Zenith of Cinematic Brilliance!

How else can one describe James Cameron's "Avatar" which is even beyond what a common man can dream? At the core, "Avatar" is just another sci- fi movie that Hollywood churns out with a certain regularity- It talks about a different planet, a different race of people, a different set of flora and fauna and finally, about the American attitude of invading everyone and everything.

What makes it different from Independence Day or Jurassic Park is the sheer vision of that one person- James Cameron and his bold experiment that has costed close to 2000 crores of Indian Rupees- money enough to feed the entire population of India for one year!

Its only when you sit through the movie with your 3D glasses on that you realize that not a single penny has gone waste, for such is the sheer brilliance with which Avatar has been made. Avatar unfolds in AD 2154 when the world is facing an energy crisis and American scientists have discovered a rare metal called "Unobtanium" on planet Pandora that is inhabited by Navis- blue colored, tailed and angular faced huge creatures. The mineral can be excavated only if the Navis leave their village and with this end in view, they create Avatars of 2 human beings- a lady scientist (played brilliantly by Sigourney Weaver) and a wheel chair bound Army man. The Avatars are released into Pandora and they take only little time to get close to the Navis- so close that they become one among the Navis and start opposing the plan to vacate the Navis from their village.

All hell breaks lose and it is for the Navis and the Avatars to fight the humans who are armed with Robots, Missiles and Warplanes. Fight they do, with their bows and arrows and also with the help of those unexplainable creatures that walk the Pandora. The movie ends with the human race conceding defeat and leaving Pandora for good.

The basic premise is the good winning over evil story that is part of all religious textbooks and mythology known to mankind. But the CGI enabled visuals of Pandora that Cameron creates need to be seen to be believed. He takes the audience with him to Pandora and gives them that one cinematic experience that is likely to last beyond his lifetime. And the best part is the human angle and personal traits that he gives to each of his characters so that when they play out before you, you start relating to the mind of the character and not over his/ her cartoonish looks.

Cameron deserves a tight hug for having come out with something like "Avatar"- every moment of his 12 year toil was worth it and you realize that as you leave the theatres in awe of the sheer brilliance of James Cameron!