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Avatar

  • 2009
  • PG-13
  • 2h 42m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
1.3M
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
223
6
Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Zoe Saldana, and Sam Worthington in Avatar (2009)
Jake Sully (Worthington) is a paraplegic war veteran who is brought to the planet Pandora to participate in a program designed to help him walk again. The program introduces him to his avatar, a creature whose genetics are half human and half Na'vi, a sentient humanoid race who inhabit Pandora. In time, Jake will find himself in the middle of an escalating conflict between the two races.
Play trailer3:36
36 Videos
99+ Photos
ActionAdventureFantasy

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.

  • Director
    • James Cameron
  • Writer
    • James Cameron
  • Stars
    • Sam Worthington
    • Zoe Saldana
    • Sigourney Weaver
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.9/10
    1.3M
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    223
    6
    • Director
      • James Cameron
    • Writer
      • James Cameron
    • Stars
      • Sam Worthington
      • Zoe Saldana
      • Sigourney Weaver
    • 3.8KUser reviews
    • 506Critic reviews
    • 83Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 3 Oscars
      • 89 wins & 131 nominations total

    Videos36

    Avatar: Trailer #2
    Trailer 3:36
    Watch Avatar: Trailer #2
    Avatar: Trailer #1
    Trailer 19:38
    Watch Avatar: Trailer #1
    Avatar
    Trailer 1:33
    Watch Avatar
    What Roles Has Chris Evans Been Considered For?
    Clip 3:41
    Watch What Roles Has Chris Evans Been Considered For?
    'Avatar' | Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:31
    Watch 'Avatar' | Anniversary Mashup
    What We Know About 'Avatar 2' ... So Far
    Clip 2:53
    Watch What We Know About 'Avatar 2' ... So Far
    A Guide to the Films of James Cameron
    Clip 1:27
    Watch A Guide to the Films of James Cameron
    Avatar
    Clip 0:32
    Watch Avatar
    Avatar
    Clip 1:31
    Watch Avatar
    Avatar
    Clip 1:49
    Watch Avatar
    Avatar
    Clip 1:38
    Watch Avatar
    Avatar
    Clip 1:21
    Watch Avatar

    Photos421

    Stephen Lang in Avatar (2009)
    Wes Studi in Avatar (2009)
    Sigourney Weaver in Avatar (2009)
    Laz Alonso in Avatar (2009)
    Sam Worthington in Avatar (2009)
    Sigourney Weaver and Sam Worthington in Avatar (2009)
    Sigourney Weaver in Avatar (2009)
    Michelle Rodriguez in Avatar (2009)
    CCH Pounder in Avatar (2009)
    Michelle Rodriguez in Avatar (2009)
    Stephen Lang in Avatar (2009)
    Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington in Avatar (2009)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Sam Worthington
    Sam Worthington
    • Jake Sully
    Zoe Saldana
    Zoe Saldana
    • Neytiri
    • (as Zoë Saldana)
    Sigourney Weaver
    Sigourney Weaver
    • Dr. Grace Augustine
    Michelle Rodriguez
    Michelle Rodriguez
    • Trudy Chacón
    Stephen Lang
    Stephen Lang
    • Colonel Miles Quaritch
    Giovanni Ribisi
    Giovanni Ribisi
    • Parker Selfridge
    Joel David Moore
    Joel David Moore
    • Norm Spellman
    CCH Pounder
    CCH Pounder
    • Mo'at
    • (as Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder)
    Wes Studi
    Wes Studi
    • Eytukan
    Laz Alonso
    Laz Alonso
    • Tsu'tey
    Dileep Rao
    Dileep Rao
    • Dr. Max Patel
    Matt Gerald
    Matt Gerald
    • Corporal Lyle Wainfleet
    Sean Anthony Moran
    Sean Anthony Moran
    • Private Fike
    Jason Whyte
    • Cryo Vault Med Tech
    Scott Lawrence
    Scott Lawrence
    • Venture Star Crew Chief
    Kelly Kilgour
    • Lock Up Trooper
    James Patrick Pitt
    James Patrick Pitt
    • Shuttle Pilot
    • (as James Pitt)
    Sean Patrick Murphy
    Sean Patrick Murphy
    • Shuttle Co-Pilot
    • Director
      • James Cameron
    • Writer
      • James Cameron
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The 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.
    • Goofs
      When 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 credits
      There are no opening credits of any kind (outside of the 20th Century Fox title card). The title of the film doesn't appear on screen until the end of the movie.
    • Alternate versions
      "Avatar: Special Edition" was released theatrically less than a year after the original release, it contains approximately eight minutes of extra footage, including new creatures and action scenes.
    • Connections
      Edited into Bones: The Gamer in the Grease (2009)
    • Soundtracks
      I 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

    User reviews3.8K

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    One of the best cinematic experiences ever...
    Forgive me, I'm going to jump from professional to fan boy for a while here. I haven't had the jitters after a film the way I've had for Avatar in quite sometime. James Cameron's Avatar is the most entertaining and enthralling cinematic experiences of my life. It is incredible, simply put. What Cameron has done here is the most passionate film project put out since Steven Spielberg released Schindler's List. His attention to detail and his zeal for pushing the envelope is so admirable to any filmmaker or actor who will ever do another film from this point on.

