AVATAR

Why do we just want to grab and give the ET a big hug when we see it on our TV screens? What makes us succumb to the immense power of the LOTR trilogy? Why do we want to watch the great dinosaurs of The Jurassic Park again and again?

We all are aware of the fact that what we are watching is ultimately untrue and imaginative, but then why do we buy the most expensive tickets of a posh multiplex, eat the best meal and basically lighten our wallets? Well, there's a simple answer. It allows us to forget our worries and have a lot of fun.

Every once in a while comes a motion picture that grabs you by the gut and throws you into a world so marvelously crafted that the experience leaves you spell bound. Such films have a major impact on our lives, they touch our mind and soul and stay with us for the rest of our lives.

Avatar, directed by James Cameron, is one such film that makes us surrender to its mammoth size. The film which took more than a decade to finally conceptualize on the celluloid screen is not just any other movie. Its a groundbreaking film in every respect : A definitive landmark in the world of film making.

Set in the year 2154, the film involves a mission by US Armed Forces to the planet Pandora, light years away from Earth. The fearsomely well-equipped army of former Marines has arrived on Pandora to mine a rare mineral named "unobtainium" in order to solve a devastating energy crisis back home.

The mineral cannot be obtained without the cooperation of Pandora's native population, the Na'vi, a tribe of tall, blue-skinned, nature-loving forest dwellers who pose no threat to Earthlings. Since humans cannot breathe on Pandora, they must use avatars, or genetically engineered Na'vi look-alikes that are mind-controlled by them while they're wired up in an unconscious state on the space-craft.

The earthlings are led by bull-headed Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). Helped by star biologist Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), they create an avatar to go on information sorties and to act as a cultural diplomat. The person chosen for this role is Jake Sully (Sam Worthington). He’s a former Marine who lost his legs in action.

Sully is dispatched by his superiors to infiltrate the native tribe that refuses to relocate from the 1,000-foot Hometree that just happens to be perched atop the precious mineral.

In the process, Sully comes under the sway of beautiful Neytiri (Zoe Saldana).

Saldana tears into her elongated, computer-enhanced character with abandon. Neytiri hisses, snarls, swings from vines and shoots some wicked arrows, all the while demonstrating a bond with the beasts of her world that inspire pathos and envy in equal measure.

Sully is a changed man once he tastes Na'vi life and falls in love with Neytiri who teaches him to shoot arrows, to tame and fly stubborn psychedelic creatures, and to fight off scary jungle beasts.As a result of his love with Neytiri, Sully realizes the abominable motives of Col. Quaritch. He, along with Grace, teams up with the Na'vi's to help them protect their land and heritage.

Supporting cast includes Giovani Ribisi as Parker Selfridge and Michelle Rodriguez as Trudy Chacon.

By combining such profound 3D technology with his exquisite sense of film-making, James Cameron has truly revolutionized the cinema going experience. Avatar will set benchmarks for films in the future.