Avatar Recap

Have you ever watched a movie that transported you to a different world? Where could you do whatever you wanted? This is the case for the infamous Avatar. Not Avatar the Last Airbender, but the one with the blue people. Yes. You heard me right—the blue people. And I’m not talking about the Smurfs! In this article, I will recap the first movie of this amazing series to get you ready for the third one that is coming out soon.

To start off, I’ll recap the first movie. Directed by James Cameron, the first movie is about a paraplegic (someone with paralysis in the lower body) man named Jake Sully who works with the Navy but is sent on a mission to the moon Pandora. Pandora is a moon of a gas planet in the Alpha Centauri star system. This moon helps protect the valuable unobtanium, a mineral that produces electricity without losing any energy. 

Jake is directed to Pandora to take his deceased brother’s place in the Avatar program. What is the Avatar program, you ask? Well, this program allowed humans to explore the hostile environment of Pandora without endangering human life. The program works by creating genetically engineered Na’vi-human hybrids, which they call avatars. Then, as if the body is their own, humans remotely control the avatar. 

But what is the purpose of all this? The answer lies in the precious unobtanium, which is vital to make technological advancements. The Resources Development Administration of the Navy (RDA) is mining unobtanium, threatening the Na’vi population and the environment. When Jake enters Pandora for unobtanium, he is driven into the forest by dangerous wildlife. Saved by the Na’vi princess Neytiri, she invites him into her clan. RDA promises Jake that they will restore his legs if he provides information about the Na’vi and their gathering place, the Hometree. 

The Hometree has a rich deposit of unobtanium under its huge roots. When Jake is initiated into the Na’vi tribe, he falls in love with Neytiri, and they choose each other as mates. When Jake attempts to shut down a bulldozer that is threatening a sacred Na’vi site, Administrator Parker Selfridge orders the Hometree to be destroyed. Even though Dr. Grace Augustine, head of the Avatar program, says that if they destroy the Hometree, then the interconnected neurons that encompass all Pandoran life will get damaged, Selfridge gives her and Jake one hour to convince the Na’vi to evacuate. 

Jake confesses that he was a spy, and the Na’vi take him and Grace captive. After one hour, no one evacuated, and the Hometree was destroyed. Many people were killed, including Neytiri’s father, the chief. Jake and Grace are freed from the Na’vi, but are soon captured by the RDA. Pilot Trudy Chacon is against this action and airlifts them to Grace’s outpost. But during this escape, Grace gets shot and fatally wounded. Jake finds help by going to the Na’vi. He regains their trust by connecting his mind to a Toruk, a dragon-like creature that is feared by the Na’vi. Supported by Neytiri and the new chief Tsu’tey, Jake unites all the clans of Pandora to fight the RDA. 

Before the battle, Jake prays to the Na’vi deity Eywa. In the beginning of the battle, the clans realize that they aren’t going to win the battle. They are rescued when Pandoran wildlife suddenly join them, and frighten the humans away, which Neytiri interprets as Eywa answering their prayer. When the battle ends, all avatars from RDA are expelled from Pandora, except for Jake, who is transformed permanently into his avatar.

Would you want to be transported to Pandora? Would you want to be an Avatar? I sure would! Although this movie is not realistic, it will forever be in filmmaking history. The language that they speak was made by the makers, the makeup (blue people!) was so incredible, and the sets are just… I can’t even describe it! Avatar, Pandora, the Hometree, and everything else in the Pandoran world make my perfect movie!