Avatar
Set in the year 2154, the story follows Jake Sully, a paraplegic former Marine who is sent to the distant moon of Pandora. Humans are mining a rare and incredibly valuable mineral called Unobtanium, but the moon’s atmosphere is toxic to them. To interact with the indigenous Na'vi—ten-foot-tall, blue-skinned humanoids—scientists have created "Avatars." These are biological bodies grown from Na'vi DNA and mentally linked to human "drivers." Jake is recruited to replace his deceased twin brother, a scientist, because their identical DNA allows him to link with the Avatar body.
While exploring the bioluminescent forests of Pandora, Jake is separated from his team and nearly killed by predators. He is rescued by Neytiri, a fierce Na'vi warrior and the daughter of the Omatikaya clan's leader. Neytiri’s mother, the clan's spiritual leader, senses a sign from their deity, Eywa, and orders Neytiri to teach Jake their ways. Initially, Jake acts as a spy for Colonel Miles Quaritch, promising to provide intelligence on the Na'vi’s weaknesses in exchange for a surgery that would restore the use of his legs.
As Jake spends more time with the Na'vi, his loyalties begin to shift. He learns to hunt, bond with a flying Ikran (Banshee), and understands the "Way of Life"—a deep, neural connection that links all living things on Pandora to each other and to the planet itself. He falls in love with Neytiri and realized that the Na'vi will never leave their home, the massive "Hometree," because it is a sacred site. Jake eventually undergoes a ritual to become a full member of the Omatikaya, turning his back on his original mission.
The conflict turns violent when the RDA corporation decides to stop negotiating and use force to clear the Na'vi from the Unobtanium deposit located directly under Hometree. Despite Jake’s desperate attempts to warn the clan and negotiate peace, Colonel Quaritch launches a brutal aerial assault. Using gas and incendiary missiles, the humans destroy Hometree, killing the Na'vi leader and leaving the clan in ruins. Jake and the sympathetic scientists are branded as traitors by the RDA and outcasts by the devastated Na'vi.
To regain the trust of the Na'vi and save their world, Jake performs a near-impossible feat: he tames the Toruk, a massive and legendary flying predator. By becoming "Toruk Makto," a mythic hero, he unites all the different Na'vi clans to wage a final war against the "Sky People" (humans). Jake leads a massive counter-attack to prevent the RDA from destroying the Tree of Souls, the most sacred biological network on Pandora.
The climax is a spectacular war between human technology and the forces of nature. Just as the Na'vi are about to be defeated, the wildlife of Pandora—responding to a prayer Jake made to Eywa—joins the battle, overwhelming the human forces. In a final showdown, Jake and Neytiri kill Colonel Quaritch. With the war over, the humans are forced to return to their dying Earth. In a final sacred ritual, the Na'vi use the Tree of Souls to permanently transfer Jake’s consciousness into his Avatar body. He opens his eyes as a Na'vi, finally home in his true form.
Original movie poster
