Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a Marine recently confined to a wheelchair. When his scientist twin dies, Jake takes his place on a mission to Pandora, a planet toxic to humans in more ways than one. The scientists on Pandora use avatar bodies, crafted from human DNA and the DNA of the native humanoid race, the Na‘vi, to explore the planet and learn about the native culture. The aim of the humans on Pandora is to mine a valuable element, but this conflicts severely with the survival of the Na’vi. The daughter of the Na’vi chief, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), teaches Jake about her people and the two fall in love, but the inevitable battle for Pandora will be waged.

CRITIQUE

Since its release, 1997’s Titanic has held the title of the highest-grossing film of all time, and its director, James Cameron, didn’t release another feature-film for 12 years (unless you count his deep-sea documentaries). December of 2009 brought worldwide audiences a new film to take over the title “most successful box office”, with Cameron at the helm again. This time, it is a science-fiction action epic that he turns his camera toward; Avatar boggles the eye with its pioneering visuals and engages the emotions with its dramatic and romantic story.

Avatar opens with a voice-over accompanying aerial shots of a lush jungle landscape. It is Jake Sully’s voice we hear and he talks about having “dreams of flying.” This is our first clue as to Jake’s character. Throughout the script, Cameron takes pains to paint Jake as more muscle over mind, and the plot is well crafted to bear this out. The central concern of this film is Jake’s story-- not just his romance with Neytiri but the entirety of what this new world can mean for him. The fun moment when Jake uses his avatar for the first time is a demonstration of something that Worthington gets so right in his performance--Jake’s physical energy. He agrees to investigate the Na’vi for the Army General stationed on Pandora to get the surgery to walk again that he can’t afford, but Jake experiences the joy of running again in his avatar body so purely that none of what he chooses to do later is unbelievable. Worthington takes this a step farther and, for example, keeps his hands moving in other scenes to better convey that Jake is a kinetic soul.

True, the love story between Jake and Neytiri is another factor that influences the character’s decisions, and he is fighting on the side of good when he rallies the Na’vi to stop the destruction of their planet, but the character’s transformation is the core of the story. Luckily, the other plot points are always interesting as well.

No matter what other words can be used to describe James Cameron, as a director, there is one word that stays unfailingly true: innovator. Some will argue that his scripts need better dialogue or his behavior on set is megalomaniacal, but no one can deny that the auteur continues to push the boundary of what film itself can do. The unparalleled use of motion capture technology and the state-of-the-art CGI combine to form a plethora of visuals no one has ever seen before. The details of the Pandoran world are truly breathtaking, particularly the brilliant idea of having a tangibly physical way for the Na’vi to connect with the animal and plant life around them.

James Cameron takes enthralling storytelling to the next level with the unforgettable look and technical innovations of Avatar.

THE VIDEO

Fox presents Avatar in the 1:78:1 aspect ratio in 1080p high definition using the AVC encode on a 50GB disc. This Blu-ray presentation is truly an amazing visual experience; the level of detail is simply great, colors are vibrant and really pop off the screen, CGI elements and real-life sets blend very well together in stunning definition, and the presentation handles contrast exceptionally well. Optional English SDH, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles are available.

THE AUDIO

Avatar also receives a spectacular soundtrack in the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Dialogue is exceptionally clear and well-placed across the speakers, and the soundfield is truly immersive, using the surrounds to great effect as the movie sounds just incredible. If you have your setup working, it’s really that good.

Additional audio options include English Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as an English Dolby 2.0 track, plus a trio of dub tracks in Spanish, French and Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround.

THE EXTRAS

There is absolutely nothing here, it’s just the movie... for now.

A 4-disc edition is coming at the end of 2010 and is said to include a documentary, deleted scenes and much more! You’ll just have to wait for it. In the meantime, enjoy this bare-bones/movie-only release.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Through technological progress and grandiose storytelling, Avatar earns it’s success, engaging the eye and the heart thoroughly from beginning to end. The acting and direction also contribute in no small part to why the film works, and the length of the movie is barely felt by the audience.