Nikki James looked around the venue carefully, still not believing she was getting to be part of something this grand. Everywhere she looked, extravagance was on full display. Rows of VR headset booths circled the space, letting attendees immerse themselves in the world of Pandora before watching the movie. Multiple food counters lined the walls, offering premium items like baklava, macarons, and some exotic chocolate-filled pastry Nikki couldn't even name. The savory snacks and drinks looked equally appetizing, the scent of roasted spices and warm bread drifting through the air. The decoration, inspired by the planet Pandora, felt otherworldly with glowing blue lights, hanging vine-like structures, and soft ambient music that made the whole place feel alive.
"Have you ever been to a premiere this lavish?" she asked Josh Gad, who was taking everything in with casual curiosity.
"Nope," Josh said with a shake of his head. "Then again, this is one of the most expensive films ever made, and the highest budget of any of my films was a tenth of this."
"At least you were lucky enough to go to film premieres," Andrew Rannells muttered. He had been filling in for Troy's role temporarily and looked mildly grumpy about it. "I have a feeling I'll grow very old before getting my big break."
"It'll happen, buddy," Josh said as he patted Andrew's back.
Nikki scanned the crowd again, hoping to spot Troy from afar. She knew it was almost impossible for the superstar to come over and greet the cast of [The Book of Mormon] when he was surrounded by his film-industry friends. Besides, tonight was his night. His first movie since [The Dark Knight] was finally releasing.
While Nikki wasn't a die-hard Troy Armitage fan, she knew any film of his was an event. His enormous global fanbase waited eagerly for every new release, and even when critics weren't kind, his movies still performed incredibly well. People thought that after Troy was revealed to be a billionaire, audiences would turn against him, but [The Dark Knight] still became the second-highest-grossing film of all time behind [Titanic]. Troy truly was a one-of-a-kind actor.
"There he is," Andrew said suddenly, pointing across the venue. "And he's wearing blue, just like the theme of [Avatar]."
The moment people recognized Troy, gasps and cheers rippled through the crowd, which included several of his fans. His entrance was unmistakable since he walked in surrounded by his security team. Nikki had thought his security during musical rehearsals was excessive, but this was on another level.
Troy wore a deep blue suit that matched the skin tone of the Na'vi, paired with a bow tie in the same shade and a crisp white shirt. He looked like the embodiment of elegance. Scarlett Johansson walked beside him, her lighter blue gown flowing beautifully as she moved. Together, they made an effortlessly glamorous pair. Hollywood's ultimate power couple.
"Damn," Nikki whispered. "That dress. I don't think I could pull it off even if I tried."
The musical's cast wore simple suits and modest dresses, and next to Troy and Scarlett, they looked painfully ordinary. People like them didn't have to try to outshine a room; they simply did it by existing. Their presence alone made everyone else feel just a little jealous.
"Come on," Josh said as he pointed toward the entrance. "Let's go in. Troy will be busy with interviews and whatnot."
Nikki nodded, and the three of them were about to head inside when a familiar voice called out behind them.
"Josh! Nikki! Andrew! You came!"
Before Nikki knew what was happening, Troy had wrapped her in a warm hug like they were old friends. He hugged the other two as well, his energy bright and infectious, then turned to introduce the woman beside him.
"Scarlett, these three are the people I will be spending most of my time with onstage. Guys, this is Scarlett, the love of my life."
Nikki smiled politely, but something about Scarlett made her pause. She couldn't put her finger on it, yet the actress's smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Her posture felt strained, as if she was forcing herself to stand still.
"I've heard a lot about all of you," Scarlett said with a smile that looked a little too practiced to Nikki. "And I apologize for what you have to go through every day. Tolerating this guy isn't an easy task."
"Hey!" Troy said in mock offense. "I'll have you know I'm the best fucking thing on this planet since sliced bread."
Nikki burst into laughter at the ridiculous claim, and the others joined in. Scarlett still looked slightly uncomfortable, but the fondness in her eyes when she glanced at Troy was real. That wasn't something anyone could fake.
