By Chris Magarian, ’11, Contributor

While I haven’t seen many movies in the past few months, I knew I had to see Avatar.  Before I saw everyone talking about it on Facebook, I really didn’t know much about it—I hadn’t even seen the trailer. I quickly went to YouTube to find it, and was amazed.

I finally saw the film on Christmas night with my brothers and sister.  I have to say, this is one of the longest and most captivating films I’ve ever seen.  As I put on the 3-D glasses and prepared to experience the IMAX experience I was practically shaking.  Beyond the amazing CGI and impressive soundtrack that makes this movie special, there are some very interesting religious and political undertones thrown in.

The movie takes place in the future. There is a new planet called Pandora, and the human-like creatures that inhabit it are called Na’vi.  The Na’vi are like Native Americans—they are one with nature.  The god they worship is Eywa, which is basically the universal life force of Pandora.  Eywa is everything and everyone.  The goal of the humans on Pandora is to obtain a precious element called Unobtanium, which is supposed to solve the energy crisis on earth.

In terms of the actual meaning of the movie I wouldn’t say it was the best, but it was very well-made and was everything I expected from a $500 million movie that took 12 years to make. There has been some speculation that Avatar is nothing but Pocahontas set in the future—I agree; however, the storyline of Pocahontas is one used in many movies. After all, the objective was to give the audience an experience they would not forget. All I can hope for is that it doesn’t take James Cameron 12 years to make another great movie like this one.

Photo courtesy of eonline.com.