Saw it in 3d this morning. I was actually expecting the worst, because I get annoyed at hype and Cameron seemed pretty obnoxious in interviews I saw about this movie.
The CGI is indeed very good, and I suppose they managed to avoid the Uncanny Valley effect because of the Na'avi's inherent alien-ness. So no trouble with suspension of disbelief. The world was quite beautiful, and the wildlife nicely rendered. But I'm sorry, and this may be a personal failing, but I really did not get the whole "this is a living breathing ecosystem" vibe from this movie any more than I did from Ice Age 3. Which admittedly uses a real-ish ecosystem as its backdrop, but you get my point. So you have rhinoceroses and wild dogs and horses and pterodactyls (and big pterodactyls). I don't see the importance of knowing what the dogs eat or where the bugs nest or how the trees grow. They don't really elaborate on it in the movie, and I don't really care.
So sorry if I sound negative - I actually think the SFX are great, although on my part as long as you avoid the characters looking Final Fantasy - creepy, I'm happy. So I can't really tell if this is so much better.
My main problem is with the plot - this movie has basically been done before, multiple times. From Pocahontas to the Last Samurai with some Dances with Wolves mixed in, it is cliched beyond the point of cliche. At least the acting was good enough to make me buy it - which I suppose is a testament to the quality of the mo-cap CGI performances.
In the end I got a solid, action-packed, fun movie which I really enjoyed, and the 2h30+ length seemed to zip by. But it hardly reinvents the world of movies as we know it.
The CGI is indeed very good, and I suppose they managed to avoid the Uncanny Valley effect because of the Na'avi's inherent alien-ness. So no trouble with suspension of disbelief. The world was quite beautiful, and the wildlife nicely rendered. But I'm sorry, and this may be a personal failing, but I really did not get the whole "this is a living breathing ecosystem" vibe from this movie any more than I did from Ice Age 3. Which admittedly uses a real-ish ecosystem as its backdrop, but you get my point. So you have rhinoceroses and wild dogs and horses and pterodactyls (and big pterodactyls). I don't see the importance of knowing what the dogs eat or where the bugs nest or how the trees grow. They don't really elaborate on it in the movie, and I don't really care.
So sorry if I sound negative - I actually think the SFX are great, although on my part as long as you avoid the characters looking Final Fantasy - creepy, I'm happy. So I can't really tell if this is so much better.
My main problem is with the plot - this movie has basically been done before, multiple times. From Pocahontas to the Last Samurai with some Dances with Wolves mixed in, it is cliched beyond the point of cliche. At least the acting was good enough to make me buy it - which I suppose is a testament to the quality of the mo-cap CGI performances.
In the end I got a solid, action-packed, fun movie which I really enjoyed, and the 2h30+ length seemed to zip by. But it hardly reinvents the world of movies as we know it.
Neutral Observer
This message last edited by smaug on 19/12/2009 at 11:19:49 PM
"Avatar" discussion thread
- 17/12/2009 08:10:04 AM
2504 Views
Innovative world-building sci-fi, dull cliched story
- 17/12/2009 01:13:47 PM
1210 Views
Doesn't that last paragraph describe Star Wars? *NM*
- 18/12/2009 03:33:58 AM
604 Views
Re: Doesn't that last paragraph describe Star Wars?
- 18/12/2009 09:49:23 AM
1092 Views
Star Wars had many things. Good characters was not one of them. *NM*
- 18/12/2009 09:06:18 PM
508 Views
Re: Star Wars had many things. Good characters was not one of them.
- 19/12/2009 02:57:43 AM
1061 Views
Avatar is basically Return of the Jedi, at least the part on Endor. But less militarily plausible
- 19/12/2009 02:22:35 AM
1296 Views
Re:Avatar is basically Return of the Jedi, at least the part on Endor. But less militarily plausible
- 19/12/2009 03:04:37 AM
1337 Views
Predictable with a tired & preachy plot. (spoilers) Also, the ending was completely ludicrous.
- 19/12/2009 03:02:21 AM
1577 Views
A rebuttal! For the points I disagree with, anyway.
