That man has done it again.
Twelve years ago James Cameron provided us with the biggest movie of all-time in Titanic – now his pet project has changed the face of cinema for the next generation.
With breathtaking technology, that must be seen in 3D to get the full experience, the director of iconic movies such as Aliens, The Abyss and The Terminator, has unleashed the most expensive movie ever with his sci-fi adventure Avatar.
Don’t get me wrong, this is still a fantastic spectacle in regular 2D, but (literally) another dimension is added if you can see it in 3D, as the far away almost Endor-like planet of Pandora is brought to life with stunning razor-sharp visuals making it feel so close that you can almost be there.
Terminator: Salvation’s Sam Worthington takes the lead, as paralysed marine Jake Sulley who is offered a major cash incentive to take part in an exclusive Avatar project which will pay for expensive spinal surgery to enable him to walk again.
As corporate ‘fat cats’ look for a way to usher the indigenous natives, called the Na’vi, away from a moneymaking natural resources, the project – headed by Sigourney Weaver’s scientist Grace – is the last hope for a diplomatic solution before hired army grunts go in all guns blazing.
Transported through mind-control into a live Na’vi creature (mixed with human DNA), Sulley soon gets emotionally attached to the culture, falling for princess Neytiri (Star Trek’s Zoe Saldana) in the process.
But as the locals have a life-binding connection to the forest, Sulley’s predicament turns to a moral nightmare as he has to decide whether to fight alongside his new friends, or the humans – led by head honcho Parker (Giovanni Ribisi) and military badass Quaritch (Stephen Lang) – who have now run out of patience.
The plot itself won’t win any awards, with fairly generic scripting, a few clichés and unintentionally funny moments (the alien race’s comical religious dance for one) are also thrown in but as you get absorbed in Cameron’s vision the long run-time seems to breeze by.
The world of Pandora is simply immersive with spectacular creatures and luscious, rich, colourful landscapes that will leave you uttering ‘wow’ under your breath.
The special effects wizardry is superbly aided by Saldana’s mesmerising computer-generated turn and the competently amiable Worthington along with noteworthy support from Weaver and particularly Lang’s over-the-top colonel.
The few storyline inadequacies leaves this short of Cameron’s best (it’s a four-star movie dressed in five-star expensive 3D clothing) but the man who made the line ‘King of the World’ synonymous with his last film, could easily use that term as his personal moniker.
That’s because 2009 was the year he raised the bar and changed the movie-going experience forever.
Avatar isn’t just a film – it’s a cinematic spectacle.