I'm surprised there's not already a thread for this movie (or is there?).
I went to see it over the weekend and thought it was great! The 3D tech is awesome (IMO), it's certainly come a LONG way from the last 3D movie I watched.
The plot wasn't particularly innovative, but Cameron can certainly tell a good story. I thought the ending was a little hard to swallow
Spoiler:
but it is what it is. I think the corporation that was mining the unobtanium should start selling second-lives as Navi instead of the mineral. Imagine the profit as old people from Earth give their life savings to have their minds transferred into nice young Navi bodies! :P 12-21-2009 02:19 PMDoctorDodgeI saw it on friday, and thought it was brilliant! Exceeded expectations, and considering I had high hopes due to it being a James Cameron film, that's saying something!
OK, it was very, very long, but also incredibly beautiful. Cameron has proved with this film that 3D isn't just a gimmick to get people back in the cinema: it's also a fantastic new way to tell a story whilst reducing people's vocabulary to the level of Keanu Reeve's and just have them say "whoa!" when watching it. In this day and age, when so many films are so completely filled with computer effects that the audience has becomed somewhat used to it, that's incredibly hard to do!
As CPU pointed out, it's not the most original plot in the world, but Cameron still knows how to tell a story and really suck the audience into the film so much that you just don't care about it. It really is fantastic to know that, unlike Michael Bay films, there are truly great movies out there that have both amazing effects AND a good enough story to justify it! 12-21-2009 03:39 PMMarkI'm going tomorrow, My Mum has been and said it's really good, but i've read reviews that say the CGI and 3D stuff really covers up an average story. 12-21-2009 05:50 PMur2ndbiggestfanI believe I sat through the entire two hours and forty minutes without moving (except when the jerk behind me kicked the seat hard enough about eight times to rock my head), because I was totally entranced by this instant classic. The 3D was outstanding, the visuals stunning, and the plotline was good enough for me, even though it was derivative of many science fiction stories I have read in the past, mostly boring ones about humans coping with extra-terrestrial life forms. Reading these is one thing, seeing them so brilliantly portrayed on screen is quite another. Two thumbs, eight fingers, and ten toes UP! 12-22-2009 09:38 AMDoctorDodge 12-22-2009 01:58 PMidk, my bff jill?I tried to watch it both on Saturday and Sunday, but the showings were all sold out. :[
I'm going to try again today or tomorrow.
To be quite honest, the plot doesn't interest me at all, but I've heard such great things that I'm super excited all the same. 12-23-2009 01:00 PMArtherEldQuote:I could understand that criticism if it becomes apparent that there will be no sequel. And maybe there won't be, at least under Cameron's direction. He hasn't given in to the "sequelmania" other than Judgement Day. But there are rumors to such, and no doubt a sequel will end up dealing with the very thing you're talking about. But if there is no sequel, then yeah, I'd like to know why in the future Earth has decided to take "a few good men" literally. Other than that, yes, this movie was classic Cameron.
I hear people talking smack about the dialogue and acting, and then say they've been a long time Cameron fan. And I get confused at such criticisms when I look back at all his movies. In summary, taking this movie, and Aliens, and the Abyss, Terminator, all that, into account, Cameron movies aren't oscar worthy in terms of storyline, acting and dialogue. They're not bad, but they're also not groundbreaking. The dialogue and acting resembles blue colar, down to earth characters and I love that. A lot of cheesy one liners, sure, but that's classic action, and that's classic Cameron. This movie was no exception. All the military scenes and the science team scenes, that was every Cameron movie you've ever seen in a nutshell. Sigourney Weaver's presence capitalized on that. It's when we get to the Navi that Cameron sort of stepped out of his bubble for better or worse.
I think it was for the better. I liked those sequences the best in this film. And that acting was actually pretty good. The animators were in on the acting as well, and they did a superb job. They took what Jackson did with Gollum to the next level. Which is what you're hoping for. Gollum was great animated acting but any future movies that attempt it, you hope they do a better job, and Avatar did. Favorite scene for this: watching Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) react to her mother wanting her to teach Jake Sully (Sam Worthington).
My criticisms: 1.) Jake Sully ends up being unremorsefully anti-human. He's a marine, he's gotta be going through some sort of emotional battle due to killing his own. I wonder about how an actual marine would critique this part of the film. 2.) as good as the animation was there were some awkward animations - like a couple of jumping stuff - where their bodies contort in unrealistic ways. That's a nitpick I know, but I usually don't nitpick. But there were a coupld scenes that popped out at me.
Loved the film. Didn't even need to be 3D, that was just icing on the cake. Hope they have an uncut version coming. 12-23-2009 06:10 PMkaleidyscopeI don't need to go to the cinema ever again. What a transfixing experience. If anyone is considering whether or not to see it in 3d don't, just see it in 3D :D 12-24-2009 07:52 AMlophophorasI saw the previews in 3D when I went to see Jim Carry - The Christmas Story.
They were great!
I felt a tad drunk. All of that action was hard to follow with the 3D effects.
I'm planning on going this weekend to see the movie though.
:thumbsup: 12-24-2009 08:13 AMturtlexThough not a Cameron fan really, I would have to disagree with this. Though his films aren't the pinnacle of acting arts, there are a lot of good performances around what are usually stilted scripts.Quote:
Cameron movies aren't oscar worthy in terms of storyline, acting and dialogue.