"Oh yeah?" Scarlett raised a teasing eyebrow. "Keep thinking that, and soon you'll float off into space with that giant head of yours, Mr. Humble."
"Only if you come with me," Troy said. "It gets lonely up there in space."
Scarlett didn't answer. Instead, she pushed him gently and said, "I need to use the ladies' room. You go ahead. I'll join you in a bit."
"I can come with you," Nikki offered before she could second-guess herself. "I need to go too."
Scarlett nodded silently, and the two of them walked toward the powder room. Scarlett moved quickly, her steps almost hurried, and Nikki had to half jog to keep up. Neither of them spoke, which made the air between them feel awkward, but Nikki didn't mind. They weren't friends, after all. She was only tagging along because she really had to relieve herself.
As soon as they entered the ladies' room, Scarlett rushed to one of the stalls. She didn't even close the door before dropping to her knees and vomiting into the toilet. Nikki acted on instinct, stepping forward to hold Scarlett's hair back while she continued to retch.
Thankfully, the restroom was empty. With Scarlett's very public relationship with Troy, anything like this could turn into a tabloid nightmare. One photo or rumor could cause months of chaos.
After what felt like a long time, Scarlett finally stopped and pushed herself up from the floor. She looked pale, exhausted, and vulnerable in a way Nikki hadn't expected.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Please don't tell anyone. Not even Troy."
Nikki blinked, confused for a moment, then her eyes widened. She glanced at Scarlett's stomach, flat and toned under the fabric of her gown.
"He doesn't know?" she asked quietly.
"I'll tell him," Scarlett said. "Just not tonight."
This was big news. Very big news. The media would go into a frenzy if it came out that Scarlett was pregnant with Troy's child. That was, of course, assuming Scarlett decided to keep the baby. From the way she looked, she probably hadn't told anyone yet.
"Do you want to talk?" Nikki asked softly. "I'm a really good listener, and I won't tell anybody. I promise."
Scarlett hesitated, uncertainty flickering across her face as she weighed whether to trust Nikki. After a long moment, she gave in with a tired sigh.
"I was on the pill, and this wasn't supposed to happen, but it did. I don't know what to do. I've always wanted kids, but not right now. My career is finally going somewhere, and then there's Troy. He doesn't want kids either. I'm afraid that if I tell him..." She stopped, lost in her thoughts.
Nikki stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Scarlett. The younger woman relaxed immediately, her shoulders sagging as if she had been holding too much in for too long.
"It's okay," Nikki said gently. "You'll be okay. The decision is yours. But whatever you decide, I'm sure Troy will support you. He's a good man."
"That's what I'm worried about," Scarlett whispered. "He'd give up his career for me in a heartbeat if I asked him to, but I don't want him to do that. But you're right. I'll have to talk to him. There's no other way."
She pulled away from Nikki after a few seconds and managed a small smile. "Thank you for listening to me."
"Don't worry about it," Nikki said with a smile of her own. "And as I promised, this stays between us."
Scarlett nodded gratefully.
(Break)
Rod Meyer shook James Cameron's hand enthusiastically. They stood in the ornate lobby outside the main screening hall, surrounded by towering posters of glowing blue Na'vi and the lush forests of Pandora.
"I'm looking forward to the movie, Mr. Cameron," Rod said. "I'm sure it'll be even bigger than [Titanic]."
"Thank you," James replied with a curt nod, holding himself with the confident posture of a man who expected nothing less.
"Initially, I was told the premiere would be in London. What changed?" Rod asked.
"Troy," James said simply. "He's doing a musical on Broadway, so he requested the premiere be held here. When the biggest superstar on Earth asks to move the venue from London to New York, distributors tend to agree."
Rod laughed and nodded. "True. I still remember seeing him in [The Sixth Sense] when he was just a little kid. It's unbelievable how much he's achieved in only ten years."
James nodded again before glancing toward the entrance, where a crew member was waving him over.
"I think they're calling me in to start the show."
