AVATAR Options

[wkw427]

Discuss the best movie of 2009.

Seriously. Amazing. The only bad thing that I could think of was that some of the plot was predictable, some scenes were too long, and that I had to see the 3d version.

Let me tell you.. 3d glasses + normal glasses + SUPER LOUD VOLUME = headache
headache + complaining to theater manager = 2 half price waivers on a movie in the next six months

[P-girl]

Well, I WAS going to see it..... but I forgot to make the reservations. D'oh! Ah well, I'm going to see it tomorrow.

[Zhanneel]

I saw this Christmas night and the theater was packed. The 3D version was amazing, even with the annoying glasses--the special effects were brilliant. Along with the scenery. My brother is going to see it a second time. I very much enjoyed this movie.

Disclaimer: Yes, for anyone who is aware, there is a heavy political angle to this movie. However, don't let that spoil any part of the plot or characters. I thought it was easy to assume all parts in the movie were unrelated to current global events happening now--in other words, just good fiction. Period.

So after that pause, I was able to really enjoy the movie. I would suggest this movie to just about anyone, albeit the casual swearing might prevent some younger viewers from watching. Ahh geez, find a parent or older sibling and just go to see it anyway.

Other than the spectacular fight scenes and the great digital scenery, I thought the plot and the characters were done realistically. Something I don't see much of in acting or dialogue in many movies these days. I found myself agreeing so many times saying "Yeah, that's probably what I'd be doing or saying in this situation. Thanks for not dumbing down the complexity of the situation." Things like that, heh.

I will be seeing the sequel, and if they allow for it in the budget, the last in the trilogy.

[P-girl]

I saw it, and.... wow, just..... wow. Best movie of the year? I think it is. But.... I've got three semi-minor complaints:

1) Yes, I get it, Humans are the devil and these Smurfy-Cats (I find this a much more endearing name then Na'vi) are perfect. Sorry, but I dislike this less-then-subtle comparison between the two.

2) Main female Smurfy-Cat (I'm sorry, her main name is very hard to remember) was a wee bit boring for a main female protagonist. But then again, the other good females were Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez, two of my favorite actresses, so this might've made me biased. Also, the supporting cast was way more interesting then the main couple in general. Grace, Norm, Trudy and Tsu-Tey were very interesting characters compared to Jake and main female Smurfy-Cat.

3) Would it kill for the Smurfy-Cats to invent bra and pants technology? I know they're a mystical tribe and close to their planet and all.... but dang, cover up.

I'm sorry, but I had to get these three things out of my system. For the rest? Stunning visuals, a surprisingly good story. (Yes, it was standard, but Cameron really gave it his own spin, so it felt more like a re-imagining of the old story) and surprisingly organic interraction between everyone.

This post has been edited by P-girl: Dec 29 2009, 11:30 AM

[Zydron]

I have watched this movie today in cinema (3D version offcourse) (downloading it currently for rewatching)

but the movie is AWESOME

Most of the time humans are the goodies, and "aliens" are the badies, this time it is a total switch.

But in my opinion there is a cliffhanger at the last second that screams for a sequal.

[P-girl]

Total switch?..... We probably haven't seen the same sort of movies growing up. But then again, my dad's a total hippie, so that might have something to do with it.

[Zydron]

I don't mean in real life, but if you see movies and animations, most of the times, the non humans are marked as bad.

[P-girl]

And that wasn't meant as real life. Ferngully, District 9, Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas, The day the Earth Stood still (Both the old and the new), Princess Mononoke..... true, two of them are more like 'Evil Westerners versus good pure natives' but it's still the same: we western Earthlings are a bunch of morons who polute the Earth, and these Aliens/Natives are all good and pure. Because, y'know, in these kind of movies, subtlety is the first victim.

This post has been edited by P-girl: Dec 29 2009, 9:41 AM

[sweetmusa]

two words,pure awsomeness

[P-girl]

I feel like I need to correct myself a bit, because these flaws I summed up feel like I'm attacking this movie. I'm not. Cameron made these flaws look so superficial and minimal, that I could only sum them up after, not during the movie. And when I watch it again, I'll forget them the minute that hatchet opens up and all those people wake up in that space-station. That's the force of Avatar; you take the flaws with the good stuff, because you love it so much. Kinda like.... kinda like well-developed story characters. As a Sue-hunter, I don't like my characters to be to perfect. I want them to have flaws. It makes them realistic and all the more lovable. And, awe-inspiringly, Avatar has done this in movie-form. The flaws actually make it an even more lovely film.

