I flew into theatre 20-30 minutes after the movie had started. I thought of the 3D comics
in my childhood when they handed me over a pair of 3D glasses to watch the movie. The scene was from the time when Neyitri takes Jake Sully to Na’vi land.
I had the feeling of a video game as Sully and Neyitri move around the trees. The 3D effect was also not very noticeable but for the floating seeds of Eyra. The plot was old- one group of beings fighting another group. The movie felt only a technology- marvel taking the fight to an inter-planetary level and nothing spectacular I imagined.However, as the movie went ahead, it became engrossing and then I felt, "This is what I expected. This is spectacular! This is the next level of human evolution I crave for!"
I’ll talk about cerrtain scenes from the movie which took my greater notice than other scenes. I’d also describe what I felt about those scenes from my perspective.
As Sully went on to learning the Na’vi way of life, the movie started building interest. The Na’vi world was like a Utopia for human world- life taken to such a spiritual and functional level where everything becomes One and a balance of Death and Life is maintained.
On seeing the human world, thoughts of earlier inter-planetary/alien movies flashed in my mind. James Cameron has made a complete turn around. Humans are the aggressors and the aliens here. The way story unfolds and the way it is portrayed, I was no longer a human but a Na’vi myself. I had bonded with Na’vis as the life of Na’vi reminded me of my alien existense in human world. James shows human greed, our greed, puts us ’the humans’ in Na’vi place and shows what humans can do to us as Na’vis.
The "HomeTree" is where the Omaticaya tribe of Na’vi lives. There are no walls of houses separating people from each other. The leaves of the Hometree are their beds. I looked in astonishment at the harmony between nature and Na’vi. Na’vi did not exploit nature while nature provided them what they needed.
Sully is initiated into the tribe after he successfully gets his own Banshee to ride. It is said that not the Na’vi but the Banshee chooses the person who’d ride it. Apart from the stunts involved here, an interesting thing is that the sign to know which Banshee has chosen the person is that the Banshee would want to kill the person. However, when bond is made, the Banshee becomes that person’s ride for the whole life. It is a remarkable trait that on Pandora, when a commitment is made it is honored.
Na’vi culture is also similar to some of the religious groups of humans where it is believed that the rites of passage is akin to a second birth of the person.
As a pre-emptive strike is made by humans against the Na’vis, I’m reminded of the wars on earth. Human greed makes them launch a war on people who are not really a threat to humans. Col. Quaritch incites his soldiers describing Na’vi as hostiles whereas they only want to save their HomeTree from being destroyed to mine the resources under it.
Sully, now a Na’vi, launches defensive strikes against the humans. The impact of 3D is felt when a human soldier is shown shooting Na’vis with his back toward the audience. It feels that we are right out there with the soldier killing Na’vis for human wants. I shudder at the thought.
The spiritual forces of Eyri and nature are highlighted when Eyri answers Sully’s prayer and brings forth the common bond amongst all of Pandora’s inhabitants. Life on the whole planet unites to thwart off human aggression and emerges victorious.
An amazing contrast is seen when Col. Quaritch engages in battle against Neytiri and Sully. Quaritch gets into his AMP suit and maneuvers it similar to Neytiri maneuvering her Banshee. I see it as a battle between technology and nature. I root for nature to win against the evils of technology, at the same time wondering how they can achieve the balance of Na’vi way of life.
The movie ends with ’alien humans’ deporting to their ’sick and dying’ planet which they had stripped off of its resources. May be they will learn someday to live in harmony with nature where all are a part of One Earth.
TIDBITS
Toruk, the beast Sully rides toward the end of movie, reminds of riding a ThunderBird inspiring awe among people.
The unit of distance used by humans in the movie is ’Clicks.’ It seems as distance being measured in analogy to the number of clicks required to get to a site, the distance in virtual world.
The character of Dr Patel brings forth the vision of Indian characters in Hollywood. I often see Indians gaining importance as part of the leading group in a movie. Is there a stereotype of Indian characters?
Col. Quaritch toward end of movie calls upon Sully betraying his own race. The choice Sully makes is between good and evil, and not something irrelevant as racial difference.