Avatar--a great movie

So I just say Avatar in IMAX 3D Friday, and man, was this great movie. 
 
This is truly a movie for all the geeks that grew up in the 80's who are now grown up and want more than just an "action" movie.  I will admit, the story is pretty by-the-numbers but the trick is the execution and this film is put together masterfully.   
 
First of all, you can't talk about this movie without talking about the special effects.  Now, the hype leading up to the movie made one think that the special effects will blow you away and it's stuff "never before seen".  In reality, the special effects are just an evolution of the effects you've seen before, just never this well done.  I think the best compliment I can give to the special effects is that it made you forget that for about 2/3 of the movie, you were watching nothing but a CG animated film.  The backgrounds and scenery is photo real, no it hyper real (because real life does not look this sweet-most of the time).  The characters animate wonderfully, and since the Na'vi are human like, not human thus avoiding the uncanny valley thing that Robert Zemeckis is fighting with in his CG movies.  These animated characters also differ from the Prequel episodes in the fact that they are real characters with emotion that act.  
 
Another great thing about the special effects is the scale.  There are several HUGE things in this movie and they are a sight to behold.  I love scenes where you see this tiny little dude next to a large set piece, and in this movie, the set piece isn't a mountain, but a giant futuristic bulldozer, or robot, or troop transport.  And unlike the prequel trilogy, everything looks real--and that's an accomplishment. 
 
Now this movie is in 3D.  When most movies do 3D (Up is an exception), it's usually a spear in your face, or a ball flying towards you.  In this movie, there is very little of that happening.  Here, the 3D is used for depth and it really is stunning.  I hope to see more movie go for this type of 3D than the "gotcha" 3D used in so many of today's films. 
 
I though the acting was well done (nothing terrible, but nothing great either) and the action was phenomenal, but as District 9 has shown, everything is better with Mechs. 
 
Now due to the hype of cost of the movie, and how long it took to make, there will plenty of haters.  And of course, this is not a "perfect" movie.  It is a bit long.  The story is a bit cliche, the acting is OK, but really none of that matters.  For a little under 3 hours, you  are transported to a totally different world that looks beautiful.  The story has heart, and there are mechs.

So I just say Avatar in IMAX 3D Friday, and man, was this great movie. 
 
This is truly a movie for all the geeks that grew up in the 80's who are now grown up and want more than just an "action" movie.  I will admit, the story is pretty by-the-numbers but the trick is the execution and this film is put together masterfully.   
 
First of all, you can't talk about this movie without talking about the special effects.  Now, the hype leading up to the movie made one think that the special effects will blow you away and it's stuff "never before seen".  In reality, the special effects are just an evolution of the effects you've seen before, just never this well done.  I think the best compliment I can give to the special effects is that it made you forget that for about 2/3 of the movie, you were watching nothing but a CG animated film.  The backgrounds and scenery is photo real, no it hyper real (because real life does not look this sweet-most of the time).  The characters animate wonderfully, and since the Na'vi are human like, not human thus avoiding the uncanny valley thing that Robert Zemeckis is fighting with in his CG movies.  These animated characters also differ from the Prequel episodes in the fact that they are real characters with emotion that act.  
 
Another great thing about the special effects is the scale.  There are several HUGE things in this movie and they are a sight to behold.  I love scenes where you see this tiny little dude next to a large set piece, and in this movie, the set piece isn't a mountain, but a giant futuristic bulldozer, or robot, or troop transport.  And unlike the prequel trilogy, everything looks real--and that's an accomplishment. 
 
Now this movie is in 3D.  When most movies do 3D (Up is an exception), it's usually a spear in your face, or a ball flying towards you.  In this movie, there is very little of that happening.  Here, the 3D is used for depth and it really is stunning.  I hope to see more movie go for this type of 3D than the "gotcha" 3D used in so many of today's films. 
 
I though the acting was well done (nothing terrible, but nothing great either) and the action was phenomenal, but as District 9 has shown, everything is better with Mechs. 
 
Now due to the hype of cost of the movie, and how long it took to make, there will plenty of haters.  And of course, this is not a "perfect" movie.  It is a bit long.  The story is a bit cliche, the acting is OK, but really none of that matters.  For a little under 3 hours, you  are transported to a totally different world that looks beautiful.  The story has heart, and there are mechs.

I heard the visuals are amazing, but what is the movie even about? I don't even get it.

" I heard the visuals are amazing, but what is the movie even about? I don't even get it. "

...another pro-liberal movie to push Al Gore's motives forward.  I heard there were a lack of alien boobs, so I'll wait for the BD.

I loved it, I really like the message the film gives about natures role.  I hope James Cameron releases a Directors Cut when it comes to DVD & Blu Ray. 
 