    Avatar is the story of Jake Sully, a paraplegic marine, who replaces his brother on a secret mission to infiltrate the Na' vi, the colony of beings that sit on the planet of Pandora, where there is a precious ore, that sells at a ridiculous amount. When Jake learns the ways of the Na' vi, his feelings and learnings will put him and the people he trusts in dangerous jeopardy.

    The performances here, in the sense of reacting, becoming, and understanding what Cameron has written are astounding. Not to be confused with a sensational bravura performance from some of the centuries best such as Marion Brando, Tom Hanks, or Diane Keaton; these actors along with the director inhabit these visual transformations with special effects as if they are have lived these beings all their lives. This is all based on character movements and reactions. Sam Worthington, as Jake Sully, is an actor who's on his way to becoming a star. Though he has problems with his Aussie accent often enough in the film, he gets the job done. Zoe Saldana, who plays Neytiri, a Na' vi huntress, is thrilling and electrifying. Stephen Lang, as the rock hard Colonel Miles, takes on a villainous turn to a new level in science fiction. He offers actual emotion and emotes evil to the audience and gains our hatred easily. Sigourney Weaver as the beautiful Dr. Grace, is sufficient enough to have on screen again teamed with Cameron. She lives inside her role with effortless ease, but suffers from some of the typical James Cameron cheesy lines.

    Narratively the film works perfectly on the cinematic level. The first forty minutes or so require patience and hope as it is the weakest part of the film and offers some dreariness, but when the second act takes off, it's sky high with no limits for James Cameron. Avatar delivers the best action sequences put on film of all time. That is the boldest statement I have ever made in all my years of criticism. I sat on this for two days before charging it out, but I mean it. It is the best visual experience of my life, period.

    Other than those visuals, the film pops with all the other technical aspects thrown into one. Art Direction is killer as the two worlds blend in perfectly for an acceptable time. The Film Editing is the crowning achievement of the film as it also offers the perfect blend of the two worlds, enticing the viewer and shifting us around. Mauro Fiore is the threat for a Cinematography Oscar this year. It was if the viewer sat down in a chair, put on glasses, and was literally placed on Pandora, spaceships, and floating mountains. The viewer can feel so engulfed by the imagery, you feel like you can smell the leaves from the trees. Avatar is utterly hypnotizing. James Horner's score is some of the best work done in his career. It offers a variable of devastation that moves the viewer to near tears. It goes back to his work on Titanic, where the musical instruments lifted the material immensely. The entire sound team is also locked and loaded for Oscar recognition as the feeling of animals, machines, and arrows buzzing by your head leave you imprisoned in Cameron's exquisite film.

    James Cameron has come back home ladies and gentlemen Cameron is back, bigger, badder, and mature in his crowning work of his career. Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Titanic do not even compare anymore. This is the film that can blend the fans of those two films together and lock Cameron into your heart. He's a definite spoiler for a directing bid for the Academy Awards. You have admire the raw, natural talent the man has. How could you ever conceive such an experience and put that much effort and work into it and have it pay off? The box office success will surely keep him in the minds of voters for various critics' awards. His screenplay, leaps and bounds better than 1997's Best Picture Winner, is primed, developed and ripe for the taking. Though, you do acquire the tacky and atypical dialogue you expect from a science fiction director of this caliber, you can appreciate the effort and the honesty of it all. James Cameron is everything Michael Bay wishes he was, to put it bluntly.

    Avatar will bring also great actors putting their best foot forward such as Giovanni Ribisi, who is as underrated as they come. Michelle Rodriguez who exudes sexy like any woman starring in a sci-fi epic. Joel Moore, showing his range outside of his comedic work in Dodgeball: An Underdog Story. And the classy veteran actors, CCH Pounder and Wes Studi, who just simply don't work enough.

    Avatar is one of the best films of the year. The most exciting, thrilling, and superb work you'll feast your eyes on in any theater this century. Cinema, forever, will remember the benchmark that James Cameron placed not only for himself, but for any man, daring to change the game, the way Cameron did. Avatar is a movie experience to be remembered, and please experience in a movie theater first.

    ***½/****
    helpful•1.6K
    1K
    • ClaytonDavis
    • Dec 14, 2009

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    50+ Movies in the Billion-Dollar Film Club

    50+ Movies in the Billion-Dollar Film Club

    Only 51 films have reached the $1 billion mark. Take a look at the top-grossing movies of all time, including Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
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    FAQ15

    • What's meant to happen to Sully's Navi/"Avatar" body, when his human body gets woken up on-base? And between sessions? We never see Navi-Jake returning to base; Is his switched-off Navi body just laying comatose, in a forest full of predators? Do the real Navi just think Jake has narcolepsy?
    • Did Colette Hiller (Cpl. Ferro in Aliens) play the air traffic controller in the ops center?
    • What is 'Avatar' about?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 18, 2009 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official Facebook
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Avatar: An IMAX 3D Experience
    • Filming locations
      • Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA(rain forest)
    • Production companies
      • Twentieth Century Fox
      • Dune Entertainment
      • Lightstorm Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • 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
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 42 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS
      • SDDS
      • Dolby Atmos

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