Today I saw Avatar; I really wanted to know what the buzz was all about. Although there was a cliche sub-plot and an extremely predictable main plot, the timeless message that was displayed is what I love the most.

The graphics and scenery were amazing too, however, in terms of beauty, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for wii blew my mind away. And the wii game is even better since you are actually playing the main character in the game.  One of my friends mentioned that the movie made her think of the beauty of Jannah.  That is exactly what The Legend of Zelda did for me.

Anyway, here are the turn-offs of the movie for me:

Cliche love story: This reminded me of “Pocahontas”.  Of course the protagonist just happens to bump into the daughter of the leader of the tribe.  In reality, what are the chances of this happening?  Also, Neytiri is in charge of teaching Jake Sully.  Hmmm.  Very predictable.  Maybe they were cute, but I think the growing relationship between Jake and Grace the scientist was more intriguing.

Cliche Plot:  Again this reminded me of “Pocahontas,” and even “V for Vendetta”.  The perceived enemy is really not what you think they are.  The evil, white humans want to reap the natural resources, destroy nature, make money, and kill the indigenous.  The movie was predictable from the start.  Of course Jake is going to side with the natives.  After all, he becomes an Avatar.

Scantily clad female (and male) Avatar: This is added for greater effect.  The movie has all the weak-nafs pleasing elements; including attractive female heroines, and lots of violence and action.  The Avatar creatures actually reminded me of Jack from “The Nightmare Before Christmas”.

Turn-ons:

The dramatic change in relationship between Colonel Miles and Jake.  This reminded me of the same kind of plot in “Crimson Tide”.  There is a strong pact and understanding in the beginning, but it later changes because of a moral dilemma.  This reminded me that sometimes the right course of action is sometimes the most difficult to undertake.

Nature.  I love trees.  Yes.  I am a tree-hugger. :)  The appreciation of nature, animals, and its preservation.

A new perspective of the so called “enemy”.  In the beginning of the movie, the Avatar are the ferocious enemy.  This is still evident when Naytiri tries to kill Jake. Her gentleness begins to show when she shows regret and sorrow for killing the creatures that were attacking Jake.  When Jake later learns to slaughter the sacred Avatar way, he thanks the animal.  This reminded me of zabiha meat and showing gratitude.

When Colonol Miles says, “Let’s fight terror with terror.”  I love this!  Hopefully this will open many minds!  At this point the audience is routing for the Avatar to win the battle.  Clearly the movie makes an allusion that what we perceive to be terror or terrorists may not be true.  In fact, the humans were clearly terrorizing the Avatar by destroying their sacred tree, chasing them out of their homeland, and killing innocent Avatar.

Reality of the Avatar World.  When Jake admits that the land of the Avatar was becoming reality, and that his life on the space station was turning into a dream.  My friend pointed out that this reminded her of Akhira vs. Dunya.  Akhira=land of the Avatar!  After all, when we die, we wake up!

Limb Liberation.  The fact that Jake gets to use his legs again in the land of the Avatar.  Although I am not paralyzed from my hip down, I could feel a sense of his liberation and joy.

My Favorite:

The network and the sacred energy that passed on from the ancestors to the modern Avatar.  SubhanAllah, this reminded me of Tasawwuf and barakah.  The unbroken chain of ijazas that lead back to the Prophet (pbuh) is like the chain of energy and understanding that the avatar receive from their holy tree with the connection to their ancestors.  Also, the energy reminds me of barakah.  The more energy the Avatar have, the more their God is pleased with their actions.

Overall, the movie was very nice.  The perspective of the “enemy” and the realization of their innocence is the theme I liked most.