 @RetroIce4 said:

" I heard the visuals are amazing, but what is the movie even about? I don't even get it. "

HELLO PEOPLE, George Bush wasn't the first damn person to invade a country for their resources! 
 
God, people are so stupid. If anything, this is much more similar to Dance with Wolves or something like that, where the Native Americans are the ones being ripped off. Making parallels between Avatar and Iraq is just lazy.

I loved the movie.  5/5 for me. even better once I see the directors cut with the 20 minutes they cut from the beginning of the movie. Future earth looked incredible in the concept art they released.    

And I don't get this bullshit about the story being weak. Its everything but weak. And the people bitching about it not being original...
I thought the story was completely original despite its obvious similarities to other films in the past.  Nobody bitched about District 9 blatantly ripping off The Fly right? Because it was cool. This movie is similar to Dances with Wolves (which I never actually saw but I know the gist of it) and Ferngully- but Avatar is way better than those two movie.  The way this story plays out is amazing too. See Jake in his avatar in this amazing world running around and doing these wild things, the go to sleep, only to wake up i his human body with his lifeless legs- its just a really emotional thing to take in. You really will care for the characters in the end of the film.  

I loved the characters. And yeah you can say what you want about the acting, I had zero complaints about it though. And shit, I say they give Zoe Saldana an oscar nomination. Ney-tiri had a real soul and I felt very impressed by her throughout the film.   

I also thought the world of Pandora was incredible and it was amazing how well thought out it all was.  
I loved the idea that the world of Pandora was so highly advanced. I think that the planet must have had life much longer than Earth, because it has evolved sooo much. The way the planet is like a completely connected living thing is awesome. I loved how Na'vi and the animals and plants can "mind-meld" with each other like a usb port so-to-speak. Thats really awesome somehow seemed completely possible to me. I know there must be real science to back it up, maybe something some creatures can do in the ocean. And all of the bio-luminescent stuff looked amazing. I thought it would look cartoony and fake but man, especially because of the 3D, it was stunning.  


Lets talk about the hype around this film. Was the 3D and the CGI revolutionary? Is this film a game changer? 
I say YES. The Na'vi were completely life like. I'm not saying the looked 100% real all of the time (sometimes they definitely do) but it was photo-real, meaning completely believable. They moved like they existed in an actual world, not floating and slow like in Robert Zemeckis movies like Polar Express. They are completely "uncanny valley" free as well.  But the real step in CGI was the environments and pretty much everrything surrounding the characters. from the absolutely real looking jungle to the massive mining vehicles to those super awesome mech suits, to the creatures. Its like they really went to this planet and filmed a movie there.   
  
We're all gamers who stare at cg images all the time. we are the most hard to please for this sort of thing. We look at every little thing and will immediately notice something wrong. You are going to have a hard time doing it here. The way everything moves so realistically is just surreal. For instance, you'll wait to see one of the Na'vi to jump and you will focus on how real the sense of gravity and weight is, and you watch closely as they land and make sure the don't look like they have soft jellow for feet and land softly. the movie constantly will give you a kind of eerie sense,its hard to explain, but i got it most from the facial animations, its so real and life like you're just going to be like...woah.  
 
on a final note for my wall of text. I nominated Colonel Quaritch as the most BADASS dude ever. Seriously, this guy spits on guys like Mr. T. 
I mean, I almost wanted him to win at times because he was just so damn awesome. He is sitting there directing his fleet to fire missiles while he sips a cup of coffee. and what does he do first when he hops in his amp suit- he starts shadow boxing. lol he is the fucking man!!!!

" ...another pro-liberal movie to push Al Gore's motives forward.  I heard there were a lack of alien boobs, so I'll wait for the BD. "

" @KaosAngel said:

" ...another pro-liberal movie to push Al Gore's motives forward.  I heard there were a lack of alien boobs, so I'll wait for the BD. "

There's some alien boob. Not nearly enough though. Not nearly. Also I don't see what so progressive about a story where a white man swoops in to save the simple natives. Its positively archaic really. Nice looking movie, again, but its a cartoon and about as subtle as a jackhammer. "

" @Atomic_Tangerine:
The Anti Bush stuff was pretty heavy and why does noone talke about the story  

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

It's because it sucked

The visuals were great but that dosn't make up for the rest of it imo. "

" @chstupid said:

" @Atomic_Tangerine:
The Anti Bush stuff was pretty heavy and why does noone talke about the story  

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

It's because it sucked

The visuals were great but that dosn't make up for the rest of it imo. "

i couldn't disagree with you more. did you even see the movie? i don't see how anyone could walk out of that theater and be a pissy about the plot. its like you didn't want to like it, and had all your bad reviews you read on the internet tucked away in the back of your mind the entire time you watched it. just so you can come back to the internet and act like the negative stuff is true. its bullshit.  explain to me PLEASE what SUCKED about the story? "

I felt like the intended message was to preserve nature, but I left thinking the message that came across was each tribe needs to look after itself. I didn't see how the Na'vi were being any different than the humans.

