AVATAR was written, directed and co-edited by James Cameron. (Rated PG-13 for near Nav'i nudity, occasional profanity and violence. There is no overt sex or gore.)
Stars Sam Worthington (Jake Scully), Zoe Saldana (Natyr'a), Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi and Wes Studi. Filmed in New Zealand and at Lightwalker Studios in Los Angeles. A 20th Century Fox release.
I make it a point not to give "A+" grades to movies. To me, that grade should be reserved only for movies that are "perfect" at executing the story they are trying to tell while displaying an artistry that transcends the form and stands the test of time. At this point I have only given four movies that I've seen an A+ grade: The Godfather (I), Citizen Kane, Casablanca and Dr. Strangelove. I almost added Avatar to this list.
Avatar is the story of a paralyzed Earth Marine named Jake Scully who in the year 2154 is tasked with replacing his tragically killed twin brother on a top secret project taking place on the distant, aptly named planet of Pandora. We don't waste much time on backstory--in a manner of a few minutes we learn that Pandora, while teeming with all manner of alien life forms, has an atmosphere unbreathable by humans for more than a few minutes. Underneath it's verdant surface, Pandora has a substance which may just save life on Earth--the aptly named "MacGuffin" is called obtanium. A powerful corporation backed by the force of the U.S. Marines will stop at nothing to obtain the obtanium. Standing in their way is a peace loving, Native American-like people called the Nav'i, who are blue-skinned, ten feet tall, handy with a bow and arrow and determined to save their planet and way of life. Game on.
It's game on literally because Jake has been tabbed to take over his late brother's "avatar": a genetically engineered, part human, part Nav'i puppet that can be synaptically controlled while semi-conscious both literally and symbolically from what looks very much like a space age coffin. Although not a scientist like his immediate boss Grace (played with the usual aplomb by Sigourney Weaver), Jake takes to his new job and he especially enjoys being able to run and jump again. The "fake" Nav'i gives Jake the real life and purpose he's been looking for.
The story has a lot of predictable beats from there, but because this is a hero's story in the classic Joseph Campbell tradition, writ large on a sci-fi/fantasy scale with a $230 million+ budget, we in the audience are along for the ride and rooting for some of the predictable elements instead of fighting against them. There's the gonzo Marine colonel (a great Stephen Lang) who approaches Jake covertly to get intel on the Nav'i. Of course there will be a girl Nav'i (Zoe Saldana) who will first fight with, then eventually grow to love the Jake Avatar. There will be a moment of conscience when Jake realizes that the job he's doing and the mission he's being asked to complete isn't in the best interests of anyone--especially Jake. Alleigances, betrayals, politics and battles await. Battle lines are drawn. Eventually Jake must choose sides and the Nav'i must stand up against the "Sky People" or face certain death against insurmountable odds. None of this is what makes Avatar such a great movie.
Cameron's vision here positions this picture as the template for the next era of big event movie making, 21st century style. A seamless, integrated and completely realistic blend of CGI, motion capture animation and traditional filmmaking, Avatar makes preceding effects fests like The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings look almost like Steamboat Willie by comparison. Pandora is a living, breathing, fully-realized world, with creatures that could only spring from the imagination but who all look completely realistic and behave so convincingly that you almost believe you yourself are living on a planet far, far away.
The most masterful special effect of the movie are the Nav'i themselves. After the initial shock of seeing these giant blue creatures for the first time wears off, one quickly buys these humanoids as their own, distinct completely convincing alien race, one with their own language (crafted by professional linguists) and a natural, believable physicality and, yes, sexuality. It is tempting to think of them as tall actors and stuntpeople in makeup, they look so real, but only the faces exist, rendered in a computer from motion capture technololgy that uses the real faces of the actors and then places them in lithe, alien bodies (with tails) that inhabit and serve as caretakers of their world.
Although the dialogue is typical Cameron-clunky (see Titanic or the first two Terminator movies--that's why no A+), the breadth of the storytelling, the pacing, the acting, the effects even the more subtle script elements (pay attention to the ways in which the idea of the avatar is echoed, subverted and reinvented throughout the movie) are all perfect. This is the first movie in a long time I would go to the theater to see again and again. Avatar is the best picture I've seen from 2009 and the way most action movies are going to look in the very near future. It is a film for film lovers who want their movies on the big screen and want them to be awesome.
Peace...
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