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Reel Deal: 15 reasons I love "Avatar"
Oh, “Avatar,” “Avatar,” why do I love thee so much already? Let me review thy reasons. 1: It is directed by James Cameron, whom I (meaning my wallet) will follow to the movie-going past, present and future, as seen in this movie where he takes us to the year 2154. No matter how hyped or critically panned (what do they know anyway?), his films never disappoint me. 2: Jake Sully, an ex-Marine who was wounded in battle and is now paralyzed from the waist down. After his scientist twin brother dies, Jake is offered the chance to walk again through the use of Tommy’s avatar. 3: Sam Worthington, who plays protagonist Jake Sully. What a man. 4: The breathtaking Pandora, the land where this movie takes place. I don’t think I have ever seen imagery that is more beautiful. It is currently being ravaged by corporations who seek to exploit Pandora’s reserves of a precious mineral called unobtainium. It reminds me of something - oil. 5: The Na’vi, the indigenous inhabitants of Pandora. They are proud blue-skinned warriors with sharp tails that can bond with animals and have a naturalistic spirituality. They remind me, perhaps purposefully by the director, of American Indians, minus the tails and blue-skin of course. 6: The Avatar Program, a project headed by botanist Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver). She created avatars (for the scientists to use only) by mixing human and Na’vi DNA. Because the humans share genetic materials with their avatars, they are able to mentally link into the program, allowing them to control its functions and experience what their avatars are experiencing while they sleep. You know, no matter how many times I try to explain this, it never sounds right. It helps to think of “The Matrix:” When the scientists link in, their avatars take over. But when they are in, the threat of agents is replaced by flying beasts and other dinosaur-like creatures. 7: Jake’s mission. At first, he is ordered by Dr. Augustine to pretty much stay out of her way while she collects samples, and then he is asked by Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) to obtain the trust of the Na’vi and find the location of the place where the unobtainium is located. 8: Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), the Na’vi princess. At first, she wants to kill Jake, but then ends up saving him from being eaten by a pack of hyena-like animals. 9: The slow romance between Jake and Neytiri. It’s no Jack and Rose from “Titanic,” but it’s sweet. 10: Jake’s newfound love for the Na’vi and his indecision to complete the mission given to him by Colonel Quaritch. 11: Giovanni Ribisi, who plays the ambitiously uncaring Parker Selfridge. He is the brains behind the unobtainium expedition, and the eventual war against the Na’vi. 12: The war between the humans and the Na’vi. So very sad, but it was a special-effects dream (much like the rest of this movie). 13: Watching it in 3-D. I’m not a huge fan of 3-D movies, but I knew I had to see it in this format where everything jumps at you. It honestly felt like you were right there on Pandora, which would be an amazing place to visit. 14: The 3-D glasses. Okay, they totally made me feel sick afterwards, but it’s totally worth the hours of belly and headaches. 15: James Cameron again, and the 2,000 plus people who worked on making this movie. “Avatar” is truly an impressive piece of movie-making as well as a movie-going experience. A+ Dedra Cordle is a Messenger staff writer.
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