James Cameron's Avatar

[beefche]

I saw it in 3D and although the effects were great, I got really sick. I had to take the glasses off to avoid hurling.

I've had several friends tell me that the IMAX 3D is unbelievable with this movie. So, my recommendation is if you can handle the motion sickness (I obviously can't) and handle the extra charge, go see it at the IMAX.

[Bini]

I saw it in 3D and although the effects were great, I got really sick. I had to take the glasses off to avoid hurling.

I've had several friends tell me that the IMAX 3D is unbelievable with this movie. So, my recommendation is if you can handle the motion sickness (I obviously can't) and handle the extra charge, go see it at the IMAX.

o_O

I'll wear a motion-sickness patch! But good to know. I did hear that from a few people.. Ugh and I'm usually one of those people that can't handle the back and forth camera-angles and bounciness.

[beefche]

o_O

I'll wear a motion-sickness patch! But good to know. I did hear that from a few people.. Ugh and I'm usually one of those people that can't handle the back and forth camera-angles and bounciness.

You didn't really have that in this movie. I'm honestly not sure what made me sick (I got sick in 3D Up as well). Honestly the effects were great (love WETA!!!!) and the 3D seemed more natural rather than jumping out at you.

[Bini]

Saw it in 3D on New Years.

The movie itself was just beautiful, with its vivid colours and stunning CGI. BUT the storyline for me was a bit sappy and overall was secondary to the cinematography. Jake was a likable character but boy, did Tsu'tey get the short end of the stick! Anyway, there was definitely a resemblance to Fern Gully on many levels.

[bytebear]

Sargent "Don't Mess with Me"'s rallying speech? Or was it something else?

It was a reference to "shock and awe" and the military (or rather the mercenaries) were definitely the bad guys. It is interesting to compare to Aliens, where the mercenaries are depicted as the heroes. You could spend days analyzing both depictions and compare them to the political climate of the time each film was made.

By the way, I hated the movie. Aside from the heavy handed political and environmental message, the effects were still too cartoonish, and I didn't see anything that warrants the hype on the new technology. The story was predictable, and the elements were just derivatives of other James Cameron movies, right down to characters which were plucked whole cloth from past movies. I am surprised they didn't get Paul Reiser to play the corporate lackey.

Edited January 1, 2010 by bytebear

[Justice]

Gorgeous scenery -- interested

Interesting characters -- interested

Good storyline -- interested

Sci-fi environment -- automatic turnoff for me

It's been many years since I saw Fern Gully, and while I think I only ever watched it once, I don't remember enjoying it. I think I thought it was a bad storyline.

Meatloaf said 2 out of 3 ain't bad... so I guess 3 out of 4 ain't bad either. :)

[Bini]

It was a reference to "shock and awe" and the military (or rather the mercenaries) were definitely the bad guys. It is interesting to compare to Aliens, where the mercenaries are depicted as the heroes. You could spend days analyzing both depictions and compare them to the political climate of the time each film was made.

By the way, I hated the movie. Aside from the heavy handed political and environmental message, the effects were still too cartoonish, and I didn't see anything that warrants the hype on the new technology. The story was predictable, and the elements were just derivatives of other James Cameron movies, right down to characters which were plucked whole cloth from past movies. I am surprised they didn't get Paul Reiser to play the corporate lackey.

Yes, it was very predictable. There were no surprises.

[somuchtogive]

Okay all you out there....

I watched the movie in an advance showing. I wasn't going expecting much...just knowing it took half a billion to make...so I thought I would see what the hype was about.

My opinion...

-I didn't get sick by the use of 3D. At first it was a little weird but the brain adapts.

-The graphic effects were very good.

-The story line had some good ideas behind it and could have been great...but then it got quite predictable. I think great movies inspire and cause you to think. The things that Cameron wanted to make us think about were too overt. All the answers fit too tidily in a box. Great movies allow for complexities. It missed it's opportunity for a great story.

-I, like someone else who posted, did notice some of the profanity but I was passive to it. I noticed that it felt so passive (maybe because it wasn't used so frequently) and that isn't a good sign (on my part).

-Way too predictable.

-I thought the "mating" scene wasn't graphic but wasn't necessary either. Really very unnecessary.

-Yeah...worth seeing...but not a CLASSIC GREAT in my opinion. It will probably change the way we see movies however and will be noted in history for it.

That's my $15 worth (cost of the movie ticket). I will say however....I came out of the movie thinking it reminds me of another movie. I couldn't quite figure it out until I read someone's post here that it reminded them of "Fern Gully". LOL. It is SOOOOOOO true. That was the movie I was thinking of. I did like Fern Gully though. LOL.

[yenni]

I thought Fern Gully meets Pocahontas.

Predictable, but highly enjoyable. At least to me.

[pam]

After reading all of these..I'm still not convinced that it is a "must see" movie.

[Dravin]

After reading all of these..I'm still not convinced that it is a "must see" movie.

I wouldn't say it is. I think it's a good solid movie, but it does not live up to some of the hype it had aimed at it. Of course considering some of the hype aimed at it that isn't at all surprising, I don't think there is a movie around that could have lived up to it.

[Bini]

Oh yeh. Forgot to comment on the "mating" scene, aka, love scene.

It wasn't graphic but agree with others that it was an unnecessary add. Hubby asked why they couldn't have just "joined" their ponytail braids? That would have seemed more appropriate. Maybe a bit odd but then again, that whole "joining" concept, was really weird anyway. I remember thinking eww when I first saw that..

