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a long overdue review. if it wasn't petiks time here in the office, i don't think i'll have the energy to write this. i still can't stop watching. i think i've watched it for the fifth time already..i think. call me an avatard.


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i have watched pocahontas many times as a kid and i even memorized one of its popular soundtracks, colors of the wind by vanessa williams. the song and the story stayed with me through all these years and i never thought i'd see a reincarnation of john and pocahontas through james cameron's most awaited flick, avatar.


avatar came into light back in 1995 when cinematic technology was still on its baby steps so titanic filmmaker, james cameron, decided to wait for a few years more for it to evolve and become mature enough to take on the making of avatar, to bring into realization and to the big screen. james cameron was wise and patience really is a virtue, as well as becoming a master storyteller and filmmaker.


i have watched titanic of course and i'm not proud of the fact that i have seen it thrice in cinemas but who could get enough of a sinking ship split into half and a delightful, yummy looking leonardo di caprio gracing almost in all the scenes. titanic made leo a star, along with his co-actor kate winslet and especially their director, james cameron. that's probably one of the reasons why everyone awaited with abated breath to see if cameron still has IT with his new baby, avatar.


avatar is a story meant for the idealistic and environment-loving mind; earth is losing its natural resources and man has turned its greedy, lustful eyes on pandora, a place on planet polyphemus, rich of exotic wildlife, lush green forest and tall, willowy, blue-skinned creatures, the na'vi. the na'vi are the people of pandora, they are twice as tall and strong as a normal human being and are great hunters and fierce protectors of their planet.


jake sully, the movie's main protagonist is sent to penetrate and learn the ways of the na'vi, which would be helpful when the time comes to tell them to get haul their asses and get the fuck out of their damn tree or else, we'll blow your shit here for the valuable rocks that we originally came for in the first place. he uses a genetically altered and made avatar, to look and talk like a na'vi and for the very first time, felt a delirious sense of happiness raging in his body. it was actually quite cool seeing jake's reaction when he gets hold of the avatar's body for the first time. i could almost feel his happiness when he started running and breathing the air around him, as if its the very first time he ever felt free in his entire life. He's a paraplegic when he came in pandora but he forgets about it the minute he's using the avatar.


apparently, using an avatar makes you forget the team you're playing for and the race where you come from, especially if you're in your avatar for most of the day for a number of months. which i admit, was kinda weird, considering that humans and na'vis are of a different species and if you are an extremist, you'd think jake is committing bestiality or something. maybe he just couldn't help himself, after all he gets to be a na'vi for almost the whole day, he feels physically and emotionally competent when he is in his avatar and its probably the first time he felt at home and at ease with someone. jake falls in love with neytiri, the so-called princess of the omaticaya tribe, pissing off neytiri's ex-boyfriend. they even managed to marry and consummate their love before team earth came raging down and destroyed the honeymoon spot of the newlyweds.


before we go on, i just have to say that i find jake sully's avatar more interesting and sexier than the actual human, jake sully. freaky. i don't know if i'm that up for bestiality or what. his avatar is just hot, period.


the na'vi's are panicking and jake is in deep, deep shit. he loses his cool for a minute and blurt out that team earth is going to destroy the crib and that the omaticaya tribe should look for another one pronto. neytiri became confused then furious. since drowning already in deep shit isn't enough, jake proceeded to dump more shit on his avatar and said that everything changed and that he fell in love with pandora and most especially with neytiri.


probably the most heartbreaking scene in the movie is the destruction of the hometree of the tribe, their great tree where deep down its roots are the valuable rocks worth millions of dollars to the evil earthlings. one of the most touching if not terrifying scenes if i were placed in jake sully's shoes, was when neytiri's mother, approached the tied-up and helpless sully, crying and begging if the former is really one of them to please, help them. i swear to eywa, i choked on my own tears and snot on that line. poor mom, she looked so hopeless and lost and she knew she had no choice but to turn to jake who seemed to know the answers to why is this happening to them and what did they do to deserve this.


since jake and company are only temporarily connected to their avatars, it didn't take long for the leaders of team earth, including the large, scary, evil, muscular bastard, old yet tough colonel quaritch to stop jake from helping out the pandora natives and to capture and imprison the rest of team jake.


but eywa was probably discussing the course of jake sully's life (especially his love life) with god, creating a way for team sully to escape and go back to his avatar and reconcile with neytiri and the rest of her gang. bringing with him more na'vis from different tribes and a large, ferrari-colored horrifying dragon-like creature which i'm too lazy to google the name, jake went to the local barber and stylist and got ready for the biggest showdown of the planet, team earth vs. team jake.


but what can bows and arrows do against the machines and the big guns of the evil earthlings? surrendering seems a practical act but neytiri is such a kick-ass she's willing to die than to give up their land. good thing jake prayed to eywa before the battle as the goddess of the na'vis came to their aid using the brutal and powerful force of pandora's wildlife. team earth was overwhelmed by the added alliance, painstakingly retreating while team pandora annihilated them.


colonel quaritch managed to find team sully's trailer and proceeded on pounding the poor, metal thing in the hopes of killing the human, jake sully and jake's remaining allies. neytiri, kick-ass as always, managed to kill the colonel (who was seriously horrifying and i firmly believe to be of the race of the undead as he was very hard, terribly hard to kill) and saved the human jake sully who was oxygen-deprived and was already half dead. neytiri sees jake in his human form for the very first time, held jake in her arms while jake scrambled to fix his oxygen mask, looked at neytiri, touched her face and said, " i see you." cue music here.


in all honestly, the main story of avatar has already been heard and retold a million times. it has nothing new to offer and basically rehashes love stories and conflicts between a man and his principle. but what makes it amazing is how it is told. the effects alone is enough to keep you glued on your seat while booing the humans and cheering for the blue "monkeys". it doesn't matter if the story is similar to that of the dance of wolves or pocahontas. it doesn't matter if it brings to light the reality that some of the nations here on our planet have to suffer from the hands of a foreign dictatorship. it doesn't matter if its formula is old and comforting.


what matters is that it was made, it was seen by millions, i'm hoping billions of people and it plucked a string, touched a nerve and will be remembered in the coming years as one of the most brilliant movies made in our lifetime.