16 Years Later, This Groundbreaking Sci-Fi Classic Re-Emerges on Streaming

Sixteen years after it first landed in theaters and completely rewired Hollywood’s brain, Avatar is back in the spotlight — and once again reminding everyone why it changed the movie business forever. James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi epic has re-emerged as a streaming hit, pulling in viewers who either want to revisit Pandora, have a refresher course ahead of seeing Avatar: Fire and Ash (which is currently playing in theaters), or finally see what all the hype was about. Love it, meme it, argue about the plot — none of that changes the fact that Avatar remains one of the most influential films ever made, and its staying power is kind of undeniable at this point. Just don’t mention the papyrus font, for goodness’ sake.

When Avatar premiered, it didn’t just become a box office juggernaut, it became a technical revolution. Cameron pushed performance capture, CGI environments, and 3D technology further than any filmmaker before him, creating a fully immersive alien world that felt tangible and alive. Pandora was a living, breathing place, and we wanted to spend as much time there as possible. And audiences showed up in historic numbers, sending the film to over $2.9 billion worldwide and cementing it as the highest-grossing movie of all time.

The story itself follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a former Marine who becomes embedded with the Na’vi people on the lush moon of Pandora while working for a human corporation intent on exploiting its natural resources. As Jake bonds with Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and the Na’vi, he’s forced to choose between the people who sent him there and the world he’s come to call home. It’s a familiar framework — but wrapped in a scale and spectacle that made it feel monumental.

How Good Is ‘Avatar’?

Collider’s review of the film back in 2009 — good gracious, time really does fly, especially when you consider the final film is set for release in 2031 — admitted that the film’s narrative was flawed, but its creation of the world of Pandora, its special effects, and the performances of the cast were among the standouts:

“The film also has a terrific cast with everyone turning in terrific performances. Sigourney Weaver looks like she’s having loads of fun; Michelle Rodriguez doesn’t wear a perpetual sneer; and Zoe Saldaña and Sam Worthington, even though their performances are motion-captured, show that they’re going to be among the next wave of Hollywood A-listers. But the standout and perhaps the best reason to see Avatar is Stephen Lang. Making his screen-acting debut in the 1981 Made-for-TV Movie We’re Fighting Back, Lang has had an incredible 2009 with Public Enemies, The Men Who Stare at Goats, and now Avatar.”

Avatar is streaming on Disney+ now. Avatar: Fire and Ash is playing in theaters.