"Don't let me keep you," Rod said as he stepped aside.
James Cameron headed into the theater, and Rod followed a minute later. His excitement built with every step. He couldn't wait to see [Avatar]. The biggest draw for him wasn't the 3D or the hype surrounding the film. It was Troy. This was Troy's first movie since [The Dark Knight], which had released a year and a half earlier in the summer of 2008. Fans all over the world had been waiting eagerly.
At first, the buzz had been lukewarm by Troy's exceptional standards, but over the last month, anticipation had slowly but steadily begun to rise. Something big was coming. Everyone could feel it.
One of the reasons for it was the groundbreaking technology used in the movie, along with the best CGI in the history of cinema, to generate a life-like alien planet. Something that the cast and the director mentioned repeatedly during the interviews. He still remembers one of the bold claims of Troy, whose clip had gone viral on TikTok recently.
"I regret the fact that, as a producer, I didn't approach James Cameron for this film before he signed the production contract with Fox. This is visually the best film of my career so far, and I don't think any other movie could surpass its visuals for the next ten years. Not that the technology doesn't exist, but we have only so many visionary directors like Jim."
With that thought in mind, Rod wore the 3D glasses he was offered at the entrance and waited eagerly for the movie to begin. When it did, he had his mind blown, and for good reasons. It started with a beautiful aerial shot of a forest, and the trees felt like they were passing by his head.
He reeled back in shock to avoid letting the branches brush him by, and he wasn't the only one to feel that. Gasps of shock filled the theater as people realized that it was only a visual in the movie, not real.
Suddenly, Troy's claims about it being the best visual movie of his career made a lot of sense.
When the novelty of the 3D wore off, Rod focused back on the story, which was set in a distant future. Troy, who was playing Jake Sully in the movie, is a paraplegic young man who lost his legs in a car crash. The technology has advanced enough that they could fix his legs, but Jake didn't have the money for it. All of this is explained in Jake's voiceover, with flashes of scenes showing what exactly happened.
His mother died when he was young, and his father, who worked for some corporation named RDA, died in a training accident. Jake was mad at the company because he had not received any compensation as of yet. He had filed a suit against them to get paid, but it will take a year before the matter goes to court.
"I have no hope of winning the case even then. I can't afford a good lawyer, and while a few have agreed to take my case pro-bono, the company will hire the best of the teams to avoid a payout." Jake said in a somber voice.
As the movie progressed, Jake went to a bar with his friends and drank liberally. Alcohol seemed to be a way for him to cope with his life of pain and solitude. When he sees a man hitting his girlfriend across the face, he decided to help her out by getting in a fight with him. Eventually, he is thrown out of the bar because of his attitude, which leads to him lying flat on the wet ground, looking up at the sky, with a small smile on his face.
Troy didn't say a word, but his masterful acting was enough to convey everything Jake was feeling. The fight in the bar had awakened something inside him. It made him feel alive. It made him feel strong because, for a brief moment, he had fought with his own two fists despite not having the use of his legs.
"Are you Jake? Jake Sully?" one of the two men who approached him asked.
"What's it to you?" Jake shot back with a goofy grin, still sprawled on the wet pavement. "Get off and let me enjoy the view."
"We're from RDA," the shorter man said. The moment the words left his mouth, Jake's smile disappeared. "We're here to offer you a settlement for your father's death, and an offer. Please hear us out."
The scene shifted to the inside of a cafe, a quiet booth tucked in the corner.
"Do you know what your father was working on?" the taller man asked.
"No," Jake said with a bitter shake of his head. "All I knew was that he was a scientist and that his work was classified. That's why I'm so pissed at your company."
"Understandable," the shorter man replied as he slid a check across the table. "That's what we're offering you to drop the suit."
The amount wasn't shown, but the way Jake's eyes widened said everything. It was substantial.
"We also have an offer for you," the taller man continued. "A job offer. Your father was an asset to our company in more than one way, and his DNA, meaning you, would be necessary for completing the project. The pay is very good, and once the project is complete, we'll cover the full cost of treating your legs."
