James Cameron's "Avatar" (grading and discussion)

[Flavius]

It looks even worse for Avatar when you put the number of sold tickets in correlation to the size of the population.

Enough said about those numbers. That's not the interesting part for me. Star Wars was a movie that changed the industry and became a major cultural influence whereas The Sting, a movie that Avatar is not going to beat, was neither.

Is Avatar going to change the industry? There are some signs of that, but nothing more. Can you imagine the next Spidey movie not being filmed with Camerons cameras? I sure can.

 

[Kegg]

Well, one can debate if it's going to be a major cultural influence, but I think Avatar's SFX are going to have a big impact, much like the Matrix did before it (which I think Avatar outranks even adjusted for inflation). As a proof of concept it's basically succeeded and raised the bar for such films. It may not be the most successful film of all time, but it was a big, huge hit. Let's not forget the tree in the forest.

 

[MarianLH]

I just got the "activist guide" book from the local library and have started reading it. Some people will be disappointed to hear that those stone arches are a natural formation.


Marian

 

[Hyperspace05]

Yes, the are natural formations that have formed like magnetic field lines around a powerful magnetic field - the flux, which also levitates the floating mountains in the same area.

My personal fan-speculation/explanation would be that the earth around those formations has eroded away over a long time, gradually exposing the most 'unobtanium'-rich formations either as arches or floating chucks/rocks/mountains.

 

[Corran Horn]

Saw it in 3D IMAX this afternoon. Pretty amazing and glad I saw it in 3D after initially seeing the 'normal' version.

 

[Harvey]

I saw an op-ed by David Books in the local paper today which restated many of the criticisms that the movie is a racial fantasy for whites. It can be found online here.

I'm not sure I see a basis for his evaluation of the Na'Vi as bastions of illiteracy, though.

Anyway, thought I'd throw that out there.

 

[Kegg]

I'm not sure I see a basis for his evaluation of the Na'Vi as bastions of illiteracy, though.

Well their history is one of oral tradition, which typically predates literacy. On the other hand, they are bilingual, which suggests that some of them may be able to write English in addition to reading it (per Grace's school and all).

 

[Tyberius]

I saw an op-ed by David Books in the local paper today which restated many of the criticisms that the movie is a racial fantasy for whites. It can be found online here.

I'm not sure I see a basis for his evaluation of the Na'Vi as bastions of illiteracy, though.

Anyway, thought I'd throw that out there.

It is a generic enough plot that you can shoehorn any message, both benevolent and malevolent, into it. And that is the beauty of such a thing; that it can generate such discussion as to the morality of all the players and how that relates to us.

 

[Agenda]

So what if they are illiterate? See that kind of proves the point of the movie. The Earthlings automatically assumed that their ways were better, just because they were more advanced, when all they did was lead to the destruction of Earth's environment.

 

[Hyperspace05]

I saw an op-ed by David Books in the local paper today which restated many of the criticisms that the movie is a racial fantasy for whites. It can be found online here.

Yawn... Just the same-old "concern" from conservative opinionators about condescension towards native peoples. (as if they care!) As if that was their real problem with the film.

Anyway, here is a different kind of take on the film and its script:
Avatar and the Vocabulary of Evildoers -- Or, Why James Cameron's Script Isn't as Bad as You Think
Sure the script analysis is non-existent, but it does highlight recent instances where commercial interest have collided with 'primitive cultures'.

 

[Blue_Trek]

So I decided to go see it in IMAX today, went early to the theater to get my tickets at 4:30pm for the 7:00pm showing.

SOLD OUT !

Mid week nearly a month after it's release, looks like this will be in IMAX until March when Alice in Wonderland comes out, Cameron was smart to release this when he did. How many more people have been turned away like this and will see it down the road creating some serious IMAX legs.

 

[Hyperspace05]

Yep, if you plan to see it in IMAX you better book it several days in advance.

 

[Agenda]

It's not even in my fricking city in IMAX. WTF...

 

[Neroon]

I finally got to see the film this afternoon, in Real 3-D though not in IMAX. Technically, it was the most brilliant film I have ever seen since LOTR... maybe of all time.

 

[Hyperspace05]

For those who can't wait until the DVD/Blu-ray, here's a pretty decent 20 minute behind the scenes documentary that briefly covers most of the behind the scenes stuff, and the technology breakthroughs that were made:

Avatar: Creating the World of Pandora
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o47vlm603QM
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11DLOVLj8xo
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXX_yaDVLk8
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf-D66t2AjM
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7D8mtVjaG8

 

[T'Baio]

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXX_yaDVLk8

Those are excellent, thank you.

The third one I feel is really important. Mainly because how much the performances captured in the film are truly the actors themselves and not CGI recreations of their performances. If you watch the split screen segment, where you see the on set performances matched with the final product, it is plain to see that what you get in the film is by and large exactly how they were played out by the actors...facial expressions and all.

The actors in that film deserve a fuckload of credit.

 

[Harvey]

I don't know if they deserve a fuckload of credit, but they deserve the same amount of credit actors in a non-CGI intense film do.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

I still maintain the the performance from the character of Neytiri is easily the best of the film. Obviously it's a combination of actress and (CGI) artist. But considering how much better the performance is when compared to, say, Jake or Sigourney Weaver's character, it's clear that the performance from Zoe Saldana was strong enough to inspire a much more plausible "performance" from the (CGI) artists.

 

[Tom Servo]

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXX_yaDVLk8

Those are excellent, thank you.

The third one I feel is really important. Mainly because how much the performances captured in the film are truly the actors themselves and not CGI recreations of their performances. If you watch the split screen segment, where you see the on set performances matched with the final product, it is plain to see that what you get in the film is by and large exactly how they were played out by the actors...facial expressions and all.

The actors in that film deserve a fuckload of credit.

Yes they do.

Something else I noticed in those vids...some scenes that weren't in the film, like Quaritch leading troops through the forest, and something exploding through the command center at Hell's Gate.

I hope to see them in the deleted scenes.

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

Just saw it tonight in 3D. The 3D is worth the price in for certain, if I had caught it in 2D I think I would have enjoyed the experience a lot less. The spangly hi-tech look was very nicely done too.

I felt a little dirty having seen it, as if I need to load up a decent FPS and blast something to make up for the hippies winning.

One thing bothered me, why didn't they just take off and launch the shuttle into the tree of life from orbit? It seems one way to be really sure. And what was the female pilot's reason for rebelling as she did?

The whole thing reminded me of a brief story recounted by a character in Peter Hamilton's Fallen Dragon novel. There, humans genetically engineer themselves into the Navi of this film and force a small army from Earth to flee through advanced biotechnology.

Without any of Peter Hamilton's technology to help, the happy ending bugged me. If Earth is dying and that wasn't just an idle taunt, why don't the corporations come back and nuke or gas the planet from orbit?

The comparisons with Dances with Wolves seem apt. The white men of the corporation will be back with more men, more guns and take what they want.