When we first see him immediately after this narration, he is tightly framed in the cold confinement of a cryogenic chamber. Sooner or later, though, you always have to wake up.' Waking up, for Jake, means confronting the physical impairment of paraplegia, acquired in military combat. Main character Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) narrates the first shot of the film, an aerial drift over a lush rainforest, with the following: 'When I was lying there in the VA hospital with a big hole blown through the middle of my life, I started having these dreams of flying. At the heart of this brave, new dreamscape lies the familiar story of a disabled character driven by fantasies of able-bodied bliss. The aesthetic glitz delivers a stereotypical story in which boy meets girl, colonizer rescues indigenous, and the erasure of disability serves once again as the ultimate happy ending. And yet, underneath all the cinematic flair unfolds a hackneyed tale.

In the literal sense, it is truly spectacular. Neon plant fronds lurch from the screen, misty cliffs reveal dizzying depths and limber blue beings bound through endless layers of topiary. Avatar immerses its viewers in the fictional world of Pandora, a distant moon whose iridescent flora appear to be enticingly within reach. It is a film whose essence lies in the sensational power of 3-D technology.

It has grossed nearly $3 billion, been screened in over sixty countries and revolutionized the new media landscape with its innovative special effects. In the year since its highly anticipated release, James Cameron's Avatar has had a colossal international impact.

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