To round off 2009, Avatar (written and directed by James Cameron) provided some technically brilliant entertainment. Having developed brand new technology over the last years to make this film possible, Cameron delivers some of the most stunning visuals ever seen on the big screen. Realistic scenery coupled with life-like aliens and great animation makes Avatar one of the more enjoyable movies of 2009. Here’s a basic summary of what it’s about (skip to the next paragraph if you already know): Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is sent to Pandora on a special mission – infiltrate the Na’vi as one of them, and find out how to make them move out of their home, which lies above one of the richest Unobtainium deposits known. The corporation that employs Sully was established on Pandora to mine this Unobtainium, the most valuable substance known to man, and they are prepared to do anything to get what they want. As Sully learns more and more about the Na’vi, he begins to see things from their perspective, and thinks about switching sides. And thus this internal struggle leads to a huge conflict that can only be solved one way.
There are several issues that Avatar deals with. Most of these are only hinted at, though, and so we are left to draw our own conclusions. Jake Selinger has some interesting thoughts on his blog (The Story’s Story), where he talks about the anti-technology and anti-corporation themes that some people see in this movie. I tend to agree that these themes are not very strong in the movie, and don’t make sense when most blockbuster movies are solely approved based on their profit-making ability. The anti-technology argument seems quite weak, as nowhere in the movie is this point raised distinctly. In fact, the Na’vi have their own “technologies” that they use to fight the humans, however primitive (from the human’s perspective) or different they might be.
The anti-corporation argument has more weight, though. But, even though the evil corporation is what is threatening the Na’vi’s existence, the film puts much more weight on the evil leader of the corporation’s “military”, and his obsession to get his way. Colonel Quaritch is really the antagonist here. And while he works for the corporation, it’s his ego that mostly causes the conflict. So what we have is, in fact, just a simple “evil guy vs. good guy” scenario.
As a whole, the plot doesn’t present any unusual elements that we haven’t seen before. Nonetheless, Cameron pulls it off expertly, giving us a thrilling experience including action, adventure, romance, and comedy. I highly recommend Avatar. It entertains like little else in 2009.
The long awaited (not by me) sequel to 
