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There is an inherent problem with acknowledging yourself as the “king of the world” as James Cameron did during the process of taking home a slew of Oscars in 1997 for his last film, Titanic.

Fast forward to 2009 and Avatar — his first film since that record-breaking effort — has given sceptics plenty of time to pull down this tall poppy. With the internet buzzing for a year with anticipation, critics have been quick to draw knives.

Of course there’s the other group of people who have just been awaiting a new film from the guy who not only cracked box office records with Titanic, but also brought us The Abyss, Aliens and The Terminator films — a director who has proved he can make an enthralling adventure using cutting-edge technology. Sure he has Piranha II: The Spawning on his resume, but his work since the original Terminator has been nothing if not groundbreaking, rip-snorting cinema.

We enter Cameron’s elaborate alien world of Pandora through the eyes of Jake Sully, a former Marine now confined to a wheelchair. Sully has been recruited as a replacement for his twin brother to a scientific research program known as Avatar, where human DNA has been fused with the Indigenous culture of Pandora — the Na’vi — to create a human/Na’vi hybrid.

This enables the human “drivers” to survive the lethal air on the surface of the planet. The humans begin delicate negotiations with the Na’vi, to learn from them and find out more about their culture. Reborn in his Avatar form, Jake can walk again. But Jake has been placed in his Na’vi body for a different and more sinister reason.

This same corporate consortium is also mining a rare mineral that is the key to solving Earth’s energy crisis — and they are prepared to lay waste to this amazing planet and culture to get what they want.

Grace (Sigourney Weaver) is the head of the scientific team that overseas the human/Na’vi first contact and remains convinced that the whole planet has more to offer humans than the minerals it possesses. The Na’vi are a race connected to the wild life and each other in much the same way as synapses in the brain: they are in tune with both the environment and each other.

Jake becomes attuned the Na’vi way of life from a reluctant Na’vi female: Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). First by accident as she saves his life, and then as a teacher as she is charged with developing his warrior skills.

As Jake’s relationship with Neytiri deepens, he learns to respect the Na’vi way and finally takes his place among them. Whether he follows his heart or duty will ultimately decide the fate of the Na’vi and their precious world.

Not only does the film have a potent message about our disregard for other cultures and humanity’s imperial tendencies, it is also a personal journey of self discovery, awareness and wonder. At times this allegory is laid on so thick it feels like a sermon, but Cameron is obviously drawing some real-world parallels in this fantastic odyssey.

Some criticism has been made about the spiritual aspects of the film. The Na’vi can physically connect with animals and their environment through live synapses which hard-wire them to the animals they ride and connect them with each other.

It is precisely this spirituality and connectivity in the biology of the Na’vi which make the threat of destruction of their environment so heinous.

Cameron has gone to great lengths to create a fully fleshed out Indigenous culture — and like many real world Indigenous cultures they have great connection to each other, their spirituality and the environment.

The visual aesthetic of the film is jaw dropping. Try not to get goose flesh the first time the camera drops you into the verdant jungle of Pandora.

Great lengths have been taken with 3D technology to fully immerse you in the environment. The motion capture technology has also been able to avoid the dead-eye problem that has plagued films like Beowulf and The Polar Express. The Na’vi’s large yellow expressive eyes seem to completely do justice to the nuances of the real actors’ performances.

This isn’t a poke-a-stick-at-the-camera-and-flinch 3D experience. The technology here is employed to enable you to feel immersed in the lush forests and floating mountains of the landscape.

“In my mind, Neytiri and her people represent our better selves in how they live in their world — in symbiosis, empathy and harmony,” Cameron says in the film’s production notes. “This is something to which we should all aspire. To that end, I think the story celebrates a connection to the environment, maybe at a time when we’ve lost touch with it.”

At its core the film is about our need to be more connected with each other, our community and our environment. And this is wrapped in mind-bending immersive cinematic experience.