True Blue

Related to the Titanic theme, I saw James Cameron’s Avatar in 3D in the IMAX theatre too. Conceived 14 years ago and over 4 years in the making, Avatar breaks new ground in delivering a fully immersive, emotional story and reinvents the movie-going experience. I have Avatar on DVD, but had wanted to see it on the big screen, so when IMAX brought it back I decided to go. It is definitely the way to view the movie, as IMAX have digitally re-mastered it with unparalleled crystal clear images, laser-aligned digital sound quality, and maximised field of view - the most immersive movie experience. I could see how the CGI technology has only just evolved to do this justice.
It is live action with new generation special effects - a spectacular new world beyond our imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on a journey of redemption, discovery and unexpected love - an epic action adventure fantasy.

Seen through the eyes of Jake Scully (Sam Worthington) a former Marine now confined to a wheelchair, who is recruited to the human outpost on the planet Pandora where a ruthless mining corporation is extracting a rare mineral that can solve Earth’s energy crisis. Due to the planet’s toxic atmosphere, they have created a program where humans have their consciousness linked to an avatar – a genetically engineered remotely-controlled biological hybrid.
Jake’s mission is to infiltrate the native Na'vi population, after Neytiri saves Jake’s life he is taken into the clan and gradually learns to respect the Na'vi’s relationship with the planet. Ultimately Jake leads a heroic battle to save an alien civilisation he comes to call home.
While the story may be predictable, you can forget all that as you become engrossed with the visual feast. While I admired Sam’s acting, it is the special effects which are the stars of the film – the floating islands are the best, closely followed by the luminescent plants – great, great effects.