James Cameron’s imagination and use of technology featured in the 2009 hit movie, Avatar are extremely impressive. Although the storytelling principle of the movie seems repetitive, the special effects and choice of actors help make this film an incredible one.
Cameron began development for Avatar in 1994, but felt that the technology at the time would not fit his portrayal for the movie. Years later when the appropriate resources became available, the highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada was finally created. The special effects in this film are phenomenal but it is the actual avatar creation which gives the movie its name and importance. These unbelievable 9-foot blue creatures live on the dangerous planet of Pandora which is filled with a rare mineral “unobtanium.” These alien-like humanoids called the Na’vi were created through a new 3D technology unlike anything seen before. The director’s performance capture is innovative because Cameron uses a digitized computer image to create the avatars through live human action. Not only are the special effects for these luminous creations spectacular, but the actors chosen for the role of the Na’vi are gripping and completely capture the character.
James Cameron did an amazing job when it came to casting the roles in Avatar because he decided on actors that were completely believable for the part. For instance, the main character of the film, quadriplegic marine Jake Sully, is played by Sam Worthington, a 30 year-old who was living out of his car before he successfully auditioned for the lead role in Avatar. Worthington is a believable character because he gives off a quality that is real since he had not participated in a major feature film before. Cameron’s film connects with the audience because he convinces them that they share an emotional connection with the characters, despite their non-human appearance.
It is without a doubt that James Cameron did an outstanding job on the actual creation of Avatar through the infusion of real life human action with a computer generated image. Whether or not the audience enjoyed the storytelling aspect of the film which was rather cliché, the visual effects used to create the ground-breaking movie was enough to keep the audience in wonder. This film grossed in over $1.858 billion breaking the Titanic Worldwide Box-Office record and upon completion it has been stated that success in the first Avatar film would result in two sequels. I think it is safe to say that we can expect a sequel due to James Cameron’s success in 2009’s hit movie, Avatar.
