Watch Avatar on 3D

Intercut is a sequence of images of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) waking up in a VA hospital, where he is one of a seemingly endless number of wounded war veterans. Jake awakens inside a pod-like apparatus, where he’s comforted by hospital staff. Then, through voiceover and dialogue with both hospital and military officials, we learn that Jake has a recently deceased twin brother — Tom, a scientist — who was to be part of a highest-level program overseen by corporate and military strategists. Because Jake and his brother are genetic matches, he’s presented with a unique opportunity: take over his brother’s contract with with corporate-military entity and travel light years away to an outpost on the previously glimpsed world, Pandora.

Acknowledging the notions of “being free” and having a “fresh start”, Jake agrees to the deal as his brother’s body is cremated.

Now aboard a human transporter spacecraft, Jake is one of many soldiers and personnel about to touch down on Pandora, actually a moon of the planet of Polyphemus, some 4.3 light years from Earth. We catch views of the base and its construction as Jake ponders his new role. Then, as the other passengers disembark and take their first steps onto the base, we see Jake make his first pushes into this world, for Jake is in a wheelchair. Jake acknowledges through voiceover that he lost the use of his legs during one of his tours of duty on Earth, and while a spine can be fixed, that “takes money,” and that is tough to come by in the present economy. To add insult to the situation, Jake is referred to as “Meals on Wheels” by a few of his fellow travelers who are about to begin their careers as for-hire workers on Pandora.