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+--- Thread: Avatar (/showthread.php?tid=21108)
Avatar - holyforest - 2009-12-30
This was a truly spectacular film. I have a feeling I'm going to go see it again multiple times. Bravo James Cameron Bravo. Anyway, your thoughts and opinions of this movie.
Avatar - FelixTM - 2009-12-31
I was thinking it was bizarre I couldn't find an Avatar thread on SP. Did I miss out on something? lol
Yes, it is a glorious movie. I loved it. Loved it. I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since I went to it. I'm a huge science fiction fan, and it's one of the best movies in that genre I've ever seen. I was so completely immersed in his world. Beautiful. Masterfully done. I wasn't bored for a second, and I wanted more the instant it was over.
He made a fanboy out of me.
Avatar - Razzberry - 2009-12-31
Yeah, it was amazing.
Avatar - madanthony - 2009-12-31
I had the experience of seeing it in regular 2D then IMAX 3D. And 15:70 film stock too, not that digital pomegranate. The biggest difference that made my jaw drop were the cockpits and 3D displays. Also, the response to the scene where he first starts flying went from "We should really work on resurrecting and domesticating pterodactyls" to "Maybe skydiving is for me". A solid hero epic, and total eyeporn in every other regard.
I had a fun time picking apart where Cameron tried to keep things accessible to most audiences versus where he did whatever the hell he wanted.
Avatar - MasPan - 2009-12-31
[color="#cc8899"]Saw it, but have mixed feelings about it. I loved the world, the design, etc, it was all really well done and felt real. However...the plot...felt very typical. "Humans/White people are evil come to take resources from the 3rd world tribes but wait one of the humans/white people has a change of heart and falls in love and decides to defend them (with or without success)". Examples
ances with Wolves, Last Samurai. The general obsessed with destroying their culture also felt completely overdone, to a point where he had absolutely nothing to make him believable to me. No "they killed my family and friends so I want revenge" motive, he didn't seem to have an interest in the money, it felt like he was acting the way he was simply because "I r ebul militaree man." The "scientists are shoved aside the minute the guys with guns think they can win" is a pretty tired plotpoint too...
I LOVED the world that they (I hardly place the credit solely with James Cameron) created. I love the creatures, the people, the environment. I just don't like the plot, and a few of the characters.[/COLOR]
Avatar - Kevo - 2009-12-31
The movie was amazing! I really enjoyed Pandora's wildlife and the Na'vi seemed to be so real with their own deity, cultures, and language. It was visually stunning and the 3D experience was good. The story was okay but I found the picture to be more captivating.
I watched Sherlock Holmes today, and this movie lacked so much in comparison to Avatar. Avatar is a truly stunning movie.
Avatar - Throes - 2009-12-31
Honestly, I had zero interest in seeing the movie coming into the theater, and only agreed to watch the movie because it was the hubby's birthday. What the hell was I thinking? The world of Pandora was so beautiful and brilliant... SO MUCH EYE CANDY. Didn't see the 3D Imax showing though, as the last time we went to watch a movie in 3D we both walked away with awful headaches. Sadly though, I do have to kinda agree with Mas up there.
MasPan Wrote:...the plot...felt very typical.
Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but I agree that the story did have a very cookie-cutter feel about it. Not to mention some things were just very, VERY predictable.
[spoiler=Don't read if you don't want stuff "spoiled" for you.]I mean, the second they started talking about riding the "last shadow" you knew that eventually he was going to do it, and I was wondering exactly how they were going to make it possible for Jake to be a Na'vi forever... until I saw the really creepy tree ritual dingy.[/spoiler]
Still a must-see movie for me though, despite those criticisms. Gah! I wish I had an avatar of my own, and those awesome flying mounts.
Avatar - madanthony - 2009-12-31
For those of you a little disappointed with the plot:
I read this on BoingBoing between my two viewings, and got a kick out of the comments.
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/29/five-storytelling-ri.html
I think the idea that this was a "proof-of-concept" film is a good way to think about the movie. If you were funding this $300-500mil behemoth, would you really want a plot that was more memorable than the scenery? A safe, well-executed hero story was a good choice... With that being said, ideas like the 2nd paragraph in the 4th comment would certainly have been welcome.
With the grandeur of IMAX and 3D, I wonder how DVD sales will be? Maybe in a few years we'll get Rocky Horror-style cult showings at stray IMAX theaters.
Avatar - Kurtle - 2009-12-31
madanthony Wrote:With the grandeur of IMAX and 3D, I wonder how DVD sales will be? Maybe in a few years we'll get Rocky Horror-style cult showings at stray IMAX theaters.
