‘Avatar’ uses new technology to tell inspiring tale

By: Steve Prior

Thursday, January 7, 2010 - 7:19 PM

After developing his film for 16 years, director/producer/writer James Cameron (“Titanic,” “Terminator 1 &2”) finally released the highly-anticipated “Avatar.” According to many critics and audience members, it did not disappoint. After hearing several reviews from friends, I decided to see the film for myself, and I was impressed!

The film is set on an Earth-like moon called Pandora where a group of American colonists have established a base for the purpose of mining a valuable material called Unobtainium. Meanwhile, they struggle to co-exist with the planet’s inhabitants, including a humanoid alien species called the Na’vi.

In order to improve “diplomatic relations,” the humans create an avatar program where humans control artificial clones — or “avatars” — that look like the Na’vi for the purpose of safely interacting with the species.

The protagonist, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington, “Terminator Salvation”), is a paraplegic marine veteran who becomes a last-minute addition to the avatar program after his twin brother is murdered. At first, the inexperienced Sully struggles to fit in with his fellow avatar operators, but after he begins to build a relationship with members of the Na’vi tribe, he quickly becomes the centerpiece of the program.

Recognizing Sully’s connection with the Na’vi, military officials persuade him to attempt to convince the tribe to leave its land so that they can gain access to the large quantities of Unobtanium present underneath “Hometree,” the area were the tribe lives. However, as Sully becomes closer with Neytiri, a member of the Na’vi tribe who is chosen to mentor him, as well as the rest of the group through his prolonged interactions with them, his whole perspective on life changes due to their unique teachings and he becomes reluctant to take their home from them.

Eventually, the colonists become impatient with Sully and choose proceed with their operation to mine the precious Unobtanium without his assistance, even if it means killing hundreds of innocent Na’vi tribesman. This turn of events leads to a brilliantly-depicted battle between the two opposing groups.

One cannot help getting lost in the world of Pandora as “Avatar” allows viewers a chance to virtually escape into the forest-like environment to experience the romance, conflict and colorful environment.

The escapism that Cameron uses in the film makes it easy for the viewer to feel what it means to be one of the Na’vi, including the tribe’s respect for the environment, and the impacts of the anthropocentric nature of the colonialists that try to destroy their land. That is what makes Avatar an extremely powerful movie.

“Avatar” was filmed entirely in 3D using state-of-the-art technology that Cameron waited for more than a decade to be developed. The technology used in the movie is in itself a reason to go see “Avatar.”

Rather then adding the digital environment after filming the actor’s movements (which is how previous motion-capture films have been made), Cameron and his visual artists created the environment first. Through this new visual lens, Cameron could literally look into his camera and see his actors in the forest-like landscape of Pandora.

This revolutionary new method of filming motion-capture films made the interaction between the actors and the virtual environment amazingly realistic. One standout scene that employs this technology occurs when Sully’s avatar travels with the Na’vi to the edge of floating mountains where he wrestles with a Banshee — a dragonlike creature with which each member of the tribe learns to fly.

Like Cameron’s last film, “Titanic,” which won 11 Oscars and currently holds the distinction of being the highest-grossing film of all time, “Avatar” is proving to be another strong success. However, unlike “Titanic,” “Avatar” is unfortunately limited to showing its intended 3D effects in only 3,456 domestic theaters. Still, it has managed to dominate the box office since its release on the Dec. 18.

The movie led the box office over last year’s holiday weekend, earning $278 million from Friday Dec. 25 through Sunday Dec. 27. It was the highest grossing weekend for a film in history.

Overseas, “Avatar” has also been a phenomenal box office success, earning more than $1 billion with its international and domestic totals combined. In the United States, it has made $367.5 million, but experts believe that it will soon reach the $400 million mark. Both markets together have pushed “Avatar” well over its budget of $237 million, proving its success with audiences.

I highly recommend this innovative and powerful movie to anyone who likes a good plot, some action and does not suffer from motion sickness.

Steve Prior can be reached at sprior@nevadasagebrush.com.