Sigourney Weaver, Bill Paxton and Michael Biehn in Aliens. All did very well.
Linda Hamilton in Terminator and T2.
And honestly, Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in The Abyss. Good performances.
Kate Winslet in Titanic. Though I hated the movie ( yeah, I'm the one ) and thought it was over-long and rather boring. She was actually very watchable and did what she could with what was basically a very poorly written character.
I'm gonna see Avatar sometime this coming week or so. So... I'll be back. :D 12-24-2009 01:55 PMMerlin1958IMHO don't bother seeing this film in anything but the 3D/Imax. It is just incredible as Cameron takes you into the world of Pandora. Many scenes are shot such that you feel as if you were "in" the movie. The plot is kinda lame though (Sci-Fi Dances with Wolves) and I cannot imagine sitting through it in a regular theater. But the Imax-3D is like going to a Disney attraction!!!!
Well worth the $15 for the ticket!!!!! 12-24-2009 09:19 PMcody44I agree with people who said the 3D was a very good way to cover up the poor screenwriting. I enjoyed the 3D and realize that it is a new step forward in movie technology, but I don't go to a movie to be only visually stunned. I felt like the movie dragged on in parts. Making the already three hour long movie feel like five. I still had a fun time watching it, and certain parts really did pop. 12-26-2009 02:48 PMLily-saiFor me it felt like a mere hour. I was so awestruck - Pandora is very, very beautiful (and no, don't watch it in anything else but 3D!). I might not be a very good movie critic, but I wept. And smiled. And laughed. And felt anger.
I simply, purely loved Avatar. 12-27-2009 03:40 PMArtherEldI wept too. But it was that 3D getting to my eyes.
Honostly, 3D was icing on the cake. Enjoy it while it lasts. Hit the theaters as much times as possible, cuz I don't think it's gonna be 3D on DVD. In any case, really it doesn't need to be. I'll get the movie and be happy with it as a non3D movie. 12-28-2009 10:31 AMICry4OyThat's good to hear because 3D movies always make my head ache and my eyes bleed. 12-28-2009 10:50 AMcozener[quote=turtlex;473445]To date, one of my favorite sci fi flicks.Quote:
Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in The Abyss. Good performances.
A lot of people didn't like that movie. I thought it sucked balls. Cliched romantic plot, lackluster script, exceedingly stupid ending. The only thing that kept me in my seat was that I wanted to see the ship sink. (which was an awesome scene but kinda like putting a cherry on top of a pile of poop instead of a banana split, IMHO)
Even though I don't much like Cameron...I think he's an arrogant asshole...I will likely go see Avatar. 12-31-2009 01:55 AMManOfWesternesseSaw it a few days ago, with my 12-yr-old. We were both awestruck.
Agree with ArthurEld above on the sequel setup - it certainly looks like it's set up for one.
Wonderful experience - I think I'll go see it again at the weekend. 12-31-2009 02:02 AMLettiI saw it with Susan (yes, with her) last week and we are going to see it again this weekend. Just like you Brian. I hardly ever see a movie twice in the cinema but it was good and I couldn't say 'no' to my dear friend. 12-31-2009 02:16 AMManOfWesternesse 12-31-2009 02:25 AMLettiIt was great indeed. :)
I see where you are coming from. I am really happy because this weekend we can watch it in English. Last time we saw it in Hungarian (dubbed) and it's not the same.. not to mention the fact that if you watch something in English you can share the experience with fewer AND more silent people. 12-31-2009 02:42 AMManOfWesternesseFor my own part, i HOPE not to share it next time with the lady who brought what looked like her 3-month-old baby along and was sitting 2 seats away from me! I'm sure the child had little appreciation for the film, and even though i was totally engrossed in the film, i had little appreciation for the child on the couple of occasions it started to cry. It was not a major problem, but hopefully won't be repeated! :lol: 12-31-2009 03:15 AMLetti 12-31-2009 06:43 AMur2ndbiggestfanI have no trouble with most of Cameron's films. The only one that didn't sit well with me was TRUE LIES, which I found totally unbelievable in any sense. But with that one exception, his movies are well thought out and logically consistent in the universes (or settings) he creates for them. I never find myself thinking "THAT would never happen!" or "Where the heck did THAT come from!" in his movies. He doesn't do action for action's sake or play with his digital effects just becasue he has them. I also sat spellbound through TITANIC, ALIENS, THE ABYSS and AVATAR, and never find the writing, plots or dialog in his films lame or unrealistic or cliched.
As for rudeness in theaters, there is no excuse for that. Why people have to open their cell phones up every 10 minutes I have no idea. I would never take a cell phone into a movie with me. And if I had a reason to do so, I wouldn't go! I go to the movies to see them, not to take calls and messages. 01-01-2010 07:36 AMBriceOff topic, but Letti hug Susan for me. :wub: 01-06-2010 07:59 AMErinI saw it 2 days ago and was blown away by the visuals. I agree that the story wasn't super original, but I really enjoyed myself during it. And I agree with Letti and Brian that i will be seeing it again in theatres, something I rarely do.