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Avatar was one of those movies that I despised when I first saw it in the theater, but has started to warm up to me on DVD (kinda the same thing as the Star Wars Prequels, which is an apt comparison since these movies have a lot of the same flaws…). It is not the epic masterpiece that various audiences and critics (and James “I deserve the Director Oscar!” Cameron) proclaim it to be, but I felt that if I could edit the film down and remove some of the more offending elements that I hated, then I’d be better able to enjoy watching this 21st century take on the Hero’s Journey.
FanEdit Information
Type of Fanedit: True Fanedit
Intention With This Edit: To remove the subplot of Jake acting as a traitor to the Na’vi from the plot of Avatar, along with numerous other cuts, trims, and edits to improve the film.
Original Title: Avatar
New Title: Pandora
Original Runtime: 162 minutes (2 hours, 42 minutes)
New Runtime: 145 minutes (2 hours, 25 minutes)
Time Cut: 16-17 minutes
Software Used: Sony Vegas 7 (video editing), Adobe Photoshop CS2 (image editing), Adobe After Effects 6.5 (compositing), Cinema Craft Encoder 2 (rendering), Sony DVD Architect 4.5 (DVD authoring), AutoGK (AVI rendering)
AVI Release Information
- Resolution: 720x416
- Audio format: 5.1 Dolby Surround
- Language: English
Major and Minor Edits:
- Complete Removal of the subplot of Jake acting as a spy for the military behind the scientists and Na’vi & the Na’vi rejecting Jake after his reveal as a spy.
This was my biggest point of contention in the story - I hated and I mean absolutely HATED the subplot of Jake acting as a spy/double agent to both the scientists and Na’vi. It serves no purpose other than creating forced and false drama for the characters (it was this element of the movie that reminded me the most of Fox’s abysmal animated garbage, Ferngully: The Last Rainforest…) and giving a contrived reason for the Na’vi and Neytiri to reject Jake. What shocked me is just how easily this subplot can be completely removed from the film and with just a bit of editing, there’s no affect from it left on the main characters.
- Cut down on some of Jake’s monologue in the film’s opening
- Cut the company men telling Jake that he’ll “get very good pay”
- Cut the “fresh meat” and “dinner on wheels” jokes by the marines
- Cut Quaritch’s “You’re not in Kansas anymore” line
- Cut Quaritch’s lines after he says “Pandora rules” and Jake’s monologue to the Colonel
- Cut Norm telling Jake “This is your Avatar now”
- Cut Jake trying to be “science smart” for the camera in his first video diary
- Cut Norm introducing Grace by name to the audience offscreen
- Cut Max telling Jake when to meet for Avatar training and to use “big words” in front of Grace
- Cut Grace’s “Oops” when she kicks the cup out of the way of Selfridge’s golf ball
- Removed all references of the name “Unobtainium” from the film
- Cut Jake poking at the spongy lining of the linkup capsule
- Cut Norm telling Jake “They’re gonna put you out”
- Cut the insert “close-up” shot of human Jake’s face reacting to Avatar Jake running in the garden
- Recuts to Jake’s meeting with Quaritch, making him mostly silent as Quaritch explains his need for someone to inform him on the Na’vi
- Cut the grunt’s response to Grace after they land in the forrest
- Cut Grace telling Jake to stand his ground to the Hammerhead
- Cut the majority of Jake’s taunts toward the Hammerhead
- Retinted the scenes of Jake wandering through the forrest and Neytiri watching him in hiding
- Cut the scene of Grace, Norm, and Trudy searching for Jake before they have to return to the Compound
- Cut Neytiri telling Jake for the second time that he’s “like a baby”
- Shorten some of the “long pauses” shots between Neytiri and Tsu’tey after the Na’vi capture Jake
- Cut Jake saying he’s from the “Jarhead Clan”
- Cut the “Clan supper” sequence which introduces Jake in his native clothing and looking like an incompetent ass to the Na’vi
- Cut Jake meeting with Quaritch and Selfridge and getting his assignments for gathering intelligence on the Na’vi
- Cut Jake taunting Norm by saying “Guess who has a date with the Chief’s daughter”
- Cut the insert “Jake’s reaction” shot from the scene of Tsu’tey riding up and telling him to go away
- Cut Jake passing on intel on Na’vi and Hometree to Quaritch and Selfridge
- Cut the line “She knew I was talking with the Colonel” from Jake’s monologue
- Little cuts throughout the “Neytiri trains Jake” montage
- Cut Jake refering to Neytiri’s beliefs as “Treehugger crap”
- Little trim to the shots of the Banshee attacking Jake, to removing visual inconsistencies
- Cut Tsu’tey laughing at Jake nearly falling off the cliff
- Cut Jake and Neytiri laughing outloud after they escape Toruk
- Cut Jake’s remeeting Colonel Quaritch before his Na’vi initiation ceremony
- Cut Jake’s internal monologue after he and Neytiri mate
- Cut Grace’s line of “Needing to muzzle” Quaritch to Selfridge
- Cut Grace’s line of “Needing to understand if you want to coexist with the Na’vi” to Selfridge
- Cut Quaritch’s line of being “So happy, he could give Jake a kiss”
- Cut the end of Quaritch “It’ll be humane” speech, to remove the line “… more or less”
- Completely removed the sequence of Jake explaining to the Na’vi that he was a spy for the military, Neytiri rejecting Jake, and the Clan capturing Jake & Grace and preparing to execute them for their betrayal
- Numerious recuts/edits to the “Hometree Bombing” sequence to remove the “Jake & Grace execution” subplot
- Completely removed Trudy’s presence from the “Hometree Bombing” sequence
- Cut Jake meeting Neytiri with her dead father and her telling him in anger to leave and never come back
- Cut the final scene of the Na’vi fleeing from the “Hometree Bombing” sequence - Cut Trudy’s reaction shots from Grace getting shot
- Cut Grace’s “I’m a scientist, I don’t believe in fairy tales” line
- Cut the opening of Jake’s monologue after he wakes up in ash-covered wasteland
- Cut Neytiri’s lines after she say’s “I was afraid, Jake…” to Jake
- Several cuts to Quaritch’s lines during the military briefing, to reduce poor dialogue and acting
- Cut Trudy’s “Fricken daisycutters” line, along with some of her reaction shots with her, Jake, & Norm in the moble linkup station
- Numerous little cuts and edits throughout the final battle sequences, to improve pacing, reduce poor dialogue and acting, and remove visual inconsistencies - Cut the insert “close-up” shot of Trudy’s face before her chopper is blown up by Quaritch
- Cut Jake telling Neytiri “That’s an order!”
- Cut the scene of the Hammerhead stomping onto the mech and the soldier inside screaming
- Cut the shot of Moat looking up from the Tree of Souls at the shuttle bomber
- Little cuts to the “Quaritch VS Neytiri” fight, to remove a few visual inconsistencies
- Cut Jake telling Quaritch “It’s all over”
- Cut Jake telling Quaritch “I knew you were gonna say that”
- Cut the extended shot of Quaritch waiting several moment before ejecting his mech’s cockpit hatch
- Cut Quaritch asking Jake “You think you’re one of them?”
- Cut the “linkup tunnel” shot while human Jake tries to relink with his Avatar
- Cut the final shot of Quaritch’s “death face”
- Removed Jake’s final line “This is Jake Scully signing off”
- Added new title “Pandora” to the end credits
- Added new music score for the end credits: “Oraanu Pi” & “Krosah” by E.S. Posthumus
