Just saw Avatar

[Blarghagh]

I just saw it yesterday in 3D. It was pretty awesome, overall. Yes, the "message" was pretty obvious, but it didn't really interfere with my enjoyment of the movie.

 

My question: What's up with the floating mountains? Gravity effect from the planet (I assume Pandora is actually a moon)?

 

The movies art style was "influenced" by, or ripped off from if you prefer, album covers of the band Yes. I don't think they have any other explanation except that it looks cool.

 

I think the official explanation is that they are filled with Unobtainium, a superconductor. The Unobtainium creates a magnetic field, and this magnetic field clashes with the magnetic field of Pandora itself. The idea is that they were originally formed on the ground, broke off and sort of just float around a bit, and not that they formed like this. The waterfalls is just meltwater from ice, and water from rain and mist.

 

There's problems with this explanation but I can buy it enough for a cool movie scene.

 

Also, yes, Pandora is a moon. A moon of a gas giant (I think it's called Polypous or Polymorphous or something) in the Alpha Centauri A star system.

[vault_overseer]

Went to see it with my wife. It was our first movie experience in about a year and it freaking rocked. Blah blah predictable, blah blah cliche, but soooo much fun! It reminded us what going to the movies used to feel like before we were spoiled by DVDs, HD, Torrents and 15 super CGI movies every summer.

[Humodour]

I just saw it yesterday in 3D. It was pretty awesome, overall. Yes, the "message" was pretty obvious, but it didn't really interfere with my enjoyment of the movie.

 

My question: What's up with the floating mountains? Gravity effect from the planet (I assume Pandora is actually a moon)?

 

After I had a hissy fit about it, my friend mentioned it was probably magnetism (e.g. lodestones). Perhaps related to unobtainium. I mean, really, it was just a gimmick. Don't read too much into it.

[Blarghagh]

I guess we'll have to wait for the Pandorapedia entry.

[Pidesco]

So I saw this today, in GLORIOUS threedee and it was ok.

 

Technologically, it was pretty awesome with all the great and wondrous outworldly vistas to gawk at, including the realistic smiles on the smug alien bastards' faces. Really, every time generic alien love interest no.1 smiled, I wanted to shout I love you! at the screen. A proper CG smile. Wow.

 

Other than that, I was underwhelmed. By the acting, the plot, the writing, the bland everyman, the retarded, heavy handed symbolism, and the guilt over the disappearance of a romanticized Native American culture with biological internets. This was expected. What I didn't expect to disappoint me was the mess that was the action, especially considering that it's Cameron directing this. He used to be untouchable, when it came to action.

 

Finally, was it just me, or did the movie flip-flopped the antagonists towards the start of the war? Ribisi is shown as a complete asstard the whole time, only to suddenly feel guilt in a second, while the badass, hardworking soldier following orders, takes up the Mantle of Pure Evil in order to serve up a one on one fighting climax. Awful script writing right there. Oh, and I liked how the pantheistic god person thingie let all the Na'vi get slaughtered before saving the day. It's what I would do.

 

I had fun though, in an afternoon TV movie sort of way.

 

 

Sigourney Weaver's avatar was hawt...

 

[Blarghagh]

Alright, to each their own I guess, but I don't see how the action can be described "a mess" at all. The action was so incredibly well done and epic. And I welcomed an action movie without that shaky cam bull**** that's so popular nowadays.

[Pidesco]

Alright, to each their own I guess, but I don't see how the action can be described "a mess" at all. The action was so incredibly well done and epic. And I welcomed an action movie without that shaky cam bull**** that's so popular nowadays.

 

 

Thinking about it again (I saw this 2 hours ago), I guess my point of contention is the big ending battle. The smaller fights didn't strike me as bad, at all, and some were quite good. Like the one with the dogs. The big, final battle had no pace, was confusing, especially in the air, it never gave a sense of the scale and it didn't make a whole lot of sense.

[Gorgon]

Soooo...

 

 

It was pretty much exactly like I expected. The environment of the jungle made it worthwhile to watch, the story was straightforward and lacking much subtlety.

 

Cat Pocahontas had a nice ass. Was that a creepy thing to say ?. Well it's still true.

[Syraxis]

Cameron confirms the obvious.

 

Would it be pointless in hoping Hollywood doesn't **** this up?*

 

 

I haven't been excited for a movie sequel since ohhh 2002?

Edited January 8, 2010 by Syraxis

[Humodour]

Avatar has made $1.2 billion so far, making it the second-highest grossing movie of all time. Guess which one is the highest?

 

It should be noted that it has made this $1.2 billion in just 3 weeks.

[Raithe]

And apparently there is a large segment of fangirls who go squee! over Colonel Q and his general levels of badassitude.

 

For those getting worried about catgirl attraction, it's done on purpose. Cameron went around with concept pictures of the leading spacesmurf and asked people if they'd "bone her". And he kept getting the concept art changed until the majority of people said "yes."

 

Apparently he really wanted to get his furryfantasy working for everybody

[Syraxis]

Fox released the original script.

[Tigranes]

Just seen it. Generally pretty & fun, but:

 

1) It does look pretty, but nothing jawdropping. It might be better than LOTR when you count the pixels but I thought LOTR did it all better, and the flying ships looked positively Lego.

 

2) Way too long, the flying scenes for instance could have been cut to a third.

 

3) Figured out plot in first 15 minutes, amusing how they try to get on the green bandwagon.