- 20/12/2009 05:07:59 AM
1145 Views
Re: A rebuttal! For the points I disagree with, anyway.
- 21/12/2009 08:48:55 PM
1217 Views
It would help if you'd leave my quotes by the arguments, but whatever.
- 22/12/2009 10:36:42 AM
1116 Views
- 22/12/2009 10:36:42 AM
1116 Views
wow, you really do need help
- 21/12/2009 07:23:12 AM
1339 Views
If the bad guy has all the stones and still loses, how heroic were the heroes?
- 21/12/2009 08:53:00 PM
1156 Views
That's uncalled for IMO
- 25/12/2009 09:04:01 PM
1235 Views
I am pretty sure she refered to the fact that he sheered for the bad guys and wished the Na'vi ill.
- 25/12/2009 09:19:32 PM
1101 Views
I agree with your social commentary about the movie as ideological mirror for Cameron. *NM*
- 28/12/2009 05:09:56 AM
632 Views
Very good and fun, but not world-shattering.
- 19/12/2009 11:19:26 PM
1362 Views
Saw it a few hours ago, and enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
- 20/12/2009 05:14:11 AM
943 Views
An absolutely breathtaking film whose beauty is surpassed only by its predictability.
- 20/12/2009 10:57:53 AM
1052 Views
Has anyone seen this in 3D and not enjoyed it??
- 20/12/2009 06:11:52 PM
1185 Views
Cannoli, presumably.
*NM*
- 20/12/2009 10:41:48 PM
702 Views
*NM*
- 20/12/2009 10:41:48 PM
702 Views
Sure make fun of the visually impaired, asshole.
- 21/12/2009 08:57:33 PM
1147 Views
Sci-fi Pocahontas
- 21/12/2009 01:12:02 AM
1178 Views
My friend and I spent the whole movie
- 07/01/2010 12:50:56 AM
1005 Views
Oh so you're the kind of movie-goer in the seat behind me...
- 07/01/2010 11:20:56 AM
986 Views
No way!
- 07/01/2010 03:48:48 PM
888 Views
that you mock at all is incredibly disrespectful
- 07/01/2010 05:31:55 PM
1077 Views
You're overreacting.
- 07/01/2010 06:20:06 PM
1035 Views
You said you do it quietly
- 07/01/2010 08:18:07 PM
1051 Views
Except maybe the purist who really needs to be kept in a total sensory deprivation chamber.
*NM*
- 08/01/2010 10:51:58 PM
533 Views
*NM*
- 08/01/2010 10:51:58 PM
533 Views
Nothing's more satisfying that seeing and hearing the crowd around you react like you do
- 09/01/2010 01:36:36 PM
962 Views
As usual, Hollywood shoves an ideology down peoples' throats. *NM*
- 26/12/2009 04:30:20 AM
479 Views
So, a silly thing I found distracting...
- 29/12/2009 07:26:02 AM
1116 Views
A silly thing I found distracting was that the aliens were humanoid. *NM*
- 29/12/2009 09:48:46 AM
651 Views
Umm you would rather watch non-humanoid aliens? Yeah thats fun *NM*
- 29/12/2009 03:29:26 PM
547 Views
well. it's not necessarily erroneous either.
- 30/12/2009 06:28:57 AM
990 Views
Yes.
- 03/01/2010 05:08:17 PM
1094 Views
I believe she was speaking about their tails.
- 07/01/2010 07:37:46 AM
960 Views
If I remember it was the "USB Plug" in their hair. *NM*
- 08/01/2010 08:29:38 AM
672 Views
Yep
- 08/01/2010 09:33:08 AM
1053 Views
It was the best movie I've seen in ages. I'm seriously thinking of going to see it again. *NM*
- 29/12/2009 12:20:11 PM
717 Views
Wife and I saw it yesterday. We're going to the IMAX a town over to catch it again.
- 29/12/2009 09:22:01 PM
1042 Views
Project 880: The Avatar that might have been
- 31/12/2009 10:30:21 AM
1317 Views
It just took the double at the Golden Globes.
- 18/01/2010 04:04:08 AM
1094 Views


*NM*
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