James Cameron’s movie, Avatar, is a science-fiction thriller that has been in the works since the director’s successful hit movie, Titanic. Considering over half of the movie is CGI, it is no wonder the heavily computerized project was too expensive (costing an estimated $400 million) for the 1997 technology.

As computer animation progressed and movies like Lord of the Rings showed the potential of CGI and a successful merging of the live action and CGI, the hope for producing Avatar was revived. Avatar is an entirely original work that is not associated with any comic book or other franchise.



With a theme that includes aliens and Sigourney Weaver in one of the lead roles, there has been speculation that Avatar will be similar to one of James Cameron’s early successes, Aliens. Although Michael Biehn, one of the lead actors in Aliens, was originally consulted about playing one of the main characters, it was decided that this would invite too many comparisons and Stephan Lang accepted the part. Movie goers will see an entirely different planet populated by humanoid aliens. Unlike the cold confines of Aliens, Avatar takes place in a lush environment, and was filmed in Hawaii.

The movie’s premise portrays humans as more the bad guy a couple of centuries in the future. Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, is a paralyzed Marine who is given a chance to leave Earth and go to Pandora. His task is to participate in the Avatar project, which wants to exploit the resources on the alien moon. The human-like aliens, called Navi, are threatened by the earthling intrusion into their territory. While they are normally a peaceful race, the Navi are also skilled fighters who are left with little choice but to defend their home. Because humans cannot breathe on Pandora, they have created Avatars.



Avatars are a genetically engineered crossbreed of humans and Navi that do not think for themselves. Humans control the Avatars through a type of telepathy. This is Jake’s incentive to go to Pandora as it will give him a chance to walk, although vicariously, through one of the Avatars. He will be a scout for finding the minerals and resources sought by the humans. This leads him into a new world where he gets caught between the mission and the Navi.



With roughly 1,000 staff, a budget reportedly approaching $500 million, 14 years of anticipation, and increasingly heightened expectations, Avatar promises to attract a lot of attention. The initial release was postponed for more than half a year to ensure that the special effects where perfected. They also wanted to make sure that the film would work with the new 3D technology being installed in theaters since the Avatar can be shown in 3D. After ten years on the shelf, two years in production, and another two years in post-production (nearly a record for time in post-production), Avatar will finally hit boxes offices December 18, 2009. Ironically, this historically corresponds with the release of his Titanic masterpiece. Have you read Avatar movie review?