One of the many reasons why we are blessed with eyes is that the all mighty wants us to experience Avatar. It doesn’t take a genius to comprehend why our own Bollywood went on the back foot and not released any movie on the day Avatar hit the Indian shore. Never-before-seen special effects, extra ordinary shot taking, finest possible detailing, zippy-zappy-zoom camera movement, razor-sharp editing and breathtaking visuals deprive one of all the possible superlatives and adjectives. In fact, no word could possibly define James Cameron’s Avatar. Ten minutes into this movie and you enter the world of Avatar [read Pandora] and from there onwards the director keeps elevating the visual explosion from one unattainable level to the other, leaving you shocked, awestruck and moist-eyed at the same time. Unlike many other alien-centric dramas made in the recent past, this film has a heart, and has it at the right place.
Set in, say a hundred years or so from now, the earthlings have landed on a distant planet called Pandora, not to explore its beauty but to exploit it, to strip it from its splendor. In order to assuage our greed, 'we the humans' it seems, have concretized and mechanized the earth. In order to solve the energy crisis here, the US marines are in search of the super energy-rich mineral called ‘unobtainium’ exist on Pandora. Armed with exquisite technology and massive force of ultra modern ammunition and gigantic robots that are ready to destroy the beautiful Pandora, a place where mountains fly, where the sky is still smoke free, where jungles are wild, enriched with fearsome and equally colorful creatures, US marine is ready to fight any battle to show that we humans ‘must’ get what they ‘want’ by any means possible, by using brutal power, but there are a few challenges this planet pose.
Earthlings can not breath on Pandora, they need a constant oxygen supply to survive. The magical land of Pandora also comes with its deadly surprises. There are animals that are larger, more powerful and the most unpredictable. In short survival is a task there, but the most prominent hurdles are the gigantic, blue skinned, tail wagging Navis, the aborigines, who are brainy, skilled and are sitting on the Unobtainium field. That is when Jack sully’s character is sent into the tribe, more as an under cover agent, the one who is genetically-morphed as one of the Navi’s and brain-controlled from the spaceship. Having entered the ‘blue monkey tribe’, he’s Avatar gives day to day info back to his mission chives. As the days start flying by, Sully’s character realizes that Pandora is as charming and lively as it is hostile. He falls in love with the nature-loving Navi’s, who share an eternal bond with their environment. He realizes that Navi’s love and care for Pandora is more than what we humans do for our earth. Ready to betray his own selfish and crafty human roots, Sully’s Avtar gets all set to give the greedy earthlings a taste of their own medicine, and the reverse battle begins.
Avatar also has some striking subtext vis-à-vis the war diplomacy and world politics. First you bite someone with a venomous pang for selfish motives and when the opposite clan retaliates, you label them as rebels. The film also has a ‘green’ heart at the core. Great performances from all actors [Zoe Saldana is wonderful, makes you fall in love with her even in her blue skinned form], incomparable SFX, terrific background score makes avatar a must watch. Every frame of this film screams out at you, proclaiming the humungous amount of money pumped into the project, it shouts and brags about the twelve years gone into making a feast for senses that avatar is. The film talks about the effort of very individual associated with it, but most of all Avatar is about a visionary, who makes us understand that if you can see it, you surely can make it, Hats off to James Cameron! Standing ovation at the end is as much a must as the special glasses required to watch this 3-D bliss.
Rating- ****** 6 on 5