That was it. The flicker of hope in Jake's eyes was enough for the audience to understand that he agreed.
The next scene opened in space. Nearly five years had passed while Jake was frozen in cryo. The story moved quickly from there, showing the human military camp on Pandora. The soldiers were all hired guns working for RDA, and their main goal was obtaining an element called unobtanium.
Rod rolled his eyes at the generic, overused sci-fi name for an impossible element.
The other major characters were introduced one by one. First was Miles Quaritch, the head of security operations, already radiating villain energy from the start. Then came the scientists: Norm Spellman, Grace Augustine, and Max Patel. Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Augustine stood out among them, delivering a strong performance. Giovanni Ribisi played the head of RDA's mining operations, and Michelle Rodriguez appeared as Captain Trudy Chacón. Altogether, it was a well-rounded cast. At least for the human characters.
The Avatars, the alien bodies created for humans to inhabit, became the highlight of the film. Troy once again proved his acting prowess when Jake shifted into his Avatar for the first time. The way he hugged his newly functional legs, overwhelmed and trembling, made the moment feel heartbreakingly real despite being motion capture.
And the joy on his face when he sprinted across Pandora's glowing forest floor had Rod grinning from ear to ear.
The first look at Pandora's exterior was breathtaking. Rod didn't even notice when it happened, but he was so immersed in the movie and its visuals that every time the camera cut back to the characters, he felt a tiny stab of disappointment. Troy had been right. This was the best visual experience Rod had ever seen in a film.
The story grew even more engaging when the Na'vi characters appeared. Newcomer Zoë Kravitz played the female lead, Neytiri, while Michael B. Jordan portrayed Tsu'tey, a minor antagonist and Jake's rival for Neytiri's attention.
Yet it was the scenery that stole the show.
The floating mountains of Pandora.
The sacred tree, Eywa.
Jake's exhilarating first flight on an Ikran.
The bioluminescent forest that pulsed with light after dark.
Every frame was perfect. More than perfect. Rod knew he'd be returning to the movies multiple times just to soak in the view again.
The conflict was also built with Cameron's signature precision. While the overarching story wasn't groundbreaking, the characters absolutely were. The emotional depth between Jake and Neytiri, and the consequences of the choices they made, hit Rod harder than he expected.
The environmental message woven throughout the film was handled beautifully. The humans stood in as destroyers driven by greed, a painfully familiar theme that echoed real-world issues.
Jake and Neytiri's romance was executed with sincerity and care, helped by the natural chemistry between Troy and Zoë.
The final battle between the humans and the Na'vi was nothing short of spectacular. Cameron's reputation as one of the greatest action directors in the world was on full display, and every scene looked meticulously crafted.
The penultimate scene delivered a heavy emotional punch. Jake nearly died, only for Neytiri to save him and cement her place as the film's true MVP by shooting Quaritch in the chest. When she placed the oxygen mask on Jake's face and he whispered, "I see you," Rod found himself wiping away a tear. After everything they had gone through together, the moment was powerful and heartfelt.
The film's final scene showed the Na'vi performing a sacred ritual before Eywa to transfer Jake's soul from his human body into his Avatar body. Unlike Grace, Jake survived the transition. His Avatar eyes opened at once.
And just then, the film cut to black.
The credits began rolling, and Rod, along with the entire theater, rose to their feet in applause. The direction, editing, cinematography, VFX, acting, music, costumes… everything was out of this world. The story was a bit simple, but Rod was grateful that Cameron didn't kill off Jake like he had killed Jack in [Titanic].
One thing was certain. This movie was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and nobody should miss it. This was the kind of film that pushed technology forward to create something beyond anything cinema had ever seen. And for that reason alone, Rod had no hesitation giving [Avatar] full marks in his review.
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AN: I hope this much detail was enough for a big blockbuster movie like Avatar? Recapping it when I didn't make a lot of changes didn't make much sense, especially when Troy's acting wasn't the major focus of the film. I have included all the major changes made in the story because of Troy's age.