" I felt like the intended message was to preserve nature, but I left thinking the message that came across was each tribe needs to look after itself. I didn't see how the Na'vi were being any different than the humans. "

" @ryanwho said:

" I felt like the intended message was to preserve nature, but I left thinking the message that came across was each tribe needs to look after itself. I didn't see how the Na'vi were being any different than the humans. "

I'm interpreting the story different ways right now in my mind, I think it just depends on the person that saw it.   "

" @TwoOneFive said:

" @chstupid said:

" @Atomic_Tangerine:
The Anti Bush stuff was pretty heavy and why does noone talke about the story  

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

It's because it sucked

The visuals were great but that dosn't make up for the rest of it imo. "

i couldn't disagree with you more. did you even see the movie? i don't see how anyone could walk out of that theater and be a pissy about the plot. its like you didn't want to like it, and had all your bad reviews you read on the internet tucked away in the back of your mind the entire time you watched it. just so you can come back to the internet and act like the negative stuff is true. its bullshit.  explain to me PLEASE what SUCKED about the story? "

I'll tell you what bothered me. I can't speak for this other guy. My problem was the pacing as it related to the motives of the hero, which I positively didn't understand. 

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

So these dudes, these Marines, are all mercenaries, right? But the planet's dying and they're trying to get some kinda power source, right? So this dude, this main character, over 3 months of being a mole in ORDER TO GET THEM TO MOVE PEACEFULLY never even brings this up, never attempts to massage it down till an hour before it happens, right? Obviously with an hour's notice they wouldn't leave peacefully. So after the tree is down, what's done is done and the humans could just extract their rock which presumably is needed to save humanity, right?

So instead this dude decides he should rally the natives and have thousands of people die in a fight even though the place the humans wanted to reach was now available to extract, and in turn dooms the human race.

"

Yeah I guess. This isn't a story you put under a magnifier. You watch it for the visuals, and the visuals are great, the dialogue is mostly good save for some of the corny gung ho one liners (but it wouldn't be a Cameron movie without that). The overall message just seemed a bit sloppy. The overall concept, though, is easier to swallow if you think of this as a fantasy movie. 

" @chstupid said:

" @Atomic_Tangerine:
The Anti Bush stuff was pretty heavy and why does noone talke about the story  

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

It's because it sucked

The visuals were great but that dosn't make up for the rest of it imo. "

i couldn't disagree with you more. did you even see the movie? i don't see how anyone could walk out of that theater and be a pissy about the plot. its like you didn't want to like it, and had all your bad reviews you read on the internet tucked away in the back of your mind the entire time you watched it. just so you can come back to the internet and act like the negative stuff is true. its bullshit.  explain to me PLEASE what SUCKED about the story? "

That dude was way cool. My favorite part of the movie. He seemed to understand what the role called for and went full caricature.

Disappointed. The visuals don't make up for the completely predictable plot and characters. I did like the ending, and the connected world stuff. The whole Navi training montages, with good humour. 
 
District 9 was far better, if we're talking about sci-fi action films.

i couldn't disagree with you more. did you even see the movie? i don't see how anyone could walk out of that theater and be a pissy about the plot. its like you didn't want to like it, and had all your bad reviews you read on the internet tucked away in the back of your mind the entire time you watched it. just so you can come back to the internet and act like the negative stuff is true. its bullshit.  And the shit about Bush....again, you guys are completely wrong and do not know what you are talking about. This movie is about a corperation using a private military corp. to take care of its dirty business so they can turn a blind eye and go on with taking the resources. Lots of greedy corperations do this all of the time. This movie doesn't have to be compared to any government actions whatsoever. I think Shell Oil (could be wrong google it or something) is one of the companies who instigated locals in a small country in africa and worked with local gang leaders to get people to do what they needed and are the cause of many murders. This is real shit that real companies do every day. I didn't see any anti--bush stuff in this film because the plot of the movie wasn't really like what the Bush Administration did.  anyways,explain to me, PLEASE, what SUCKED about the story? "

I got a pair of tickets for me and my girlfriend to check it out at the IMAX here in houston and I'm pretty excited for it. My girlfriend? Let's just say I probably paid $15 for her to nap.. so I hope the CG is amazing enough for her to keep her eyes open! I just really hope its worth the premium of the IMAX experience. 

Damn environmentalists are at it again.

Movie kinda grows on you after seeing it from boring to kinda alright. But really, it's not as good as it was made out to be. 

