AVATAR

Released in 2009, just in time to qualify for the Oscars, Avatar looks far better than the teaser clip that tried to lure us in earlier. Back then, the characters—stripped of context—seemed like little more than blue caricatures. Now, however, they manage to elicit empathy, even affection. The concept of a planet—Pandora—being exploited for a rare and valuable mineral isn't groundbreaking in itself. But the way it's brought to life, through imagery of stunning clarity and visual richness, would likely have made Jules Verne envious.

Especially since the holograms—once confined to the dreams imagined in The Carpathian Castle—now float through the air as interactive 3D maps, responding to the mere touch of a fingertip. The lab scenes evoke the atmosphere of The Abyss (also directed by James Cameron), while the underwater sequences gently nod to Titanic, the film that earned him the crown as “King of the Movie World.”

The “avatars” themselves are hybrid creations—fusions of human DNA with that of Pandora’s indigenous inhabitants. The result? A new, athletic body, perfectly adapted to the planet—though back on Earth, such creatures would appear rather strange: tall, blue-skinned beings with tails and enormous eyes. The protagonist’s physical transformation becomes a metaphor for rebirth, but also for the rupture between two worlds.

Visually, the film is hypnotic: glowing flora, floating jellyfish-like creatures that move like celestial ballerinas, living forests that breathe and respond. It’s a world that takes your breath away, with an organic and magical beauty. As is fashionable these days, the film includes nightmarish beasts, a fully constructed fictional language, and countless cinematic references—to Dances with Wolves, Apocalypto, and even The Matrix.

The film clearly carries a pacifist, ecological, and anti-colonialist message—though it doesn’t shy away from explosive action sequences that seem pulled straight from high-octane video games. All in all, it’s a total spectacle, one that demands to be seen in IMAX—not only because it's available to us, but because it's the only way to truly experience such a fantastic world. A two-hour-and-forty-five-minute visual getaway that, in the end, does no harm. On the contrary! (Irina Margareta Nistor, film critic)