Avatar. 162 minutes. Rated M. Written and Directed by James Cameron; Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox; Cast includes Sam Worthington, Zoë Saldana and Sigourney Weaver.
As a genre, science-fiction has contributed to the cinema in a host of inspirational ways. Ultimately, it all comes down to Fear, Faith, Fate, and Trust: big emotional journey states which underpin the great work in the genre – of which James Cameron’s Avatar is a perfect example.
The year is 2154. On the planet of Pandora, the Resources Development Administration (RDA) is spending billions to mine the mineral 'Unobtainium' – a key to solving a dilapidated Earth's energy crisis. Home to the indigenous Na’vi, Pandora’s atmosphere is lethal to humans, so the RDA's scientists have created the Avatar Program (led by Dr Grace Augustine – a magnificent Sigourney Weaver), in which humans have their consciousness linked remotely to a genetically-engineered Avatar. Grace and her colleagues have little time to encourage the Na'vi to peacefully relocate before Col. Miles Quaritch's (Stephen Lang) security forces are permitted to use military force to "shock and awe" them into submission. As the mining giant's administrator Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) tells us with potent, contemporaneous efficiency: “One thing the RDA stockholders hate worse than bad press is a bad quarterly statement”.
Self-belief in the face of immense odds is a common thread in Mr Cameron's work, and here he has created a sweeping story of engrossing emotional, cultural and spiritual conflict set within an environment of epic beauty. But while Avatar is an astonishing display of technical genius, it is the rite of passage allegory that powers the story: no more beautifully realised than the dazzling 'Banshees' – dragon-like beasts which the Na’vi must tame before they become their ‘wings’ for life.
Avatar is anchored by revelatory performances from Sam Worthington (Jake Sully) and Zoë Saldana (Neytiri). The success of how instantly we accept the remarkable computer-generated characters is achieved not only in Mr Worthington's exhilaration when he inhabits his Avatar for the first time, but entirely throughout his and Ms Saldana's extraordinary performances.
Ms Weaver's 'Grace', Ms Saldana's 'Neytiri' and a red-hot cameo from Michelle Rodriguez as Trudy Chacon, a feisty tilt-rotor pilot, also contribute to the grand Cameron tradition of powerful female action heroines (The Terminator’s Sarah Connor and Titanic’s Rose). What is new territory for Cameron devotees (quite apart from the state-of-the-art performance capture technology he has developed for this film), is the fascinating and vast spiritual world that nourishes, guides and informs the Na'vi's existence. The highpoint is the stunning 'Tree of Souls', which, even for the most cynical non-believer, will give pause to the concept of a life-enhancing, faith-based connection that exists beyond our messy, Earth-bound religious contradictions.
Avatar is a unique cinematic experience, and one you should rush to share in – because one viewing will not be enough.
Pictured: Sam Worthington and Zoë Saldana in Avatar.
This review was commissioned by The Geraldton Guardian and published in the print edition on Wednesday, 30 December 2009.
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