" @TwoOneFive said:

" @chstupid said:

" @Atomic_Tangerine:
The Anti Bush stuff was pretty heavy and why does noone talke about the story  

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

It's because it sucked

The visuals were great but that dosn't make up for the rest of it imo. "

i couldn't disagree with you more. did you even see the movie? i don't see how anyone could walk out of that theater and be a pissy about the plot. its like you didn't want to like it, and had all your bad reviews you read on the internet tucked away in the back of your mind the entire time you watched it. just so you can come back to the internet and act like the negative stuff is true. its bullshit.  explain to me PLEASE what SUCKED about the story? "

I'll tell you what bothered me. I can't speak for this other guy. My problem was the pacing as it related to the motives of the hero, which I positively didn't understand. 

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

So these dudes, these Marines, are all mercenaries, right? But the planet's dying and they're trying to get some kinda power source, right? So this dude, this main character, over 3 months of being a mole in ORDER TO GET THEM TO MOVE PEACEFULLY never even brings this up, never attempts to massage it down till an hour before it happens, right? Obviously with an hour's notice they wouldn't leave peacefully. So after the tree is down, what's done is done and the humans could just extract their rock which presumably is needed to save humanity, right?

So instead this dude decides he should rally the natives and have thousands of people die in a fight even though the place the humans wanted to reach was now available to extract, and in turn dooms the human race.

"

" @TwoOneFive said:

" @chstupid said:

" @Atomic_Tangerine:
The Anti Bush stuff was pretty heavy and why does noone talke about the story  

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

It's because it sucked

The visuals were great but that dosn't make up for the rest of it imo. "

i couldn't disagree with you more. did you even see the movie? i don't see how anyone could walk out of that theater and be a pissy about the plot. its like you didn't want to like it, and had all your bad reviews you read on the internet tucked away in the back of your mind the entire time you watched it. just so you can come back to the internet and act like the negative stuff is true. its bullshit.  explain to me PLEASE what SUCKED about the story? "

I'll tell you what bothered me. I can't speak for this other guy. My problem was the pacing as it related to the motives of the hero, which I positively didn't understand. 

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

So these dudes, these Marines, are all mercenaries, right? But the planet's dying and they're trying to get some kinda power source, right? So this dude, this main character, over 3 months of being a mole in ORDER TO GET THEM TO MOVE PEACEFULLY never even brings this up, never attempts to massage it down till an hour before it happens, right? Obviously with an hour's notice they wouldn't leave peacefully. So after the tree is down, what's done is done and the humans could just extract their rock which presumably is needed to save humanity, right?

So instead this dude decides he should rally the natives and have thousands of people die in a fight even though the place the humans wanted to reach was now available to extract, and in turn dooms the human race.

"

" @ryanwho said:

" @TwoOneFive said:

" @chstupid said:

" @Atomic_Tangerine:
The Anti Bush stuff was pretty heavy and why does noone talke about the story  

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

It's because it sucked

The visuals were great but that dosn't make up for the rest of it imo. "

i couldn't disagree with you more. did you even see the movie? i don't see how anyone could walk out of that theater and be a pissy about the plot. its like you didn't want to like it, and had all your bad reviews you read on the internet tucked away in the back of your mind the entire time you watched it. just so you can come back to the internet and act like the negative stuff is true. its bullshit.  explain to me PLEASE what SUCKED about the story? "

I'll tell you what bothered me. I can't speak for this other guy. My problem was the pacing as it related to the motives of the hero, which I positively didn't understand. 

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

So these dudes, these Marines, are all mercenaries, right? But the planet's dying and they're trying to get some kinda power source, right? So this dude, this main character, over 3 months of being a mole in ORDER TO GET THEM TO MOVE PEACEFULLY never even brings this up, never attempts to massage it down till an hour before it happens, right? Obviously with an hour's notice they wouldn't leave peacefully. So after the tree is down, what's done is done and the humans could just extract their rock which presumably is needed to save humanity, right?

So instead this dude decides he should rally the natives and have thousands of people die in a fight even though the place the humans wanted to reach was now available to extract, and in turn dooms the human race.

"

Well the Main character just gets so entranced by the whole culture of these alien people thats why he never brings it up.  At least thats what i got out of it. "

...anyways,explain to me, PLEASE, what SUCKED about the story? "

You know this is a kid's Disney movie when the rock is called "unobtanium". 
 
Let's be clear: The film won't be remembered for its story, characters, plot, acting, or drama. It'll be praised for its visuals. And $500 million.

See it in IMAX or don't see it at all some can disagree but I was glued to that screen for 2 hours and 40 minutes and it just blew my mind how good this looked, I can't wait for games to reach this level of visual fidelity.

I hope it's great because I plan on seeing it.

  @Moeez said:

" You know this is a kid's Disney movie when the rock is called "unobtanium".   Let's be clear: The film won't be remembered for its story, characters, plot, acting, or drama. It'll be praised for its visuals. And $500 million. "

there's a lot of stupid in this thread