Avatar (2009 film)


Avatar is a 2009 epic science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron. It features an ensemble cast including Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver. It is the first in the Avatar film series. It is set in the mid-22nd century, when humans are colonizing Pandora, a lush habitable moon, in order to mine the valuable unobtanium, a room-temperature superconductor mineral. The expansion of the mining colony threatens the existence of a local tribe of Na'vi, a humanoid species indigenous to Pandora. The title of the film refers to an "avatar", which is a genetically engineered Na'vi body remotely operated from the brain of a human, and which is used to interact with the Na'vi.
Development of Avatar began in 1994, when Cameron wrote an 80-page treatment for the film. Filming was due to take place after the completion of Cameron's 1997 film Titanic, for a planned release in 1999; however, according to Cameron, the necessary technology was not yet available to achieve his vision of the film. Work on the fictional constructed language of the Na'vi began in 2005, and Cameron began developing the screenplay and fictional universe in early 2006. Avatar was budgeted at $237 million, due to the groundbreaking array of new visual effects Cameron achieved in cooperation with Weta Digital in Wellington. Some estimates put the cost at between $280 million and $310 million for production, and at $150 million for promotion. The film made extensive use of 3D computer graphics and new motion capture filming techniques, and reunited Cameron with his Titanic co-producer Jon Landau.
Avatar premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square theater in London on December 10, 2009, and was released in the United States on December 18 by 20th Century Fox. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised its groundbreaking visual effects, though the plot received criticism for being derivative. The film broke several box office records, including becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, surpassing Titanic. It also became the first film to gross more than $2 billion, and was the best-selling video title of 2010 in the United States. Adjusted for inflation, Avatar grossed around $4 billion, making it the second-highest-grossing film of all time, behind Gone with the Wind.
Avatar was nominated for nine awards at the 82nd Academy Awards, winning three, and received numerous other accolades. The success of the film led to an increase in popularity of 3D films, and to electronics manufacturers releasing 3D televisions. Avatar was followed by the sequels Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: Fire and Ash. Two more sequels in the Avatar franchise are currently in development.

Plot

In 2154, Earth suffers from resource exhaustion and ecological collapse. The Resources Development Administration mines the valuable mineral unobtanium on Pandora, a lush habitable moon in the Alpha Centauri star system. Pandora is inhabited by the Na'vi, a, blue-skinned, sapient humanoid species that live in harmony with nature.
To explore Pandora, human scientists control Na'vi-human hybrid bodies called "avatars". Each avatar is genetically matched with a human operator. Jake Sully, a paraplegic veteran of the United States Marines, is recruited as an operator after the death of his identical twin, who was training as an operator. The head of the Avatar Program, Dr. Grace Augustine, allows Jake to take the place of his twin, but considers him inadequate.
While Jake, Grace and Dr. Norm Spellman are in their avatars in the forest, Jake is attacked by wild animals. He flees deep into the wilderness, where he is rescued by a female Na'vi named Neytiri. Suspicious of Jake, she takes him to her clan, the Omaticaya. Mo'at, the clan's spiritual leader and the mother of Neytiri, orders her daughter to initiate Jake into their society.
Colonel Miles Quaritch, head of the RDA's security force, promises Jake that the company will restore the use of his legs if he provides information about the Na'vi and their gathering place, the giant Hometree, which sits atop a rich deposit of unobtanium. Jake and Neytiri fall in love as Jake is initiated into the clan, and they choose each other as mates. When Jake attempts to disable a bulldozer threatening a sacred Na'vi site, RDA administrator Parker Selfridge orders the destruction of Hometree.
Grace explains to Selfridge that destroying Hometree would damage the biological neural network that connects all Pandoran life, which prompts Selfridge to reluctantly give Jake and Grace one hour to convince the Na'vi to evacuate. Jake confesses to the Na'vi that he was a spy for the RDA, which prompts the clan to take him and Grace captive. Quaritch's soldiers destroy Hometree and kill many Na'vi, including Eytukan, who is the clan chief and Neytiri's father. Mo'at frees Jake and Grace, but they are detached from their avatars and imprisoned by Quaritch's forces. Trudy Chacón, a pilot who is disgusted by Quaritch's brutality, rescues Jake, Grace, and Norm. During the escape, Grace is shot and fatally wounded.
Jake regains the trust of the Na'vi by connecting his mind to the Toruk, a dragon-like creature feared and revered by the clan. Supported by Neytiri and the new chief Tsu'tey, Jake unites the Omaticaya, and tells them to gather other Na'vi clans to fight the RDA as it prepares to assault the Tree of Souls. Before the battle, Jake prays to the Na'vi mother goddess Eywa through a neural connection with the Tree of Souls.
The Na'vi and their human allies lose many fighters during the battle, including Tsu'tey and Trudy. The tide turns when wild animals unexpectedly join the fight and overwhelm the RDA forces; Neytiri interprets this occurrence as Eywa answering Jake's prayer. Quaritch, in an Amplified Mobility Platform suit, breaks open the avatar link unit containing Jake's human body, exposing it to Pandora's poisonous atmosphere. As Quaritch prepares to kill Jake, he is slain by Neytiri, who then saves Jake from suffocation.
In the aftermath of the war, the RDA is expelled from Pandora. Some humans are allowed to remain, including Jake and Norm. With the help of the Tree of Souls, Neytiri, and Mo'at, Jake is permanently transferred into his avatar.

