I see you too

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think there’s ever been any film that was released before the Metro Manila Film Festival, had to be put on hold for it, and then shown again to packed theaters—to the collective relief of so many filmgoers who’d been waiting with bated breaths and cursing the MMFF for greedily gobbling up their movie-watching days! Three minutes before the last full show of Avatar was to begin on Saturday night, I was still in line, waiting to get tickets, because there were so many people in the queue. I don’t think I’d ever seen anything like it, so far from the premiere date.

Then again, I don’t think I’d ever seen anything like Avatar before.

According to the wiki mill, it took Titanic director James Cameron 15 years to make this film. He supposedly had to wait for technology to catch up with his vision. Well, I’m glad he did, because had he released the film after Titanic, it probably wouldn’t have been as breath-taking.

Avatar presents us with a world so far into the future that we humans have ruined the earth and have to start mining other planets and heavenly bodies for profit. In this case, it’s a strange and beautiful moon called Pandora, with human-like inhabitants that seem primitive to the uninformed, but are actually rather advanced to the enlightened.

RDA, a mining company, is after a mineral cheekily called “unobtanium,” which sells for $20 million a kilo. On Pandora, it’s represented by Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi), who’s prepared to use force if diplomatically convincing the “blue monkeys,” the Na’vi people, to move from the rich mining ground they’re living on proves impossible.

“Convincing” them means using avatars—or bodies made of human DNA and Na’vi DNA—controlled remotely by their human DNA sources. One of these avatars was supposed to be controlled by former marine and paraplegic Jake Sully’s (Sam Worthington) scientist twin brother, but when his brother is killed, Jake is asked by RDA to take his place, as access to avatars is limited to those who share their DNA profile.

Jake Sully’s avatar manages to infiltrate the Na’vi tribe and become one of its people. While at first he was doing reconnaissance for both research and military arms of RDA, he slowly falls in love with the Na’vi ways and people—one in particular, his host, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). He also comes to understand what head scientist Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) is trying to figure out—how everything on Pandora is connected like one huge neurosystem—just when Selfridge gives the military arm the green light to destroy the Na’vi’s homes. Sully suddenly finds himself torn between his species and protecting Pandora.

We know what he chooses—or else there wouldn’t have been this movie.

While the plot is predictable and the James Cameron-penned script is nothing to write home about, Avatar is a must-see, because of its spectacular visuals. Everything about Pandora is just amazing, from the littlest insect to the biggest bird-like creatures to the amazing practices of the Na’vi tribe. It should only be watched in 3D or, better yet, IMAX.

“It’s like seeing the future for the very first time,” said one of my college friends, who also asserted that the story was mediocre. Yes, it’s like that. And seeing realistic Pandora and its inhabitants is also seeing the future of film-making.

Another friend told me that Avatar divides films into BA (Before Avatar) and AA (After Avatar) categories, and I totally agree. Going beyond that, I now find myself wishing I’d seen many of my favorite films in 3D too—like the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I have to say, for James Cameron, whose last project prior to this was the mega hit Titanic, it was worth the wait.

Now, if only he hired a better writer.

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