Ney'tiri (Zoe Saldaña) and Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) in 'Avatar: Fire and Ash,' directed by James Cameron. 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS
LE MONDE'S OPINION – WHY NOT
All the energy of the original Avatar, released 16 years ago, stemmed from the double life of its protagonist, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington). To briefly recall the premise: A corporation from Earth, backed by the US military, discovers a remarkable mineral on the distant planet Pandora but faces resistance from the local inhabitants, the Na'vi. Scientists on the mission can create synthetic Na'vi bodies, which humans, lying catatonic in high-tech pods, can control remotely.
This is how Sully, a former marine and paraplegic, is uploaded into a Na'vi body, though he is regularly "woken" by his human counterparts to report on his mission – all of which lent the film a compelling cross-cutting narrative. Sully eventually falls in love with the planet Pandora and, in particular, with Ney'tiri (Zoe Saldaña). Becoming the leader of the resistance, he chooses at the end of the film to become fully Na'vi, leaving behind not only his human form, but also the thrill of a dual existence.
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