 

4) I don't get what was so special about the generic love interest, meh. I loved how the aliens are built to look weird but still attractive, and how their concept of kissing and sex is exactly the same.

 

P.S. "Unobtainium"? Are you kidding me?

[Rosbjerg]

3) Figured out plot in first 15 minutes, amusing how they try to get on the green bandwagon.

 

P.S. "Unobtainium"? Are you kidding me?

 

Not to rain on your parade, but I don't think this movie had any real hopes of concealing the story from you or anyone for that matter.. everything Earth is much greyer and darker looking while Pandora is an absolute explosion of colour - the music tells us exactly what to cheer for and every character is pretty 2 dimensional. Good/Proud vs Bad/Proud

 

I laughed at the Unobtainium too

 

 

Just saw it yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised! I liked the movie a lot to be honest - a modern day Pocahontas of sorts, but mostly I could sense that Cameron had put a lot of details into this story, from biology and physics to lore and language - even if there are some glitches, which I didn't think of until afterwards - the movie sucked me in for the entire duration and kept me interested and entertained. It was my first 3D movie and it delivered on that sense too, I didn't know what to expect, but I fell in love with the small details - like being able to discern how big a room was or actually seeing the glass and sensing the spacial concept of it..

[Tigranes]

Oh, definitely, he was clearly trying to make this movie for the 10 year old in all of us.

 

a modern day Pocahontas of sorts

 

Yeah, or, a third-time-try at the Dances with Wolves

[mkreku]

I just got back from seeing it. I'm amazed. How can you spend two hours and forty minutes and yet not manage to develop even one deep character in the entire movie? It was like "Look at my creation, Pandora!!" and then it was two hours of Pandora porn with a little story thrown in.

 

I'd rate it 3/5, mainly because it was so pretty and imaginative. But the story.. I guess it was aimed at everyone to understand, from ten and up.

[Gorgon]

It was.... boring. Beautiful and boring, and Cameron is one of my idols. Depressing really.

[Hurlshort]

It was.... boring. Beautiful and boring, and Cameron is one of my idols. Depressing really.

 

That sounds like the general consensus. A lot of folks seems to be going back and seeing it two or three times, basically voicing their displeasure with their wallets. Hopefully Cameron gets the message and rights the ship, before we get another Titanic on our hands!

[Blarghagh]

I'm getting a bit tired of everyone busily comparing this to all kinds of other things. Mostly because, if you take a look at the list of succesful Hollywood films, everything else is: Based on a book, comic book, a sequel, a prequel, based on a TV show, based on non-fiction, etc. Yet this one, based on an original script, gets all this flack for borrowing from other sources?

 

I mean, I get it, it IS kindof derivative. But after years of being aflame with "WE ARE SO TIRED OF SEQUELS REMAKES" popular culture suddenly can't stop bashing this one for not having the most original plot ever? It just annoys me, really. Especially because you are unlikely to find anyone bashing this movie for unoriginality who hasn't got either Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark, or Kill Bill or whatever on their favourite movie list. Like those don't borrow from other sources.

[RPGmasterBoo]

Its a good film in the same sense Terminator 2, Aliens and whatnot are good films. They're pretty much the same - the typical action adventure film and as good as it gets in that genre. Dunno what people were expecting, that's what Cameron's been making ever since he started directing.

 

I went expecting that and wasn't disappointed.

 

Its a fable, not a philosophical tract.

[Tigranes]

I'm getting a bit tired of everyone busily comparing this to all kinds of other things. Mostly because, if you take a look at the list of succesful Hollywood films, everything else is: Based on a book, comic book, a sequel, a prequel, based on a TV show, based on non-fiction, etc. Yet this one, based on an original script, gets all this flack for borrowing from other sources?

 

I mean, I get it, it IS kindof derivative. But after years of being aflame with "WE ARE SO TIRED OF SEQUELS REMAKES" popular culture suddenly can't stop bashing this one for not having the most original plot ever? It just annoys me, really. Especially because you are unlikely to find anyone bashing this movie for unoriginality who hasn't got either Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark, or Kill Bill or whatever on their favourite movie list. Like those don't borrow from other sources.

 

Sorry, that don't fly - it's a question of degrees. Avatar was disproportionately unoriginal and boring in comparison to its box office success and hype.

[Humodour]

I'm getting a bit tired of everyone busily comparing this to all kinds of other things. Mostly because, if you take a look at the list of succesful Hollywood films, everything else is: Based on a book, comic book, a sequel, a prequel, based on a TV show, based on non-fiction, etc. Yet this one, based on an original script, gets all this flack for borrowing from other sources?

 

I mean, I get it, it IS kindof derivative. But after years of being aflame with "WE ARE SO TIRED OF SEQUELS REMAKES" popular culture suddenly can't stop bashing this one for not having the most original plot ever? It just annoys me, really. Especially because you are unlikely to find anyone bashing this movie for unoriginality who hasn't got either Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark, or Kill Bill or whatever on their favourite movie list. Like those don't borrow from other sources.

 

Sorry, that don't fly - it's a question of degrees. Avatar was disproportionately unoriginal and boring in comparison to its box office success and hype.

 

Rubbish.

[Tigranes]

But I thought you loved me, Krezack.

[Blarghagh]

Wow. You have convinced me. "That don't fly" is a very compelling argument.

[Humodour]

But I thought you loved me, Krezack.

 

Most of the time.