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

[T'Baio]

Trekker4747, please, never write another review ever again.

 

[Kaijima]

they assume it's environmentalist propaganda or that it must have a subtext saying civilization and technology are evil and primitive people are "natural", wholesome, and good.

That's certainly what it looks like....

The setting of the film invites that interpretation, though on the other hand, scientists are portrayed as being good, and it's corporate-run exploitation that is portrayed as being evil.

The military jugheads are no different than the cartoonish over the top marines in Aliens, it is just that here, they end up on the wrong side morally so that makes it seem as if they're being portrayed as simplistically evil.

The primary, not-original message is that the strong exploit the weak and reason that the weak are savages to make it go down better with the troops. One could also interpret the story, however simple it is, as having a "twist" in the form of giving the seemingly weak people in this case a secret weapon that makes them strong too.

 

[Michael Chris]

I voted excellent! Great movie, even if it was cliched and had huge plot holes. Seriously has technology regressed so much that you need a bunch of ridiculously large gunships to put a small amount of explosives on a target? It was still brilliant entertainment.

It is an unusual movie when you cheer when soldiers get killed by alien dragons!

 

[DarthPipes]

Sure, at first it seems to be commentary on, say, Iraq, but the more I think about it, it's less about imperialism and more anti-Blackwater.

Yeah, I got this vibe myself. More against the military industrial complex and Blackwater-type groups.

 

[Jax]

Going to see it Tuesday mainly because I have never seen a 3-D movie and I am curious to see ho 3-D exactly looks but I am told its good and reviews from the film so far to date are very promising. Been skipping posts not wanting to be spoiled so dunno if anyone has posted this but Avatar is heading for...

$80 million opening day weekend in North America and early worldwide signs are looking good too but no info on potential numbers. Most likely though due to weather I could see $70 million weekend and similar worldwide if not break 150 total for the weekend setting in on the way to break at least 400 million.

 

[The Evil Dead]

I voted Above Average. It's a fantastically made film, with absolutely the best realized alien world I've ever seen. Unfortunately I found the story a bit paint by the numbers, but still the spectacle is worth the price of admission. I'll probably have to go check it out again next week.

Perhaps I'm naive but I don't think the film is commenting on any current event in particular but just a pattern in human behavior over the course of our entire history... We've fucked each other over for a percentage ( ) over and over for thousands of years, why wouldn't we do it to aliens if we were to encounter them?

 

[Cyke101]

Am I the only one who thought the Na'vi felt more like some kind of African tribe, rather than Native American? By the way, I was getting this feeling while watching it, before I read here that Zoe Saldana was playing the main Na'vi, in case you're wondering if that coloured my perceptions of them or not.

Now that I think back about it, I think the indigenous people are a hybrid mix of South American, North American, and African tribes. South American in terms of how they deal with their environment and tropics, North American in world view and animal domestication, and African in ritual and religion.

 

[EmmanuelZorg]

Brilliant movie, not just for 3D but epic storytelling, unique visual effects and great acting. James Cameron has delivered another masterpiece like Terminator 1 & 2, True Lies, Aliens, Titanic and now this.

Zoe is at her most sexy playing an alien babe who is guaranteed to make men smile.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

they assume it's environmentalist propaganda or that it must have a subtext saying civilization and technology are evil and primitive people are "natural", wholesome, and good.

That's certainly what it looks like....

The setting of the film invites that interpretation, though on the other hand, scientists are portrayed as being good, and it's corporate-run exploitation that is portrayed as being evil.

I would hope that humanity isn't evil simply because it wants to survive. Don't we have that right? AFAIK, the reason they're on Pandora is because it has a mineral that's vital to Earth's survival. So what else are humans supposed to do, just give up and die?

 

[Trekker4747]

Trekker4747, please, never write another review ever again.

Why?

(If it's for syntax/spelling I apologize for that. I wrote it at like 11:30 at night after getting back from the theater. I was tired. I'm going back to proof/edit it now.)

 

[SalvorHardin]

AFAIK, the reason they're on Pandora is because it has a mineral that's vital to Earth's survival.

They wanted the mineral just because it was valuable, it cost 20 millions a kilo.
I don't remember the mineral being linked to Earth's survival. (correct me if I remember wrong)

And the deposit under the giant tree where the Navi lived was not the only source of the mineral, just the biggest which meant bigger and quicker profit.

 

[Trekker4747]

I find it odd that only Michelle Rodriguez (who I found hot for the first time ever in this movie) 's character was the only military one to mutiny on the mission(s). It seemed the other marines were to quick to jump in their Mechas and start mowing down primitive aliens.

I'm planning on going back to see this movie, this time in standard "2D" format, to see how it is "regular." The first time through I was more into it for the spectacle, effects, and 3D. I wonder how it'll hold-up on repeat viewings.