I for one would not experience this movie if it was not in 3D. The scenery wouldn't seems as realistic and you would not be drawn into the story as much. My only disappointment was that it came off like there were only 5 or 6 native species on Pandora as opposed to a real amount. I would have loved to have known that they were multiple tribes living on Pandora earlier on as opposed to 3/4 of the way in. As for predictable plot, yes it was, but the adventure along the way that made the movie worth it for me.
Avatar - GMSInfighter - 2009-12-31
[YOUTUBE]PZWdzfTjk0Q[/YOUTUBE]
But in all seriousness, I really need to see it. I want to see how 500 million dollars looks.
Avatar - Smooth Criminal - 2009-12-31
Very amazing work of film.
My initial reaction to this film was that it would be an epic flop of a movie. The plot seemed dumb, shallow, and pretentious.
It is. When you have a very well defined boundary of "this is good guy, this is the bad guy", the plot is instantly stupid and hardly believable. The Colonel was some warmonger who was just plain "i am ebul military man", and was two-dimensional at best. In fact, it's almost instantly noticeable how hard James Cameron's script tries to put one group as the good guy and the bad guy, most of the people who planned to extract unobtainium were just plain in it for the money and that's it. There's zero moral dilemma in that; they're easily delineated as the bad guys as its way too evident that they're the "bad guys" in this situation. When you have clear set "bad guys", it's easily noticeable how less believable the story is, and it becomes obvious that it's shallow and pretentious, which immediately lowers my opinion.
But everything about how cinematography and actual execution works so right. There's always a very engaging sense of adventure that keeps the story interesting; and the 3D really enhances this excellent part of the story. For an example, friggin' domesticating pterodactyls sounds stupid, but watching him go for the challenge instead brings about a certain sense of adventure and discovery; and when he starts falling with his new mount and discovered flight for the first time, something felt really majestic and amazing about that. Also, being introduced to the whole world as Jake Sully experiences it really evokes that sense of discovery and the awe that comes with it.
Then we've got the obvious mental journey of Jake Sully and some of the Na'vi ideas like unity with nature. I really like how the visuals try to bring out this idea so that it wasn't just random dialogue mumbo jumbo thrown in.
All in all, good movie.
Avatar - MasPan - 2009-12-31
One thing I did like that actually came accross as semi-original was the "bond" that the Na'vi could make with the wildlife by using their hair..sex...thing ("Don't play with that, you'll go blind" was a hilarious cue as to the significance of that organ). It's not quite sex, but it has the same kind of qualities - an intense bond with their partner, when given respect.
Avatar - FelixTM - 2009-12-31
Honestly I'm a little disappointed to be seeing so many people calling the story "unoriginal." I've been seeing it all over the net when it comes to Avatar. The hell? Are people saying this because this movie has become so popular and they need to find something to criticize? Because people are sheep? What! There's no such thing as a truly original concept. That's just the way it is, and there's nothing wrong with that. Every person, be it an author, director or whatever, can create his/her own take on any idea. If something is good, it's always worth redoing.
Goodness, this is even an actually original movie for a change. Movies are always just adaptations or remakes of an older movie... Repeat, repeat, repeat. Now THAT gets old. Even if it's a different take on a common theme, at least he's giving us his own creation. That adds an extra dose of admiration in my book. Not fuel for criticism!
If people want to criticize something, they should be mocking the unobtainium crap. Of all the names to pick for a special ore... lol That's about the only thing I didn't like about Avatar. Such a stupid and uncreative name. It feels like a joke more than anything, when it should be serious. Why? Why! Rename it!
Avatar - Teppi - 2009-12-31
one of my disappointment was relating to this bond. when jake sully and neytiri showed their affection, they..........kissed. earlier pot suggested that many made connections using the hair, why not love? kissing and others are okay, just add the fact that the hairs connect with each other would be great
otherwise, i absolutely fell in love with the effects, scenary and pretty much everything that relates to pandora. stunningly beautiful yet too fictiony that the world like that can hardly exist
Avatar - GMSInfighter - 2009-12-31
FelixTM Wrote:Honestly I'm a little disappointed to be seeing so many people calling the story "unoriginal." I've been seeing it all over the net when it comes to Avatar. The hell? Are people saying this because this movie has become so popular and they need to find something to criticize? Because people are sheep? What! There's no such thing as a truly original concept. That's just the way it is, and there's nothing wrong with that. Every person, be it an author, director or whatever, can create his/her own take on any idea. If something is good, it's always worth redoing.
Goodness, this is even an actually original movie for a change. Movies are always just adaptations or remakes of an older movie... Repeat, repeat, repeat. Now THAT gets old. Even if it's a different take on a common theme, at least he's giving us his own creation. That adds an extra dose of admiration in my book. Not fuel for criticism!
