There is magic in the making…and in the watching.  We can be transported to other worlds or have the mind swept away into ideas, old and new.  Sometimes we are challenged, and sometimes we push back.  In a really good movie, I figure we can have some of these experiences.

Fortunately, in Avatar, we can have all of them.

James Cameron’s latest offering provides us a feast for the senses – all six.  There is a whole new world (similar to earth but…not quite) to explore, called Pandora (let me ruin this for you…yes, the box is opened), a moon in outer space whereupon live the Na’vi, a race of creatures who have human-like qualities, but are a little more…developed.

The movie centers around the human expansion into Na’vi territory to mine a precious mineral called unobtainium.  It’s rare.  It’s expensive.  And a group of Na’vi apparently live right over a mammoth hunk of it.

Humans, in an effort to better ‘understand’ the locals and get a little closer to the unobtainable, infiltrate into Na’vi culture through Avatars, or human-Na’vi hybrids.  It seems the Na’vi are not predisposed to this pillaging of their land, and fight back through various means.  Means that Avatar Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) would like to discover and manipulate.

This set-up alone would provide many movies with all the grist needed for the proverbial mill.  Thank goodness it was not enough for Avatar.

It’s just a starting point.

Something special happens in a darkened theater when the plot we see on the screen is merely a thin veil to the true story underneath.  It isn’t just about the inevitable love or violence that provides so many moments of conflict to push the story ahead.  No.  It’s more than that.  It’s deeper than the hand-crafted language or special effects.  It’s more intricate than battle scenes.  It’s certainly far more complex than the oft-muddied waters of good-guy vs. bad-guy.

In Avatar, we get a rare glimpse at a spiritual subtext that points the sixth finger at the audience, challenging it to take a look at themselves at a deeper level.  What does it mean to have a commitment to earth, tribe, and soul?  Are we stewards, shepherds, or destroyers?  When we blaze the paths of the unknown into love, language, or riches, do we stop to consider the deeper meanings behind these journeys, and are we truly prepared to unravel complex paradoxes in pursuit of a goal that is more than the sum of its gold?

Avatar sometimes doesn’t so much ask these questions, as hurl them into our faces on Na’vi-styled, poison arrows.  At times, we are transported to that ill-fated voyage where Jack Dawson exclaims he is “king of the world!”  Ugh.  But understand what you are getting into when you go.  You are there to witness the progression of movie-making to the next level in addition to hearing a good tale.  We are captive for over 150 minutes after all, and there should be much destruction and gnashing of teeth – both human and Na’vi – to keep you interested and on the edge of your seat.

But in the end, there are questions we need to address.  Big questions.

However, the joy of Avatar is not that I’ve answered them.  No.  It’s that I’m still thinking about them.

-josh