Case Study - Avatar

Chris Ashwell
Avatar – 2009
Plot:
In 2154, the RDA corporation is mining Pandora, a planet that looks similar to Earth. Pandora is inhabited by the Na’vi, a blue type humanoid who somewhat resemble a tribal community. Physically stronger and taller than humans, they have blue skin and live in harmony with nature, worshiping a goddess called Eywa.
Human scientists created human-Na’vi’ hybrids called avatars, which are controlled by human who are genetically compatible with the avatars. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a young man who used to be a marine, arrives on Pandora to replace his twin brother who was murdered, the film doesn’t tell us much about his death just a line about how he was shot for the paper in his pocket. Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), the boss of the Avatar Program, thinks that Jake is incompetent and that she doesn’t want him on her team and he isn’t going to help her in anyway.
Jake goes on this first mission with the biologist Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) which consist of them analysing and taking data from the trees in their avatar forms, the group is attacked by a large predator, Jake has to run from the predator where he hides in the roots of a tree but this doesn’t work as he make a run for it and has to jump of the side of a waterfall. Jake now has to try and survive in the jungle by himself, he is attack by a pack of Pandora dogs but he is rescued by Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), a female Na'vi. Jake follows Neytiri wondering why she saved him and they end up on a log with a big drop on either side where the ‘Seeds of Life’ gather and sit upon Jake, Neytiri decides to take Jake back to the Hometree and tells her father it’s a sign. Neytiri is then given the task to teach Jake the ways of the Na'vi.
The Na'vi don’t know that Jake is actually undercover to try and make them move away from the Hometree because the RDA want to mine a resource called unobtanium, which the Hometree sits upon and very very big deposit.
The film progress’s and Jake is given three months to learn as much as he can, but Jake becomes to prefer the life of the Omaticaya and becomes a mate for life with Neytiri and betrays the Humans when he attacks a tree bulldozer destroying the cameras mounted on the top. Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) finds out it was him and stops him from using the avatar. He then puts the plan forward to use fire power to destroy the Hometree. The ships are sent out to the tree and it is destroyed, the Na’vi find out that Jake knew what was going to happen and ban him and tell him he will never be one of them. Jake then takes it on as a personal mission to defend the Na’vi when he finds out that the Humans are going to destroy the Tree of Souls, the last place left for the Na’Vi. He tames the Toruk, an immensely powerful flying beast that only five Na'vi have ever tamed before and he then re-gains the trust of the Na’Vi.
The humans attack with a set up of huge bombs, the Na'vi fight back but suffer heavy casualties, among them Tsu'Tey and Trudy the plain pilot. As the Na'vi are on the verge of defeat, the Pandoran wildlife suddenly attacks the humans from the prayer than Jake did to the Tree of Souls, overwhelming them.
Jake destroys the bomber before it can reach the Tree of Souls. Quaritch escapes in an Amplified Mobility Platform suit, finds the avatar interface pod where Jake's human body is located and attacks it, exposing Jake to Pandora's atmosphere. Neytiri kills Quaritch and saves Jake, seeing his human form. With the attack repelled, Jake and Neytiri reaffirm their love.
The humans are expelled from Pandora, while Jake and his closest co-workers remain. Jake is seen wearing the insignia of the Omaticaya leader. The film ends with Jake's soul being transplanted into his Na'vi avatar.
James Cameron was the director of Avatar and Lightstorm Entertainment and began development in 1994. Camerons original idea was to start the filming after Titanic but Cameron changed his mind and decided that Avatar need better technology than what was there at the time. The film then began its remake in 2006 when the script was re-developed. The film was released on December 10, 2009 for the London premiere and December 18, 2009 for the United States. Avatar managed to grab a huge $3,537,000 from midnight screenings in the United States and Canada. The film then got $27 million on its opening day and $77,025,481 over its opening weekend in the United States and Canada this made it the second largest December opening ever just behind I Am Legend.
Audience:
James Cameron said so himself that his intended target audience is 8 – 80 and that he expects to get repeat viewings from those of a younger age. He said this because he compared it to one of his own experiences when he was young he went to see Doctor Zhivago three times in a row and he had to walk 4 miles every time to see the film, just because it was so visually appealing. I reckon this also applies to Avatar. Quote from Cameron “When you’re a teen and you see something you like it inflames your imagination”.
1*/10*
I had high expectations going into Avatar. Now I admit, it's probably stupid to go into any movie with expectations that are too high, lest they be crushed. However, even without high expectations, Avatar impresses only on a technical level, and on that level only. The story is very predictable, and as I watched this movie I was overcome with a feeling as if I had seen this all before in something in a made for TV movie on SyFy. This is pretty bad considering this is the same guy who made The Abyss and Terminator. I can only say that if you go see this movie, expect beautiful visuals... and a standard humdrum story that you've seen before if you follow any number of science fiction TV shows or just sci-fi in general. Oh, and if this is the 22nd century, why are they still using manually propelled wheelchairs?
Quotes from IMDB.com







10*/10*
I went with my two kids, one is 16 years old and my daughter 9 years old. Afterwards by the bus stop, we looked at each other, and in unison we knew and agreed, we had experienced something extraordinary at many different levels, an once in a lifetime moment. This is truly by far the movies of all movies. The only bad thing that I can say about this movie is I never wanted it to end, all from the jaw dropping scenery to the emotional computer graphics. I take a hold of you as I never experienced it in the theatres before.

I feel blessed and grateful, really honoured by the makers of Avatar, for letting us share this beautiful adventure, it is truly a milestone in motion picture history!
In some respect I agree with this author, the story was slightly predictable but nothing like what he said it was. The film didn’t feel like something I’d seen before and I’d gone in with high expectations and came out feeling like it had lived up to them high expectations.







Now this author I agree with, I remember the comment from my father “You don’t think you’re watching a animated cartoon, you feel like you’re watching another world.” The way it’s been produced; the graphics, storyline and dialogue makes it so real.

Technological Advancements:
This film by far to this date is defiantly the most technological advancement ever in cinematic development. The film was also produced in using Stereoscopy. (Wikipedia: “Stereoscopy, stereoscopic imaging or 3-D imaging is any technique capable of recording three-dimensional visual information or creating the illusion of depth in an image.”
Stereoscopy requires certain cameras in order to create the 3rd Dimension. Using these it can create two of the same images which are 6.35cm apart then using the goggles it can put these together to create the 3D picture.
Because this film has been one of the most expensive to make you would expect them to market it very well and they have. An estimated 150 million dollars were used for marketing. The marketing would consist of trailers and teaser all over the web. This film was hugely anticipated and because of this I think it spread through mainly word of mouth. I heard about the film from my brother and he told me it was one of the most expensive films to make so I had to see for myself. Of course the thing that really promoted this film was its trailer. You could see just from your television how good the film looked and it really showed some parts of the moving which wanted you to see the rest.
I’ve seen this film twice, once in 2D and again in 3D. I was amazed by the visuals in 2D and just had to see it all in 3D and it was worth it! If anyone decides to buy a pirate copy or watch in online they are defiantly not getting the stunning visuals from what you get in the cinema and thus missing out completely.