Avatar - the movie

Avatar

(Movie Review)

The aliens land on Earth and pretend to be our friends. But their ulterior motives are far more sinister – they covet something on Earth and are willing to destroy the planet to attain it.

Does this plot sound familiar? There have dozens of movies and books over the decades on this very theme. Now what if we turn this scenario around. What if Man from Plant Earth became the aggressor, and wants to colonize another planet in order to exploit its resources.

Colonization is not a new concept in our planet’s history. Mankind has spent centuries practicing it – one nation dominating another by force, depleting its natural resources, subjugating and killing native populations. And now man has become so technologically advanced that he just extends this concept beyond the boundaries of his home planet.

Settlers from Earth arrive on Pandora. The humans are headed by a ”for-profit” corporation, which has both a scientific unit and a military wing. They try to teach the native population English in order to interact with them. But the corporation is really after a precious ore, which is right undernearth the native village. Joining their crew, is paraplegic ex-Marine Jake Sully.

Jake’s twin had been part of the scientific unit developing the Avatars. This hybrid entity, containing DNA of both humans and the native humanoid Na’vi, allowed the Avatar to breathe the local atmosphere and interact with the Na’vi. Each avatar was driven by the consciousness and nervous system of its human driver. Jake is asked to take on the avatar designed for his dead brother as they share the same genome.

While the main directive from the science wing is to learn more about the natives and advancement of science, Colonel Quatrich, heading the military unit recruits Jake to get inside information to get the Na’vi off their land – ie: force their cooperation. The corporation plans to get the ore, with carrots or with stick. In return, Jake is promised spinal surgery, which would restore his legs.

The 10 ft tall, blue-skinned Na’vi, are actually a peaceful tribe living in harmony with their environment. Pandora is lush and green, almost like a tropical rainforest with its giant trees, yet with wondrous psychedelic flora and some unusual, almost pre-historic fauna. Parts of the planet even float. The special effects in the movie are quite dazzling and a pleasure to watch.

During a chance encounter, A Na’vi princess, by the name of Neytiri, takes a liking to Jake’s Avatar and takes him back to her village. The tribe decides to teach him their ways. As his interaction with the Navi grows, he is forced to question his own role there. The Colonel and the head of the corporation realize that Jake is having a change of heart and move to evict the Na’vi by force – with “shock and awe” bombing. Jake has to save the day and decide where his future lies!

Dazzling high-tech special effects and a quick moving story make this movie a spectacular watch.