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2009  PG-13  SCIENCE FICTION  2h 41min
CAST— Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Sigourney Weaver
MUSIC— James Horner  DIRECTOR— James Cameron

     Welcome to Pandora. A vast world of color and light, of beauty and depth, of life and death. Inhabited by creatures great and small, lorded over by the Na’vi, a race of hunters who view their world with reverence and honor. But the human race has discovered a rare mineral found only on Pandora, and they’ll stop at nothing to obtain it. They’ve recruited a paraplegic ex-Marine (played by Sam Worthington) to undergo a mission; a medical team will place his consciousness into the body of one of the Na’vi, thereby giving Worthington complete control of a new foreign body. His mission is to make contact with the alien race, learn the ways of the Na’vi, and eventually become one of them. Little did he realize that he would fall in love with the beauty of the planet, the ways of the people, even his Na’vi teacher (a computer generated, blue-skinned Zoe Saldana). Now he must dissuade the human military wrecking crew from destroying what the Na’vi hold most dear. An eye-opening cinematic experience that one has to see to fully grasp, with CGI like no other. A box-office bonanza that beat out director James Cameron’s Titanic (1997) as highest grossing film ever. Sure, it’s good, but greatest film ever…? Maybe you can decide that one. Oscar-winner for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction. Extended versions also available.
OUR RATING— ***