Avatar (2009)

The time is 2154, the place a moon 4.3 light years from earth called Pandora. Humans ("sky people") have come to Pandora to extract a precious mineral called Unobtanium that will solve their energy crisis. Humanity's arrival begets a "Time of Great Sorrow" for the native Na'vi and their Edenic culture. The Na'vi are ten feet tall, have blue skin, and the eyes, ears, and tail of a cat. They understand English but speak their own language. A paraplegic marine named Jake Sully serves as an intermediary between the two peoples by becoming a Navi-humanoid hybrid or avatar. He transports back and forth between his human life on the spacecraft and his avatar identity as a Na'vi. He's transformed in the process, falls in love with his Na'vi mentor Neytiri, and must choose his ultimate identity and allegiance. Special-effects master and director James Cameron (Titanic, Terminator, The Aliens) spent almost $500 million and four years to take digital cinematics to a new level of 3D complexity. Film critics have gushed and raved; now audiences in 100 countries will judge whether the nearly three-hour epic lives up to its Hollywood hype.