When James Cameron takes more than a decade to realise his vision, you know its pure passion. And I’d say his passion definitely paid off in a big way. Countless millions have been poured for Cameron to develop special cameras for his revolutionary motion performance, whereby through his lens, he can literally see his actors interacting with a mocked up CG environment, instead of the environment being added on post-production.
And boy does it show.
The story takes place in the lush world of Pandora, one of a few moons orbiting Alpha Centauri A, 4.3 light years from Earth. Humans have discovered a substance called Unobtanium (get it? Very hard to obtain!), a valuable mineral that’s worth millions.
The bulk of this mineral sits under a village of natives called the Na’vi, blue humanoid beings living a primitive, yet spiritually enchanted life. They are very much aligned with the flora and fauna of the planet via a plug-and-play appendage you have to watch to believe.
Sam Worthington is Jake Sully, an ex-marine tasked to integrate himself with the Na’vi via an avatar, a genetically bred human-na’vi hybrid.
He does so, and learns the way of the Na’vi. Slowly but surely, he falls in love with the lifestyle and what they represent. It helps that he gets to shack up with the tribal chief’s daughter, Neytiri, too! Nothing like some alien love to wake the warrior within.
And even though he is but human, he decides to take up arms and fight for the Na’vi clan, culminating in a pulsating third act of Pandora mayhem.
The story in this film takes a slight backseat to the visual treat, which pummels your eyes from start to the climatic finale. Each creature seems to have an earthly equivalent (like horses, dogs, iguanas and erm, dragons), yet superbly designed and enchanting to watch. The attention to detail is impeccable. And for 2.5 hours, we’re truly transported to another world that is so believable it plays like a National Geographic special.
This definitely is a game-changer in the way CG worlds are realised.
A breathtaking spectacle, and a 2009 must-watch.
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