Hats off James Cameron. Truly, hats off.

[MorriganAensland]

*walks in, gets ready to speak, and then stops*

Wait, this could get me killed. One second.

*walks away, and a few minutes later a screeching sound is heard as I come back in, dragging in the largest flame shield in existence*

Alright, now to be honest I wasn't going into this entirely blind, but at the same time I was willing to at least give it a chance. And to be honest at first things didn't seem too bad. The only real gripe I had was that Sulley was the only character I could only relate to while everyone else seemed too arrogant (Sigorny Weaver's character, the military guy) or dorky (the other Avatar guy).

And then things went out the window when Sulley was able to walk again and he just wrecked stuff and lost any kind of self-restraint. And at that point his character stopped being likable. I had seen it all before in different contexts and different settings, but I knew what would happen. He'd get close to the chief's daughter, get on the bad side of her betrothed, end up doing all the various ceremonies to become a member of the tribe, etc. I could almost recognize all the foreshadowing and how it would become important long before it did become important. Sigorny Weaver's character began to get fleshed out, while nobody else did.

In fact, it was worse than that. As I got bombarded by the Na'vi's perfect, inverse-Strawman nature, it was like the movie decided to stop portraying the military and the corporate characters as anything other than cardboard villains I'd find just as easily in an episode of Captain Planet and spouting lines written by someone who obviously has a beef with the Bush Administration. The final battle was too long (Tulley vs. the mecha, the sequence was otherwise fine).

And what of the implications of the end? That it's okay to effectively give the middle finger to all of humanity and leave them to rot on their "dying world" as Sulley himself puts it? That it's okay to not even try to help the humans find a deposit of Unobtanium in some part of the planet that nobody lived in or would care about? That humans are entirely flawed, pathetic creatures and we should forsake our humanity and accept the traditions and culture of an alien society?

Look, I'm sorry. I can't like this movie. It's pretty, but that's about it.

If I wanted a story about the Nature vs. Society conflict, I'd just get Princess Mononoke again. At least then I'd see a whole cast of humans I could relate to and sympathize with through the entire movie.

tl; dr, I disliked Avatar going into it, hated it coming out, and will not be swayed by pretty CGI Smurfy-Cats.

This post has been edited by MorriganAensland: Dec 31 2009, 10:40 PM

[P-girl]

To each his own, and I get where you're going with that. Like I said, the only thing that really irks me is the Evil humans/Perfect Na'vi deal. No middle ground. As per Hollywood standard.

[MorriganAensland]

To each his own, and I get where you're going with that. Like I said, the only thing that really irks me is the Evil humans/Perfect Na'vi deal. No middle ground. As per Hollywood standard.

Yeah.

And I guess really, when it comes to Avatar there's (appropriately enough) two types of people.

1. Those who like the CGI and continue to be impressed with it throughout the film. This lets them get immersed in the world, helping them relate to the characters and get a feel for everything
2. Those who don't watch movies that way and as a result can't get that kind of immersion. This makes the flaws (which to be fair EVERY movie has flaws, even classics like Citizen Kane) stand out even more and bug them.

Then again, this is again someone who doesn't like the series making generalities that probably don't apply to everyone.

[P-girl]

Well, admittedly, I'm a type 1. person. I'm a very visual person, and I can easily be distracted by pretty imagery. (And Sigourney Weaver)

This post has been edited by P-girl: Dec 31 2009, 11:05 PM

[wkw427]

Saw on news that some people have having suicidal thoughts after seeing the movie because "they long for the colorful world of Pandora"

SERIOUSLY???

[P-girl]

I heard that one to.

STOP MAKING US NORMAL FANS OF THE MOVIE LOOK INSANE!

[mightymarty2]

with most movies or anythiing for that matter you tend to get extreme reactions

[P-girl]

I repeat; what about the normal fans? The average people who just see this as a good, entertaining movie? Nothing more, nothing less. We're looking stupid because of the obsessed fans.

[mightymarty2]

well there is nothing the none extreme fans can do its just a fact of life

[aqua_pearl]

Theres always going to be something negative about everything. And yeah, the magical world would be awesome to live in but i dont want to die over the thought.

I really liked the movie. I want to be a navi.

I heard alot of things, such as if you have seen Dances with wolves or the last samurai, youve seen this, but i like those kind of movies, so i expected to like this, which i did. All the pretty effects didnt hurt either.