When my best friend told me that I should watch Avatar I originally thought that she was kidding. I have always hated animated movies and refused to watch anything that had been described in such a way. After frequently feeling excluded because of the constant conversations about the film, I figured I might as well watch it. Since everyone thought it was so “awesome” I gathered that it couldn’t be that bad. I can honestly say that I was blown away by how extraordinary it was. I had never experienced anything like it. It silenced all doubters of the movie, including myself, by purely delivering an astonishing film.

The story is set in 2154 and involves a new world called Pandora that holds a rich source of a mineral that Earth desperately needs. Unfortunately, the biggest deposit of the prized substance lies underneath the home of the Na’vi, ten feet tall, blue skinned creatures who have been at war with the humans trying to invade their land. The earth’s corporate team in charge doesn’t want to take the mineral by force, unless they have to. They have genetically grown half alien half human bodies that can explore Pandora. While acting as avatars they see, taste, and feel like Na’vi, and have the same physical attributes. This is liberating for the hero, Jake Sully, who is a paraplegic. He was recruited because he was a genetic match for his dead identical twin who an expensive avatar had already been made for. The main question throughout the film was whether or not Jake would be able to talk the Na’vi into leaving their home of their own free will, because if he wasn’t able to, the military would go after the mineral they wanted anyway, destroying both the creatures and their precious land. Jake becomes torn between following his orders and protecting a new world that he feels is his home.

The movie is something that no one has ever seen before. It stretches the imagination and is sincerely a visually fantastic film. It is filled with mountains that float, six-legged horses, trees one thousand feet tall, and strange gliding objects that look like jellyfish. There are flying dragon-like creatures portrayed as well. One daunting dragon was eventually caught and tamed by Sully which is probably one of the film’s best sequences. Avatar really excites and entertains people with these aspects of fantasy, something many other films fail at.

Whether a viewer likes chick flicks or million dollar action sequences, this film has something for everyone. Neytiri, the daughter of a Na’vi leader, and Jake instantly connect… just not in a good way. After saving Jake from wild animals he is bewildered as to why. She states that she saved him because she can tell he has “a strong heart” and “no fear,” but was “stupid” and “ignorant like a child.” She also calls him a skxawng in Avatar language, which means moron. Just like in romantic comedies the two of them don’t necessarily like each other in the beginning, but end up passionately in love with each other by the conclusion of the film. While many women have fallen for the movie because of the romance, many men are drawn to the amazing action scenes. There is almost constant battling whether it is between Jake and wild animals, Jake and the Na’vi tribe, or the human military and the Na’vi tribe. The hours fly by when watching and viewers wouldn’t have it any other way.

One of the core messages hidden in Avatar is anti-war. Pandora represents not even a remote threat to earth, but the military is shown sending in troops to attack and conquer the Na’vi. Warriors are seen charging their homes carrying machine guns and pilots are seen bombing their land. Humans destroyed a “perfect” world out of both blindness and greed. I feel that this is a great message to show the world.

Avatar was incredible to watch. It was one of the movies that I thought about for weeks after seeing it and I absolutely loved the entire thing. Normally I will not admit that I was wrong about much, but this time I was clearly mistaken. I figured that the movie would be ridiculous and boring and it was just the opposite. Avatar was both meaningful and exciting to see. I am so happy that I decided to see it and glad that I didn’t miss out on an absolutely sensational film.