Avatar Exclusive

By DAVID KAASBRADEN

Although Avatar is not scheduled for release until December 2009, one of our sources has gained unofficial access to the first rough-cut of this cutting-edge 3D science fiction feature. Our information will undoubtedly be dismissed by 20th Century Fox and the production team, who are anxious to maintain secrecy about key details of the plot until close to the release date.

Already this amazing movie has been dogged by controversy. The short preview that was screened at IMAX cinemas around the world on August 21 induced a spate of health complaints, ranging from whiplash-like neck injuries, to dizziness and blurred vision. Apparently, the 3D effects are so intense and immersive, that some viewers have found their real world depth perception is diminished once they leave the cinema. This has resulted in viewers walking into poles and other objects, and some are even unable to detect real objects moving towards them, perceiving them instead to be two-dimensional and stationary.

Despite claims that the prevalence of complaints after screenings are simply coincidental, or inspired by the potential for legal action, there are rumors that Fox has hastily assembled a team of medical experts to examine the health concerns before the feature debuts. Perversely, some fans have boasted that the controversy just increases their desire to be the first to see the completed movie.

Synopsis

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paralysed former soldier, is recruited for the experimental Avatar program, which will enable him, not only to walk again, but also to rush suddenly at whoever is looking at him. Jake is sent to Pandora, a strange jungle-covered planet, teeming with unique life forms. Many of them are beautiful, some are terrifying , but all (even the plants) are prone to rushing at whoever is looking at them. Pandora is also home to the Na'vi, a tall, blue-skinned intelligent human-like race with tails, that appears uncultured, yet is better adapted than humans at rushing suddenly at whoever is looking at them.

Although Jake's job is to help exploit the resources of Pandora to feed the demands of new technologies on Earth, he discovers what appears to be fossilised evidence of a link between humans and the Na'vi in the form of a skeletal hand with webbed fingers. He convinces his superiors to mount an expedition, led by Professor Trevor Anderson (Sigourney Weaver) to look for the remainder of the skeleton. They go aboard a starship called the Rita, which is captained by a rude old codger named Lucas (Walter Brennan).

After landing, Jake, and a young Na'vi female, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), watch a meteor crash to the surface of Pandora. After visiting the impact site of the meteor, Jake notices a strange object, and comes to believe the meteor was not a meteor at all, but a Na'vi spacecraft. After a landslide covers a mysterious tunnel, Jake's story is ridiculed by Lucas and the local media. In the following days, several people disappear. A few return, only to display odd robot-like behavior, and seem distant and removed from their normal selves.

Professor Anderson finds a runic inscription inside an underground tunnel beside a volcano and, led by an Icelandic guide, they find an underworld haven with all manner of exotic animals, one of which may be the source of the fossilised hand. After further searching, an expedition member, Cornelius, shows Professor Anderson the remnants of a technologically advanced human society. It appears that Pandora was, at one time, controlled by humans, but at some point in history, the Na'vi led a violent revolt, overthrowing human society. After falling in love with Neytiri, Jake is forced to choose sides in an epic battle.

Zaius, a scientist from Earth, arrives with a force of armed guerrillas to capture or kill Jake. Professor Anderson presents Zaius with the ruins of the human society, which Zaius and Lucas seem to already know about. Zaius agrees to exile Jake and Neytiri, afterwards informing Anderson, Cornelius, Zira, and the guerrillas that he is allowing Jake to find 'his destiny.' Once Jake and Neytiri have ridden away on horseback, Zaius has his men lay explosives and destroy the evidence of the human society.

After some time spent riding along the shoreline, Jake and Neytiri see something ahead; Jake stops the horse and demounts, approaching the object before descending into a fit of rage, declaring that he has been home all along. As the film ends, the camera pans back to reveal the remnants of the Statue of Liberty, half-submerged in the sand.