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A paraplegic ex-marine finds a new life on the distant planet of Pandora, only to find himself battling humankind alongside the planet's indigenous Na'vi race in Avatar, the ambitious digital 3D sci-fi epic from director James Cameron.
The film follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a war veteran who gets called to the depths of space to pick up the job of his slain twin brother for the scientific arm of a megacorporation looking to mine the planet of Pandora for a valued ore.
Unfortunately, the biggest deposit of the prized substance lies underneath the home of the Na'vi, a 10-foot-tall, blue-skinned native tribe who have been at war with the security arm of the company, lead by Col Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang).
Because of the planet's hostile atmosphere, humans have genetically grown half-alien/half-human bodies which they can jack their consciousnesses into and explore the world in.
Since Jake's brother already had an incredibly expensive Avatar grown for him, he's able to connect with it using the same DNA code and experience first-hand the joys of Pandora while giving the scientific team, led by Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore), some well-needed protection against the planet's more hostile forces.
On a chance meeting , Jake's Avatar is rescued by Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a Na'vi princess, who brings him into her tribe in order to give humans a second chance at relating to the environment.
As Jake becomes one with the tribe and begins to understand the secrets of Pandora, his conscience is torn between his new adopted world and the wheelchair-bound one awaiting him when the psychic connection to his Avatar is broken. Soon battle lines are drawn and Jake needs to decide which side he will fight on when the time comes.
GulfWeekly film critic Charlie Holding described Avatar as a 'phenomenal film' well deserving of its four out of five popcorn rating.
