Avatar

I'd heard about this film for ages and due to my long legs and complete dislike of cinemas and their rip-off prices, I eagerly waited for it to come out on DVD.

It was truly worth the wait too.

James Cameron, whose name should be known to anyone who's seen films such as Terminator, Titanic, The Abyss, will expect the same quality as that of the above-mentioned films and won't be disappointed.

Briefly, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington - Clash of the Titans, Terminator : Salvation) is a paraplegic Marine whose twin brother was a science expert working on a project on the distant world of Pandora. When Jakes brother is killed during a robbery, Jake agrees to take his place and flies to Pandora.

Sadly, Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver - absolutely heaps of famous movies like Working Girl, Gorillas in the mist and the Alien quadrilogy) is not happy after meeting Jake and discovering that he has absolutely zero experience with the indigenous peoples of Pandora, the Na'vi, Pandora itself or Avatars and she should know as she wrote the book on it--literally.

Meanwhile, Jake is introduced to his Avatar--a 'grown' amalgamation of Na'vi and human DNA, grown specifically for the eventual user, which in this case was Jake's twin brother, which is about twice the size of the average human and blue, amongst other things.

Despite his paraplegia, Jake's mind interfaces with his Avatar perfectly and allows Jake to roam freely around Pandora. He is asked to report his findings to gung-ho Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang - The men who stare at goats, Fire down below) so that they can get the Na'vi away from their home and get at the $20,000,000 a kilo mineral which lies beneath for company man Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi - Gone in 60 seconds, Sky captain and the world of tomorrow).

Jake however becomes part of the Na'vi and falls for beautiful Neytiri (Zoe Saldana - Star Trek, Vantage Point). He learns their ways and their language and before long becomes troubled by the way the company wants to destroy their way of life; their home world. He then becomes embroilled in the Na'vi's fight for survival against the humans trying to ravage their planet.

This film is long compared to the average, but the time just flies and the attention to detail is astonishing. Plants that shrink like sea anemones when touched, six legged horse-like creatures and the language itself draw you in and all you want is for it to continue.

The story itself is not overly complicated when it comes down to it, but Cameron's treatment gives it real life and I for one found myself identifying with the characters and in the end, hating humans!

No change there then.

My own opinion of this film is that it's unmissable and an absolute delight. A finely woven tapestry of the interplay between the human elements and CGI - which was seamless.

Brilliant!