 

[Starbreaker]

I find it odd that only Michelle Rodriguez (who I found hot for the first time ever in this movie) 's character was the only military one to mutiny on the mission(s). It seemed the other marines were to quick to jump in their Mechas and start mowing down primitive aliens.

I'm planning on going back to see this movie, this time in standard "2D" format, to see how it is "regular." The first time through I was more into it for the spectacle, effects, and 3D. I wonder how it'll hold-up on repeat viewings.

Chacon was the one who had ferried the scientists around and had seen the civilization up close. It's probably easy to attack someone you're superiors say is a hostile enemy.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

They wanted the mineral just because it was valuable, it cost 20 millions a kilo.
I don't remember the mineral being linked to Earth's survival. (correct me if I remember wrong)

And the deposit under the giant tree where the Navi lived was not the only source of the mineral, just the biggest which meant bigger and quicker profit.

Oh. Never mind, then.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Am I the only one who thought the Na'vi felt more like some kind of African tribe, rather than Native American? By the way, I was getting this feeling while watching it, before I read here that Zoe Saldana was playing the main Na'vi, in case you're wondering if that coloured my perceptions of them or not.

Now that I think back about it, I think the indigenous people are a hybrid mix of South American, North American, and African tribes. South American in terms of how they deal with their environment and tropics, North American in world view and animal domestication, and African in ritual and religion.

I thought that they were a mixture of Native American and African.

I also thought that there was some Maori influence especially as so many New Zealanders worked on the film. Though I don't speak Maori, I have heard it, I thought their language sounded a little like Maori.

EDITED TO ADD - I have just found an article in which Cameron mentions the language. He says -

I'll let the actors answer the second part of that. But the way that the language was created, it started off innocently enough as I was writing the script. I came up with some place names and some character names and so on. You know, I was just sort of free-associating. And I had been to New Zealand a few years ago and really liked the sound of the Maori language and some of the Polynesian form, so I put that in. And when I found Dr. Paul Fromer, who is the head of the linguistic department at the University of Southern - USC in Los Angeles. He kind of started to riff on that, and he brought in different sounds from different languages. Some African languages, European languages, even some Native American sounds. And he ran the whole sound--what did he call it?--he called it a sound palette I think or something like that. Sound system. He ran the sound system past me. He would literally make little MP3's of like sounds like [makes click noises]. You know, things like that, I'd be getting all these weird sounds, he'd give me some example words and so on, and I'd say okay, that sounds good. He'd start to make sentences. And at first some of it was a little too guttural or sharp. I said no, the Na'vi language needs to be very mellifluous, almost melodic. So he started to change that. He wanted to find things that the actors could still pronounce but which would sound a little bit alien to our ear, at least in terms of let's say European-based culture. So he went to Indonesian sounds and like some bushman clicks and things like that. Well, it turns out that in practice some of the sounds were just too hard for the actors so then he had to clean it up so it was actually pronounceable.

SOURCE

 

[Trekker4747]

I had also seen this in the local AMC theater's "Fork and Screen" experience. Something I enjoy doing for bigger movies and something my buddy and I do now because the seating is nicer. I've always considered the experience to be an "adult" one and a little bit more "upper crust" than the "stack 'em, pack 'em and rack 'em" approach of the regular auditoriums.

Infact, I was fairly sure children were not allowed in the Fork and Screen theaters.

Apparently not. I sat through this movie next to a 8-year-old-boy with a high-enough picthed voice to shatter diamonds and he insisted on talking almost constantly in the movie.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I have rarely had a problem with children misbehaving at any movie I have gone through.

That said, I was sitting in front of a girl who was maybe 12 or 13 years old when I went to see Avatar. The girl obviously hadn't seen ther movie before but quite often when one of the Na'vi spoke the girl behind me would repeat their sentence almost perfectly. I remember thinking that I hoped that this girl was learning languages at school because she had seemed to have no problem with pronouncing new words.

I was not annoyed by her.

 

[barnaclelapse]

As a spectacle, as a visual event I would certainly have to give it a 5/5. As a film in terms of acting, pacing, writing and such I would probably have to give it somewhere between a 2.5/3 out of 5.

That was more or less what I figured.

 

[QuasarVM]

James Cameron has reconfirmed he's the reigning king of sci-fi film directors.

Avatar blew Star Trek out of the galaxy. Not just because of great effects, but I didn't leave the theater having to fill in all the plot holes and explain any ridiculous coincidences, etc.

It's one of the best science fiction films ever and he very much has proven he could top Titanic. This is many times better than Titanic.

Go see it and go see it in IMAX 3D.

 

[T'Baio]

I thought the film was a masterpiece. All the complaints about bad story and dialogue are bitter bunk from people who are unable to lose themselves in the majesty of cinema.

I wanna write a review, but I have so much to say and I'm so lazy...