous world with floating mountains, gigantic trees, gorgeous waterfalls that put those of the Amazon to shame, and jungles that seem ALIVE. It also helped that my screening was at a three-story-tall IMAX theater, so I felt like I was actually IN Pandora.

The motion-capture technology was no small potatoes, either. Popularized by Andy Serkis' performance as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings series, this filmmaking practice has improved by leaps and bounds, and here's no exception. As a part of Cameron's exclusively-made technology, 95% of the CGI Na'vi characters' performances were translated from the original live actors' performances, including their facial movement and expressions. The results are truly astounding to behold, the photorealism of both the alien creatures and the Pandorian environment meshing seamlessly with the live-action characters.

And those action sequences! I've seen great battle scenes before, but this set the bar as high as possible. The Na'vi are like alien Tarzans, gliding through the jungle with amazing fluidity. When they mount their flying lizard-like creatures (called Banshees), the aliens tear through the sky, their aerial maneuvers as cinematically jaw-dropping as the X-Wings attacking the Death Star in Star Wars. And the climactic battle scene between the Na'vi and the human military forces is amongst the most stunning war sequences in film history. Mere words cannot describe the sheer visual magic on display.

And even though the CGI is the true star here, Avatar's performances thankfully range from decent to terrific. After stealing the show from Christian Bale in this May's Terminator Salvation, Sam Worthington is believable and sympathetic in his performance of a man torn between two races. Sigourney Weaver also delivers a solid turn as the kindhearted scientist looking after the Na'vi's best interests, and Stephen Lang has fun chewing the scenery as the brutal marine colonel itching to wipe out the "blue savages" (though his role pretty much embodies every cinematic military stereotype possible). But it's Zoe Saldana's fabulous motion-capture performance as the Na'vi warrior princess that steals the show, emotional and absorbing, but also creating one of the most badass women warriors of late.

Some may regard Avatar's story reeking of liberal, anti-imperalist, anti-war thematic material, and to a degree, it does. But it's not necessarily a bad thing: Cameron explores the balance of spirituality and biology, best personified by Weaver's scientist character, who's unwilling to believe that the network-like connection between the Na'vi and their world is religious in nature rather than biological (one of many allegories to the Native Americans and their relationship to the Earth). The spiritual messages of Avatar are surprisingly potent, and the parallels to human's real-life treatment of Mother Earth ring true.

The advertisements and promotional material have touted Avatar as the latest evolution of cinema. After viewing this marvelous work of art, I realized that these claims were not mere hyperbole. It's a mix of spirituality, cathartic escapism, and state-of-the-art filmmaking skyrocketed to the nth degree. Avatar is a reminder of the power of imagination, and though he may or may not be the "King of the World" that he believes himself to be, there's no denying that James Cameron's imagination has brought us to a world that we would never bring ourselves to leave. A joyous, absorbing, tremendously exciting adventure, Avatar is a welcome sign that the movies still have the power to enlighten, engage, and most importantly, entertain.

Letter Grade: "A-"