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Want to have a sneak peek on the Avatar re-release? IGN reviewed the 8 or 9 minute scene. Read it below. Warning! Spoilers are definitely included.

Avatar: Special Edition returns to cinemas this Friday for a limited engagement exclusively in 3D and IMAX 3D, with the sci-fi spectacular’s already bum-numbing run time extended by more than eight minutes of extra footage. 

Although Avatar broke box-office records on release in December last year to become the highest grossing film of all-time, director James Cameron has justified the re-release by saying, “Audiences repeatedly told me they wanted more of Pandora, and wished they could have stayed there longer. So we’re making that possible.” 

We recently speculated about what could be included in the extra footage, with the much-vaunted Na’vi sex scene already mooted for inclusion by the director, but we can now reveal what has been put back into the film for the 171m Special Edition. 

Be warned, if you haven’t seen Avatar, this article is spoiler heavy. 

Added footage: As Jake, Norm, and Grace (in Na’vi form) all prepare to enter Pandora for the first time in the film, they fly over Pandoran lakes in a gunship with giant purple animals flying alongside them. Grace points out a herd of animals feeding at the lake, and they make a note of their behaviour. 

What does it add? James Cameron promised new creatures, and here they are, although it’s only a fleeting shot, and to be honest, they looked a lot like the titanotheres that Jake confronts later on. Not much to see here folks. 

Added footage: After being dropped in the jungle by Trudi’s gunship, Jake, Grace, and Norm enter the jungle. Before the scene where Jake is confronted by the titanotheres, we’re treated to a glimpse inside Dr. Augustine’s derelict schoolhouse, only hinted at in the original version. 

What does it add? The look inside the bullet ridden school shack adds depth to the conflict between the humans and the Na’vi, and there is a touching moment where Norm picks up a discarded copy of Dr. Seuss’ environmental fable The Lorax. Jake nervously fingers the bullet holes asking Grace, “What happened here?” 

Added footage: Once Jake has bonded with his declan (flying banshee), and following the original exhilarating flight sequence, we’re treated to a scene in which the young warriors go out on a hunting sortie. With Tsu’tey and his men hunting from the backs of their direhorses, Tsu’tey proves his worth by felling a mighty titanothere with a spear, before Jake and Neytiri swoop in on their declans, with Jake also making a clean kill. 

What does it add? We now have proof that Jake, “was born to do this… death from above” as he claims in the original version. Jake’s kill is greeted by a bombastic cry of “Hell yeah” from both Jake and Neytiri, further antagonising the already irked Tsu’tey. 

Added footage: When Jake was accepted as one of the Omaticaya, he confessed his love for Neytiri under the Tree of Souls, and the couple simply kissed and embraced. Now we see the pair joining their ponytail’s neural tendrils together with an almost orgasmic dilation of the pupils. 

What does it add? After all the hype of the ‘added sex scene’ it’s actually fairly tame. The neural bonding is quite sensual, and Neytiri straddles Jake, but there’s no thrusting or eroticism, so you’re still quite safe to watch this with your mum. 

Added footage: With the bulldozers finally reaching the Omaticaya’s jungle home and destroying the Tree of Souls, we originally saw Jake smashing up cameras on the front of one of the giant dozers, but now we see the full extent of the Na’vi resistance. With Jake and Grace back in human form and facing off against the military brass about their actions, the scene includes footage of the grunts down on the ground surveying the damage of a Na’vi fight back. 

What does it add? With one of their giant yellow bulldozers burning, and six dead men on the ground, the humans now have even more reason to justify the destruction of the Na’vi. Although, interestingly it feels like a ‘Greedo shot first moment’, almost adding some sympathy to the human cause – perhaps why it was excluded in the first cut. 

Added footage: Tsu’tey, pretender to the Omaticaya’s crown, is felled whilst attacking a gunship high in the air above Pandora. Originally we saw his body freefalling towards the ground, seemingly the end of this proud warrior, but now in the Special Edition, Tsu’tey’s noble ending is returned. We see him tumble through the trees, before finally hitting the ground bloodied and bullet-ridden. 

Once the final battle is over, and before we see the humans being escorted off in their ships, Tsu’tey is discovered dying on the battlefield by Jake. 

What does it add? Jake kneels over Tsu’tey and they make their peace. Tsu’tey says he is proud to have fought alongside Toruk Mato, the Last Shadow, and asks for a warrior’s death. As Jake leans over Tsu’tey casting the last shadow (clever innit?), he plunges his blade into the injured Na’vi, giving him an honourable death. Jake’s redemption in the eyes of the Na’vi has been given an extra sheen. 

Overall the added footage gives the already spectacular film an extra layer, and seeing it on the big screen again just confirms that Avatar has yet to be surpassed as the most incredible 3D film ever. 

However with scant new plot detail added, you get the feeling that these added scenes should probably have just been deleted scenes on the Bluray and DVD, rather than the full-scale rerelease we’re being treated to.

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