Cast

  • Sam Worthington as Jake Sully:
A disabled former Marine who becomes part of the Avatar Program after his twin brother is killed. His military background helps the Na'vi warriors relate to him. Cameron cast the Australian actor after a worldwide search for promising young actors, preferring relative unknowns to keep the budget down. In the beginning, Cameron offered the role to Matt Damon, with a 10% stake in the film's profits, but Damon turned the film down because of his commitment to The Bourne Ultimatum. Other notable actors who auditioned for the part include Chris Pratt and Chris Pine with the studio pushing Jake Gyllenhaal to play the role, but Gyllenhaal turned the film down because he wished to focus on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time instead. Ultimately, the three finalists for the role were Channing Tatum, Chris Evans, and Worthington, with Cameron ultimately going with Worthington. Worthington, who was living in his car at the time, initially thought that he would not be cast due to his frustration in the initial audition, but eventually even signed on for sequels. Cameron felt that because Worthington had not done a major film, he would give the character "a quality that is really real". Cameron said he "has that quality of being a guy you'd want to have a beer with, and he ultimately becomes a leader who transforms the world".
  • * Worthington also briefly appears as Jake's deceased identical twin, Dr. Tom "Tommy" Sully.
  • Zoe Saldana, as Neytiri:
A fierce and formidable Na'vi warrior and the future spiritual leader of the Omaticaya clan. She serves as Jake's mentor in the Na'vi ways and later becomes his love interest. In earlier drafts of the screenplay, this character was known as "Zuleika". When the film began to be developed, Charisma Carpenter was set to play the role. But by the time the film had been greenlit in 2006, Carpenter had become too old for the role. Cameron began a worldwide search for actresses to play the role, with Q'orianka Kilcher being considered and Emily Blunt auditioning for the role. Eventually, Cameron cast Saldana. Since she was cast early in production, Saldana helped screen-test actors auditioning for the part of Jake Sully, including eventual co-star Worthington. The character, like all the Na'vi, was created using performance capture, and its visual aspect is entirely computer generated. Saldaña signed on for potential sequels.
  • Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch:
A human military commander and the head of the RDA mining operation's security detail. Fiercely consistent in his disregard for any life not recognized as human, he has a profound disregard for Pandora's inhabitants that is evident in both his actions and his language. Lang had unsuccessfully auditioned for a role in Cameron's Aliens, but the director remembered Lang and sought him for Avatar. Cameron approached Josh Brolin for the role, but turned it down as he didn't want to commit to a lengthy shoot, this decision angered Cameron. Michael Biehn, who had worked with Cameron in Aliens, The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, was briefly considered for the role. He read the script and watched some of the 3-D footage with Cameron but was ultimately not cast.
  • Michelle Rodriguez as Captain Trudy Chacón:
A combat pilot assigned to support the Avatar Program who is sympathetic to the Na'vi. Cameron had wanted to work with Rodriguez since seeing her in Girlfight.
The corporate administrator for the RDA mining operation. While he is at first willing to destroy the Na'vi Hometree to preserve the company's bottom line, he is reluctant to authorize the attacks on the Na'vi and taint his image, doing so only after Quaritch persuades him that it is necessary and that the attacks will be humane. When the attacks are broadcast to the base, Selfridge displays discomfort at the violence.
A xenoanthropologist who studies plant and animal life as part of the Avatar Program. He arrives on Pandora at the same time as Jake and operates an avatar. Although he is expected to lead the diplomatic contact with the Na'vi, it turns out that Jake has the personality better suited to win the natives' respect. Josh Gad was a runner-up for the role.
  • * Moore also portrays Norm's Na'vi avatar.
  • CCH Pounder as Mo'at:
The Omaticaya's spiritual leader, Neytiri's mother, and Eytukan's wife.
The chief of the Omatikaya clan, Mo'at's husband, and Neytiri's father.
The finest warrior of the Omaticaya. He is heir to the chieftainship of the tribe. At the beginning of the film's story, he is betrothed to Neytiri.
  • Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine:
An exobiologist and head of the Avatar Program. She is also Jake's mentor and an advocate of peaceful relations with the Na'vi, having set up a school to teach them English. Weaver dyed her hair red for the part. Her character was named "Shipley" at one point. The character reminded Weaver of Cameron, being "very driven and very idealistic".
  • * Weaver also portrays Grace's Na'vi avatar.
  • Dileep Rao as Dr. Max Patel:
A scientist who works in the Avatar Program and comes to support Jake's rebellion against the RDA
A mercenary who works for the RDA as Quaritch's right-hand man.
Additionally, Alicia Vela-Bailey appears, uncredited, as Ikeyni, the leader of the Tayrangi clan, Saeyla, one of the young Na'vi hunters who accompany Jake during his Iknimaya and a harassed blonde woman in a bar that Jake defends. Vela-Bailey served as the stunt double for Zoe Saldana and would later portray Zdinarsk in Avatar: The Way of Water. Terry Notary, who performed stunts as well, plays the Banshees via motion capture.