Avatar 3D [beware of spoilers]

[Yared]

What do you think of it? Rate on the poll above. You're welcome to motivate your vote

Also, try to keep major plot things in spoilers.

Originally Posted by yared94

I saw Avatar 3D with my dad.

Overall, it was "good".

The only thing bad was how cliché it was at some parts. Like the scientists' elitism; that Grace dudette kept calling the protagonist a for being a marine (not that the marines were anything beyond trigger-happy, violent beasts).

Also, that the villain (the military dude) really, really had a deep hatred for the natives for no real good reason bothered me. Yes, I understand that he's a mercenary and just wants his ca$h but it's still kind of unrealistic, as if their very existence was a personal insult to him.

Otherwise, it had some "depth" and Pandora was interesting. The 3D thing was cool too.

A 7/10 from me I guess...

[Camikaze]

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=346387

But yeah, I thought it was good. The problem with people saying 'OMG that was the best movie ever' is that people's automatic reaction to that seems to be 'no it wasn't, it sucked', when really it should be 'well, it was a good movie, but certainly not the best ever'.

[Yared]

Even if you can't really agree with the text in the poll, vote on the number.

[Camikaze]

I'd give it an 8, for the record. Second best movie I've seen in the last year, behind Inglourious Basterds. Why? Well, largely for the eye candy. It's all very well and good to say that you shouldn't judge a movie just on how it looks (which I'm not), but that's one of the crucial things that separates it from other forms of media. So it's a huge consideration. And obviously it can't be faulted for it. And then although the story was cliche, you can get away with cliche if you do it well. And this was so cliche it will become the cliche. But again, the cliche was done well. Largely thanks to the impressive visuals, again. So whilst it wasn't the most profound movie ever, it was certainly captivating and entertaining, and exceptional in terms of special effects and visual stimulation.

[Plotinus]

It was decent enough, but I found the total lack of any surprise, twist, or indeed real interest to the story to be too off-putting.

Spoiler:

For example: when the hero returned to the natives to help them fight the invaders, I assumed he must have some brilliant plan that linked in with something we'd seen earlier. But no - his idea was to get everyone together and go totally Ewok. That's not really enough.

So yes, it looked splendid (although I must admit I found a lot of the scenery more garish than really beautiful), but once the initial situation had been established, it was really a paint-by-numbers plot. As I understand it, Cameron intended it to be this way, on the grounds that he was making a sort of archetypal myth rather than a novel story, but I don't think that that really works. (I suppose giving characters names like "Dr Grace Augustine" is part of this, but to my mind it comes off as overly clunky.)

Perhaps it didn't help that I saw it shortly after District 9, which was one of the most original and continually surprising science fiction films I've seen recently.

[Lord Baal]

I gave it a 6. The visuals were fantastic, but the story was merely *meh*. I've argued elsewhere that it was a good story, and it is. The problem is it's a good story that's been used repeatedly since Dances With Wolves - probably earlier. After a while even good stories become boring. That's why I haven't watched Pulp Fiction in more than a year.

Still, I think it was worth the price of admission, but it was hardly the best thing I saw last year. In fact, it wasn't the best thing I saw that month. Sherlock Holmes, while a terrible blight on Arthur Conan Doyle's work, was also highly entertaining in its sheer crapola. Largely due to Robert Downey, Jr..

EDIT: I second the District 9 love, Plotinus. Drool-worthy, even if the science was implausible.

[Camikaze]

Originally Posted by Plotinus

It was decent enough, but I found the total lack of any surprise, twist, or indeed real interest to the story to be too off-putting.

Spoiler:

Don't know about you, but I was actually pretty surprised by the animals joining in on the battle when all hope seemed lost. It was impossible to imagine anything other than a happy ending, but I didn't expect it to be delivered through that avenue. Although I suppose a deus ex machina is hardly something to give praise for...

Originally Posted by Lord Baal

Still, I think it was worth the price of admission, but it was hardly the best thing I saw last year. In fact, it wasn't the best thing I saw that month. Sherlock Holmes, while a terrible blight on Arthur Conan Doyle's work, was also highly entertaining in its sheer crapola. Largely due to Robert Downey, Jr..

Without attempting to stray away from the topic at hand, I do have to say, I found Sherlock Holmes fantastic, even if it apparently spits on the grave of other Holmes'.

[Lord Baal]

Originally Posted by Camikaze

Spoiler:

Don't know about you, but I was actually pretty surprised by the animals joining in on the battle when all hope seemed lost. It was impossible to imagine anything other than a happy ending, but I didn't expect it to be delivered through that avenue. Although I suppose a deus ex machina is hardly something to give praise for...

Without attempting to stray away from the topic at hand, I do have to say, I found Sherlock Holmes fantastic, even if it apparently spits on the grave of other Holmes'.

I found it fantastically entertaining, but it was merely a cool movie, not a great one. If they actually made it a mystery I'd have been much happier.

[Yared]

^

You talking about Sherlock Holmes or Avatar?

-

Yeah, it was sort of predictable.

[Lord Baal]

Originally Posted by yared94

^

You talking about Sherlock Holmes or Avatar?

-

Yeah, it was sort of predictable.

In that post, Sherlock Holmes.

[Plotinus]

Originally Posted by Camikaze

Spoiler:

Don't know about you, but I was actually pretty surprised by the animals joining in on the battle when all hope seemed lost. It was impossible to imagine anything other than a happy ending, but I didn't expect it to be delivered through that avenue. Although I suppose a deus ex machina is hardly something to give praise for...

I will agree with that, actually, and I almost mentioned that in my post as one of the parts I did like.

[Winner]

As a sci-fi buff, I liked it. Probably more so because I dug up background information explaining many aspects of the movie which were not explained on screen.

As for the aesthetics, it was breathtaking. I'll probably go see it again once they finally allow the cinemas to show the undubbed version

[Yared]

Originally Posted by Winner

I'll probably go see it again once they finally allow the cinemas to show the undubbed version

That sucks!!!

[Winner]

Hey, it's not my fault I live in a thoroughly ignorant and self-obsessed country!

[Joecoolyo]

It was totally cliched and you could easily see everything coming from a mile away, yet, there's just something about James Cameron's film making, I don't know what it is. He's somehow able to take a pretty lousy script and turn into something great.

[PlutonianEmpire]

Spoiler:

THEY DIDN'T USE NUKES!!!!!

I voted 5/10 for the text, but for me, the movie was 7.5/10

[_random_]

Originally Posted by Winner

As a sci-fi buff, I liked it. Probably more so because I dug up background information explaining many aspects of the movie which were not explained on screen.

As for the aesthetics, it was breathtaking. I'll probably go see it again once they finally allow the cinemas to show the undubbed version

When that happens, be warned that Sam Worthington cannot keep a consistent accent no matter how hard he tries. In spite of that, solid acting and sheer visual spectacle lead me to a solid 8.

[Esckey]

I gave it an 8

[Yared]

I don't know if this is restricted to my theatre (the biggest one in Scandinavia BTW IIRC), but the audio wasn't as good as it could've been. For example when those helicopters flew I didn't hear it going from left-right like it could've been done.

What are your experiences? (If you remember)

[Huayna Capac357]

On that scale, a 7 or 8.