Avatar follows disabled ex-Marine (Sam Worthington) who gets called into space to take the place of his dead twin brother for the scientific arm of a multi corporation looking to mine the planet of Pandora for a valued ore. Unfortunately the biggest deposit of the prized substance lies underneath the home of the Na'vi, a ten-foot-tall, blue-skinned native tribe who have been at war with the security arm of the company, lead by Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang).
Because of the planet's hostile atmosphere, humans have genetically grown half-alien/half-human bodies which they can jack their consciousnesses into and explore the world in. Since Jake's brother already had an incredibly expensive Avatar grown for him, he's able to connect with it using the same DNA code and experience first-hand the joys of Pandora while giving the scientific team, led by Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and Norm Spellman (Joel Moore), some well-needed protection against the planet's more hostile forces.
After getting separated from his team, Jake's Avatar is rescued by Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a Na'vi princess, who brings him into her tribe in order to give the humans a second chance at relating to this new environment. When word gets out of his increasing time with the alien species, Quaritch orders Jake to do some reconnaissance for the company, as they'd like to persuade the tribe to move their home before taking more drastic measures to harness the treasure hidden below.
As Jake integrates with the tribe and begins to understand the secrets of Pandora, his loyalties are torn between his new adopted world and the one awaiting him when the psychic connection to his Avatar is broken. Soon battle lines are drawn and Jake must decide which side he is on...
Although I saw the film in standard 2-D, (the film was shot using the Fusion 3-D Camera System developed by Cameron and his team), I was surprised at how seamless it all looked As with most CGI enhanced movies in the past--The Star Wars Prequel trilogy for instance I found myself taken out of the story very quickly overwhelmed by Jedi-Candy (Sorry Couldn't resist that). Not here. I have to admit Tar looked great...Cameron has indeed "Changed Movies Forever"...As evidenced by how many industry types are scrambling to make the next BIG event film using the process.
For all of its wizardry I found the film lacking in a more conventional sense--Yes I knew a lot about it going in--even so the plot was very very predictable--My buddy Joe--who went with me--knew almost nothing and used the "P".word after seeing it You could spot the plot turns well before they happened.
Cameron also took way too much time telling his tale. At 2 hr. 30 min.cutting 2o minutes or so might have helped midway through. Cameron could have cut down Jake's assimilation into the Nav'i without losing much...
The earthy message of the movie is not subtle and in fact hits you over the head too many times during the film--taking this viewer out of the narrative more than the effects ever did...Millitary/Big Biz Complex bad Trees/nature good... got it. While watching the film I felt like I was being forced to memorize Cameron's message...over and over.. I have no qualms with filmmakers putting "messages" in movies....I see no need to bludgeon the audience with them though...
Like he did in Terminator Salvation saving that film--Worthington gives a great performance here. It's also great to see Weaver working with Cameron again.
The technical side of 'Tar makes it a must see even as it gets weighted down by its predictable plot and repetitive message--both of which would have been better served by a shorter running time.
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