In the Centauri star system in the year 2154, a war is raging on between the inhabitants of the beautiful lush moon of Pandora and the mining operation run by the RDA Corporation from Earth. Pandora is rich in a mineral called unobtanium that is worth 20 million a kilo but there’s one small problem, the abundance of the mineral lies in the heart of the colony of the locals. The indigenous race, called the Na’vi, is this blue cat-like species that are very intelligent and are one with the planet it’s self. The RDA Corporation realizing they can’t just go into foreign soil and start a mass killing spree, pays for an experimental program. A program that creates genetically created “avatar” bodies that are identical to the Na’vi and act like vehicle’s for the avatar operators. However, they also have hired a military like security team called Sec-Ops to help in the extraction of the mineral as well.
When one of the operators is killed, his brother Corporal Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a former Marine who is now confined to a wheelchair, is asked to take his place because his DNA will work with his brother’s avatar. Heading up the program, Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) is not at all happy with the new candidate but soon realizes she does not have a say in it. Jake who is thrown right into the program seems to be able to jump right into it with ease. Jake is also recruited by the head of Sec-Ops, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) to report back intelligence to help remove the Na’vi from their colony home that is a huge tree of life. In exchange, Jake will get the surgery he needs to finally walk again.
On their first trip in their avatar bodies, Jake gets separated from the group and befriends one of the Na’vi who saves him from predators. Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) who is the daughter of the clan’s spiritual leader, witnesses a unique phenomenon that tells her that Jake might be someone special and takes him to the colony. For the first time, an avatar is invited into their world to learn their ways. Through the course of several weeks, Jake in his avatar body gets first hand insight and learns to appreciate and understand the Na’vi . Of course time is quickly running out as RDA Corporation is getting impatient by the day. Jake soon learns his loyalty to the cause has changed and his new found love for the Na’vi and in particularly for Neytiri is where his heart lies.
Can Jake find a way to save the Na’vi before it is too late or will the RDA Corporation win? Avatar is one of those rare films that seems to have a little bit of everything. The genius of Cameron very well may be the fact he has created a film that on the surface is a Sci-Fi action film but at its heart is a love story. Cameron who wrote, directed, filmed, edited and even produced this film has created another fun film that even has a eco message.
Avatar helped to bring the new dawn of 3D to the forefront and although it is only available here in 2D it looks amazing. It actually has a 3D depth like feel to it. I originally saw it in 3D in the theaters and expected to be disappointed but perhaps because it was shot in HD, with much of the film created later with CG, the film does not suffer in the 2D format. In other words, the film looks gorgeous and if you want to see what Blu-ray is capable of than look no further and pop in a copy of Avatar.
Extras
With all that said, for a film that has been talked about so much it is a crime to release it with no extras – ZERO. Unless you include disc 2 which is a standard def copy of the film. There’s not even a theatrical trailer as bonus material. Of course there is also no frivolous commercial or theatrical trailers of other movies wasting your time either. Still, it would have been nice to be given a little something like a commentary track by Cameron and some of the actors involved. Of course we know a special edition or two are in the works and one will suspect that material will be offered at that time.
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Special Features
