Avatar (2009)
Avatar is a 2009 science fiction movie directed by James Cameron, with a running time of 2h 42m. It stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña and Sigourney Weaver.
A former Marine who lost the use of his legs takes his dead brother's place on a mission to Pandora, a moon rich in a mineral that Earth's corporations want badly. Linked into a lab-grown Na'vi body, Jake Sully walks among the tall blue natives as a spy, and slowly falls for their world and for Neytiri, the warrior assigned to teach him. James Cameron built the film around groundbreaking motion capture and stereoscopic 3D, staging a collision between a mining operation and an indigenous people rooted in their forest.
Quick answers
What is Avatar about?
A former Marine who lost the use of his legs takes his dead brother's place on a mission to Pandora, a moon rich in a mineral that Earth's corporations want badly. Linked into a lab-grown Na'vi body, Jake Sully walks among the tall blue natives as a spy, and slowly falls for their world and for Neytiri, the warrior assigned to teach him. James Cameron built the film around groundbreaking motion capture and stereoscopic 3D, staging a collision between a mining operation and an indigenous people rooted in their forest.
When was Avatar released?
Avatar was released on 16 December 2009.
How long is Avatar?
Avatar runs 2h 42m.
Who made Avatar?
Avatar was directed by James Cameron.
Where can I watch Avatar?
Avatar is available on Hulu, fuboTV, Amazon, AppleTV and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch Avatar
Buy: Fandango at Home
Official site
Cast
- Sam Worthington as Jake Sully
- Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri
- Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine
- Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch
- Michelle Rodriguez as Trudy Chacon
- Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge
- Joel David Moore as Norm Spellman
- CCH Pounder as Mo'at
- Wes Studi as Eytukan
- Laz Alonso as Tsu'Tey
- Dileep Rao as Dr. Max Patel
- Matt Gerald as Corporal Lyle Wainfleet
Similar movies
Explore Avatar guides
Avatar in our writing
- Companion guide: Climate Fiction
- Companion guide: Military Sci-Fi
- Companion guide: Solarpunk: The Complete Guide to Hopeful Green Futures
- Companion guide: Sword and Planet: The Complete Guide to Planetary Romance
A few thoughts on Avatar
For more of a soldier carried into a world that remakes him, Stargate SG-1 runs the premise for years, alien cultures and military overreach included. The RPG Mass Effect 2 delivers the same lush-alien-world scale and squad drama. And Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora lets you walk the moon yourself.
Blockbusters that pushed visual effects into new territory
Avatar spent years developing motion-capture and stereoscopic 3D to put Pandora on screen, and these films chase the same technical leap. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within gambled on photorealistic CGI actors before anyone thought it possible, Alita: Battle Angel built its lead from full performance capture, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and Rebel Moon both pour budgets into original alien worlds, and Interstellar chases the same scale.
A human crosses over into an alien world and switches sides
Jake Sully wakes up in a Na'vi body meant to spy on Pandora and ends up fighting for the people he was sent to infiltrate. John Carter runs the same play earlier: a soldier stranded on Barsoom who falls for its people and their fight. Old Man's War swaps a human mind into unfamiliar flesh, and Project Hail Mary strands an astronaut who has to learn to trust an alien.
A world invaded by an outside force, and the resistance that follows
Pandora's forests hide a mineral an occupying corporation wants enough to burn the world down for it, and Avatar sides with the people defending their home. Independence Day and War of the Worlds flip the invasion the other way, with Earth as the world under attack, and Half-Life and Half-Life 2 put you inside a resistance fighting an alien occupation street by street.