A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
- Won 3 Oscars
- 91 wins & 131 nominations total
Zoe Saldana
- Neytiri
- (as Zoë Saldana)
CCH Pounder
- Mo'at
- (as Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder)
James Patrick Pitt
- Shuttle Pilot
- (as James Pitt)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Na'vi language was created entirely from scratch by linguist Dr. Paul R. Frommer. James Cameron hired him to construct a language that would be easily enunciable for actors to pronounce but would not resemble any human language. Frommer created about 1,000 words. Cameron requested Dr Frommer that the Na'vi language must be entirely new, as it's supposed to be from another planet, and that it should sound "nice" to the audience. Cameron didn't want any additional editing done to their voices and wanted them to sound authentic and not unnatural. Equipped with a vast knowledge of linguistics, Dr Frommer understood what kinds of sounds the Na'vi language would or wouldn't have. Just like "j" and "r" don't exist in Korean, in English, the 'h' sound is unaspirated. In a similar vein, Frommer's conception of the new language totally avoided the sounds of "ch", "th", and "sh". Additionally, Frommer had to decide on the language's syntax -- or rules regarding word order. He came up with his own set of constraints and words to be used in the language of Pandora. The tongue took inspiration from the natural languages of the world to create a totally different spoken form.
- GoofsWhen Jake's late brother, Tom, is uncovered, he's played by Sam Worthington. In the next shot of Tom being covered again it's clearly someone else.
- Quotes
Jake Sully: Neytiri calls me skxawng. It means "moron."
- Crazy creditsThere are no opening credits of any kind, outside of the 20th Century Fox fanfare. The title of the film doesn't appear on screen until the end of the movie. For the 2022 re-release, the 20th Century Fox logo was swapped out for a 20th Century Studios logo for consistency with the second film.
- Alternate versionsAvatar (Special Edition) - 14 additions from the theatrical cut
- Herd: As they fly over Pandora in Trudy's gunship, Jake, Grace and Norm get a closer look at some of Pandora's creatures.
- The Schoolhouse: Entering an abandoned schoolhouse in the jungle with Grace and Norm to retrieve supplies, Jake makes a grim discovery.
- Purple Moss: Jake follows Neytiri after his rescue, and delights in the bioluminescent moss that glows beneath his feet with every step. I Don't Even Know Your Name: Newly tasked with teaching Jake the Na'vi ways, Neytiri brings him to dinner with the entire clan.
- What Does Hold Them Up?: The Avatar team lands at their new base camp in the Hallelujah Mountains, and Jake and Norm marvel at the floating mountains.
- Extended Montage: Jake learns the ways of the Pandoran forest under Neytiri's tutelage, and the gulf between his two worlds grows ever wider.
- Neytiri's Flyby: As Tsu'tey, Jake and two other young hunters travel across suspended vines to dizzying heights, Neytiri sails past on her banshee.
- Sturmbeest Hunt: Omaticayan hunters on direhorses attack a massive herd of sturmbeests, while Jake takes aim from atop his banshee.
- Extended Love Scene: Jake and Neytiri confess their feelings for one another and bond together for life under the Tree of Voices in this extended scene.
- Drums of War: The morning after the military's attack on the Tree of Voices, Parker and Quaritch get some bad news from the reconnaissance team.
- Tsu'tey's Fall: In the RDA assault, Tsu'tey fights fiercely after boarding the Valkyrie shuttle. But the soldiers counter with a hail of bullets.
- Strumbeest Attack: Sturmbeests charge to the rescue when Neytiri is cornered by RDA soldiers in AMP suits.
- Extended Thanator Fight: Neytiri and her fearsome thanator battle Colonel Quaritch in his AMP suit in this extended sequence.
- The Last Shadow: When Neytiri and Jake find Tsu'tey mortally wounded, he passes leadership of the Omaticaya to Jake, with one last request of him.
- ConnectionsEdited into Bones: The Gamer in the Grease (2009)
- SoundtracksI See You (Theme from Avatar)
Performed by Leona Lewis
Music by James Horner and Simon Franglen
Lyrics by Simon Franglen, Kuk Harrell, and James Horner
Produced by Simon Franglen and James Horner
Leona Lewis performs courtesy of Syco Music
Featured review
A film with the scope of James Cameron's Avatar was always going to be a risk both artistically and financially, especially in today's economic climate. Whether it will pay off monetarily is a question only time can answer, but this viewer can at the very least attest to it being an artistic triumph.
Avatar brings us as close as cinema ever has to actually visiting an alien world. The beautiful environs, the exotic creatures and incredibly lifelike natives of Pandora arrest the senses, visually, aurally and emotionally. The world in Avatar is the true star of the show. The amount of detail and work that has gone into bringing this new world alive is seriously impressive, and it will be a while before we see anything that overtakes it in scope and quality. WETA Workshop and ILM have truly outdone themselves.
Relative newcomer, Aussie Sam Worthington provides a solid human heart amongst all the science-fiction/fantasy beauty and Zoe Saldana gives an impressive performance as the 8 foot tall Na'vi, Neytiri. Even though the characters they both play are blue, giant, catlike aliens, they managed to evoke a chemistry and likability that pierces through the special effects.
That's not to say that everything is perfect. The story is basic and dare I say, clichéd and predictable. We have seen it plenty of times in all forms of media. The bad guys are cartoonishly evil, and sadly paper thin. The love story, while charming, is also clichéd despite being between man and alien. But in the face of these shortcomings, Avatar is a success because its storytelling lies in the brilliant visuals.
Avatar is a beautiful piece of film and a true event. It does exactly what cinema was always intended to - it takes us away from our problems and worries for a few hours and gives us memorable images which will undoubtedly and deservedly enter into the cultural lexicon to stay for the foreseeable future.
9.5/10
Avatar brings us as close as cinema ever has to actually visiting an alien world. The beautiful environs, the exotic creatures and incredibly lifelike natives of Pandora arrest the senses, visually, aurally and emotionally. The world in Avatar is the true star of the show. The amount of detail and work that has gone into bringing this new world alive is seriously impressive, and it will be a while before we see anything that overtakes it in scope and quality. WETA Workshop and ILM have truly outdone themselves.
Relative newcomer, Aussie Sam Worthington provides a solid human heart amongst all the science-fiction/fantasy beauty and Zoe Saldana gives an impressive performance as the 8 foot tall Na'vi, Neytiri. Even though the characters they both play are blue, giant, catlike aliens, they managed to evoke a chemistry and likability that pierces through the special effects.
That's not to say that everything is perfect. The story is basic and dare I say, clichéd and predictable. We have seen it plenty of times in all forms of media. The bad guys are cartoonishly evil, and sadly paper thin. The love story, while charming, is also clichéd despite being between man and alien. But in the face of these shortcomings, Avatar is a success because its storytelling lies in the brilliant visuals.
Avatar is a beautiful piece of film and a true event. It does exactly what cinema was always intended to - it takes us away from our problems and worries for a few hours and gives us memorable images which will undoubtedly and deservedly enter into the cultural lexicon to stay for the foreseeable future.
9.5/10
- NonSequiturL
- Dec 15, 2009
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Avatar: An IMAX 3D Experience
- Filming locations
- Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA(rain forest)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $237,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $785,221,649
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $77,025,481
- Dec 20, 2009
- Gross worldwide
- $2,923,706,026
- Runtime2 hours 42 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
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