If people want to criticize something, they should be mocking the unobtainium crap. Of all the names to pick for a special ore... lol That's about the only thing I didn't like about Avatar. Such a stupid and uncreative name. It feels like a joke more than anything, when it should be serious. Why? Why! Rename it!
Haters gonna hate.
I find the story to be pretty new. It's not your typical "Civilization is over, think fast" movie.
Avatar - MasPan - 2009-12-31
Part of it was the originality, part of it is I simply don't like that theme. I'm not a fan of the "military are ebul jerks want to take our land" themes, esp when the "bad guys" are very poorly characterized outside of the flat "I r ebul" attitude. Again, I LOVED the world, the setting, the creatures, and I was drawn in by that. The story? Felt like just an excuse to show us the world, much like the storyline in older video games would be fairly generic and serve only to introduce the player to the game-world.
Avatar - GMSInfighter - 2009-12-31
MasPan Wrote:Part of it was the originality, part of it is I simply don't like that theme. I'm not a fan of the "military are ebul jerks want to take our land" themes, esp when the "bad guys" are very poorly characterized outside of the flat "I r ebul" attitude. Again, I LOVED the world, the setting, the creatures, and I was drawn in by that. The story? Felt like just an excuse to show us the world, much like the storyline in older video games would be fairly generic and serve only to introduce the player to the game-world.
But more people need to realize that America IS corrupt.
Avatar - FelixTM - 2009-12-31
MasPan Wrote:Part of it was the originality, part of it is I simply don't like that theme. I'm not a fan of the "military are ebul jerks want to take our land" themes, esp when the "bad guys" are very poorly characterized outside of the flat "I r ebul" attitude. Again, I LOVED the world, the setting, the creatures, and I was drawn in by that. The story? Felt like just an excuse to show us the world, much like the storyline in older video games would be fairly generic and serve only to introduce the player to the game-world.
Sounds more like bias against the theme than the movie. That's understandable. I have trouble enjoying even the most well-made sports movies simply because I hate nearly anything dealing with sports.
That aside, however, I disagree the theme was poorly done. I felt humans were portrayed quite accurately in the film, especially assuming Earth has went even more downhill (foreshadowed; most likely set-up for sequels). They weren't just "lol i bad, btch." We have to make a lot of assumptions, since it wasn't spoon-fed to us, but I saw the soldiers on Pandora acting the way they did because they wanted to get a release. Earth isn't in the best shape, and they're given free rein on a planet they do not care about. I see that as the perfect motive to act like dogs (which a great deal of humans are, anyway). Human compassion was demonstrated, as well (including the military side, even if it was only like two people). It wasn't a completely black and white movie like some people made it out to be. Plus, we have to understand only so much can be done in one movie. It's basically guaranteed there will be sequels to this, and the story will be expanded. This first movie set up a ton of great background and carried out everything it did marvelously. It's certainly not perfect, but nothing is.
Discussion for the sake of discussion.
Avatar - Greg - 2009-12-31
It was great. I just got back from the theater a couple of minutes ago, and while I wasn't blown away like a few of you, the movie really did go above and beyond my expectations. A lot of it seemed a little bit too predictable. Jake grows fond of the alien world and develops a love interest?! Who would have guessed?! Technologically advanced civilization vs. less technologically advanced civilization? There's too many, so let's GATHER REINFORCEMENTS! POWER IN NUMBERS. PLOT TWI- There was no plot twist.
As cliche as all of these may be, they didn't bother me at all during the movie. It's usually little things like these that make movies suck altogether, but with Avatar, I almost liked it. I didn't go "Not this shit again" when the alien sex commenced. Instead, I was aroused. Very aroused. I shed manly tears when the giant tree burned to the ground. Manly tears. Avatar's my movie of '09.
Avatar - MasPan - 2009-12-31
[color="#cc8899"]Maybe it's because the line between military and commercial mercenaries is heavily blurred in the movie, and that the mercenary units working for a corporation are portrayed as a legitimate military. If they didn't try to blur that, and just left it at "these are guys working as a mercenary force and in it for the the guts, the gold, and the glory." The majority of the characters were well-made, but the main villain...was just hollow. He had absolutely no reason to be so set on utterly destroying the culture of the natives, and was way too eager to do battle. That's...eh.
The only driving force I could see for him is the scar they gave him, in a moby-plantain hunt the white whale type deal. Villains that are doing what they do http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ForTheEvulz just irk me. The mob-like behavior of the soldiers following him is just as bad - I tend to have an inward flinch any time I see behavior like that, even though I know it's realistic.[/COLOR]