[Misshalfway]

I saw the movie and I wanted to come out of it saying it was the best movie ever. But, I couldn't. The storytelling started out strong and intriguing. So did the character development. And then both fell into predictable, stereotypical movie making mold. So disappointing. Especially with the character development of the main character.

And I don't mind a political message if it doesn't detract from the story and if the story telling is done well. In this case, it was a little too obvious and made me feel underestimated and impatient. I saw no racist themes. Just a commentary on how the almighty dollar matters more than anything.

I did feel that the nudity/partial was more than just aboriginal/ NatGeo flesh. The way the necklaces were animated, for example. The sexual undertones were intentional. But that is James Cameron. I wouldn't expect anything less. He has boobs in every one of his films. It's a given.

But overall, it was a good flick that could have been great. If Cameron had put as much create detailing into the story development/writing as he did into the visuals, he would have succeeded in completely winning me over.

[annamaureen]

It was no Oscar winner, but I enjoyed it. Beautiful visuals (I saw it in 3-D,) sort of weak script, but entertaining.

[Wingnut]

Thing is, it probably is an Oscar winner. It will probably win all kinds of awards that it may (or may not) deserve.

[Guest]

I thought the script was excellent. Sure, it's tree-hugger, but shouldn't we all be? I mean, in the context of that story, you shouldn't just blow up a place because you want something.

The problem is when you try to juxtapose it with current events. This is when I have to turn around and tell my kids... This is just a movie! It doesn't have to have a moral to the story. It is supposed to entertain.

I come from the Philippines. The Americans called us monkeys when Spain handed our country over to them. Does this mean the movie is "historical"? Of course not. It has no relations whatsoever with the American invasion of the Philippines - unless you want it to, of course.

It has love, it has family - girl chooses foreigner over marriage to a manli-man tribal leader, husband betrays girl, daddy's girl dies, her home explodes (husband hands out the tissues), yet they still lived happily ever after. And the cool thing about it is, my husband gets to see these techno-gizmos, tribal painted beings jumping off big birds shooting arrows at machine-gun-holding bad guys, and things blowing up all over the place while handing me the tissues. It's a perfect combination. I thought it was awesome.

[bluedreams]

Before I say anything, I've gotta say that I'm a visual junkie. As I told my one friend, I don't see the point of spending money at the big screen unless there's things getting blown up or amazing special effects. I'm the type that found herself grinning ear-to-ear in 2012 where almost all humanity is wiped off the face of the earth because the graphics were wonderful.

So of course Avatar rocked my socks right off. Take it from someone who absolutely loves special effects, this movie is astounding on that level. In its genre there is nothing to compare it to. 3D has usually disappointed me, but this movie was like looking into your own box of real people. My brother at one point involuntarily reached out to touch it because it seemed so real. Even if you exclude the 3D its still amazing computer animation that I still can't think of something that really compares to it. But in the end, any movie that makes me wish to be 10 ft tall and blue (please ignore my own avatar when reading this) automatically gets my respect.

The story line is not all that original though. It's sort of like Dances with Wolves in plot line. It was a little uncomfortable taking my (much) younger bros to the movie, but it never got to a point where I was about to mumble cover your eyes to the 10-11 year old sitting next to me. A kid above 8 (youngest with us was 9), IMO would be just fine and they all loved the movie to death.

I still want to go see it again in the movie theatre. REALLY badly. This is a first for me on that note. But honestly, that movie was made for the big screen. Nothing else will do it the same justice. So to anyone thinking about a movie to go to this is definitely the movie to see. I can't think of a better movie out at the moment. Visually speaking, I can't think of a better movie out in the last decade.

With luv,

BD

[Misshalfway]

Thing is, it probably is an Oscar winner. It will probably win all kinds of awards that it may (or may not) deserve.

It should in terms of the animation and visuals.

[beefche]

Visually speaking, I can't think of a better movie out in the last decade.

Lord of the Rings, hands down. Done by the same company, Weta.

Sure this movie was great from an effects standpoint. And the 3D was amazing. But, you put this up against LOTR and it is going to lose, imo. LOTR was revolutionary and the effects are still used. The major difference to me was the use of colors. The colors were vivid in Avatar--LOTR used a lot of gray, brown, and black, due to the subject matter.

And if the story was better, the writing more inventive, and the characters deeper, then I would agree that it is a great movie. The effects alone are worth every expensive dollar you spend at the theater. But, the story is used up, the writing was not that good, and the characters were one dimensional. Gotta have those to make a great movie.

[Relentless]

Lord of the Rings, hands down.

Don't you mean "Trek across New Zealand"?

[Wingnut]

It should in terms of the animation and visuals.

Well that's what I mean -- it definitely will deserve to win whatever it takes in the animations and visuals categories, but I'm sure it will be nominated for and probably even win other awards that it may not necessarily also deserve.

[Misshalfway]

Well that's what I mean -- it definitely will deserve to win whatever it takes in the animations and visuals categories, but I'm sure it will be nominated for and probably even win other awards that it may not necessarily also deserve.

Yeah, I hear ya.

[beefche]

Don't you mean "Trek across New Zealand"?

I've used these movies in many discussions about doctrines of the Gospel. Can you say that about Avatar?

[Dravin]

I've used these movies in many discussions about doctrines of the Gospel. Can you say that about Avatar?

Thou shalt not steal? :)

[Relentless]

I've used these movies in many discussions about doctrines of the Gospel. Can you say that about Avatar?

I did, throwing off the natural man (and become an alien)