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

[Nerys Myk]

It was a fun, visually exciting film. The story was a a familer one. (Nothing wromng with that). The CGI was great, I hope to see something similar in "John Carter of Mars".

My Nits:
The Na'vi are four limbed and two eyed, but all the other Pandoran lifeforms are six limbed and four eyed?

Why in the world was Chacon not tossed in the brig after she left the battle?

BTW Wes Studi, who played Eytucan is a Cherokee.

 

[The Evil Dead]

do one no where i can find sum na'vi porn yet

 

[Blue_Trek]

The following is a review and post from another forum

When the main end credits were over, I turned to my wife and asked: "So... pretty much the best movie ever made?" She laughed and replied: "Pretty much, yeah!" In her eye a sheen of light spoke the presence of tears held long at the threshold.

In the theater hallway, while dropping our 3D glasses into the recycle bin, I said to the manager: "Well, they finally did it. They made a movie better than Star Wars." The cop standing behind him smiled, while an usher perhaps twenty years my junior asked: "Really?". I left them with a nod of assurance.

Outside in the cold night air, I pontificated while my wife smoked. "From a young age, dreaming about films and being inspired by them, I could never have imagined that a film so imaginative, so fantastically realistic, so moving and so magnificently visualized would ever be produced in Hollywood. Not that it wasn't possible in the platonic sense, but that anyone working in the film industry would ever come to possess the intelligence, the technical skill, the money and the b*lls sufficient to realize a work of this magnitude on the screen. Ingenious ideas and dazzling imagery may come and go at the cineplex, but Avatar achieves breathtaking cinema not only with perfect technique, but with a heart, a spirit and a soul."

​

This review means more to me than all the other professional reviews. Why? Because it is from a peer on two levels age and a fan of Star Wars. I have not seen it yet because I have to drive a distance to see it in IMAX 3D, and the shows are selling out. But I will see this movie next week.
It is clear that this movie MUST be seen on the big screen before you can justify any criticism of it.
It did not open that huge but I predict huge legs as word of mouth spreads. And multiple viewings perhaps in the different formats.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

do one no where i can find sum na'vi porn yet

Patience, young Jedi.

The following is a review and post from another forum

When the main end credits were over, I turned to my wife and asked: "So... pretty much the best movie ever made?" She laughed and replied: "Pretty much, yeah!" In her eye a sheen of light spoke the presence of tears held long at the threshold.

In the theater hallway, while dropping our 3D glasses into the recycle bin, I said to the manager: "Well, they finally did it. They made a movie better than Star Wars." The cop standing behind him smiled, while an usher perhaps twenty years my junior asked: "Really?". I left them with a nod of assurance.

Outside in the cold night air, I pontificated while my wife smoked. "From a young age, dreaming about films and being inspired by them, I could never have imagined that a film so imaginative, so fantastically realistic, so moving and so magnificently visualized would ever be produced in Hollywood. Not that it wasn't possible in the platonic sense, but that anyone working in the film industry would ever come to possess the intelligence, the technical skill, the money and the b*lls sufficient to realize a work of this magnitude on the screen. Ingenious ideas and dazzling imagery may come and go at the cineplex, but Avatar achieves breathtaking cinema not only with perfect technique, but with a heart, a spirit and a soul."

​

This review means more to me than all the other professional reviews. Why? Because it is from a peer on two levels age and a fan of Star Wars. I have not seen it yet because I have to drive a distance to see it in IMAX 3D, and the shows are selling out. But I will see this movie next week.
It is clear that this movie MUST be seen on the big screen before you can justify any criticism of it.
It did not open that huge but I predict huge legs as word of mouth spreads. And multiple viewings perhaps in the different formats.

Methinks that particular review is just a tad bit too hyperbolic.

 

[Trekker4747]

do one no where i can find sum na'vi porn yet

Um, want to take some black coffee, come back, and say this again?

 

[ThunderAeroI]

I agree with the post earlier. It certianly is Dances with Wolfs set in a sci-fi world. There is nothing about the story that inspires me to actually care anymore for it than any other clone in the same vain as Dances with Wolfs.

I also agree on the Final Fantasy movie and a tie in with Furn Gully. I'll have to see it again in 3D and see how I feel after that. But just normal 2D got me motion sick after awhile.

 

[melancholymecha]

SPOILERS BELOW




I just saw it in 2d, it was like the greatest Disney animated film Disney never made, all thats missing are the songs. I liked it but so much of it felt familiar. I kept thinking of Ferngully, Atlantis, Pocahontas, Tarzan etc... so I'll point out the stuff that stood out for me that kept me from feeling this film was just average.

- Sam Worthington, he was the best thing in Terminator:Salvation & I think he was really great here. I just like his voice & he has a lot of expression in his eyes (came through in both the live action and cgi performances.) I dont think I would've cared much about Jake if another actor had been cast in his role(I mean, imagine Will Smith or Ben Afflek as Jake, ugh). His avie form was adorable...

Sigourney Weaver- she was great too. Huh, didnt her avie look so cute in her tank top & shorts? bet the guys were salivating...

the Sacred Tree, I like how it was used(especially the way they would transfer souls or whatever) it was eerie and the most alien like thing about the planet. Everything else about the planet was a little too earthlike, though beautiful.

the destruction of their arboreal home was devestating & the finale battle was really well done.


there's one scene I didnt get. How did Jake know that the giant red pterosaur boss would let him bond with him? he mentioned something about looking up? I dunno
also I wish there was more about Jake getting used to the avatar body, I mean that must feel wierd as hell. I also didnt like how the movie just ends abruptly with Jake opening his eyes.

so above average for me, but I still liked District 9 better. I suppose I should see it in 3d eventually, though I really dont feel the need too...

 

[Trekker4747]

Sigourney Weaver- she was great too. Huh, didnt her avie look so cute in her tank top & shorts? bet the guys were salivating.

Sigourney's avatar was really cute.

Oh, and I can't wait for when this comes out on DVD (another BD buy for me) and the Rifftrax for it.

 

[melancholymecha]

do one no where i can find sum na'vi porn yet

Um, want to take some black coffee, come back, and say this again?

Im sure the Avie Grace/Neytiri slash is already being written as we speak.

btw, is it ok to post spoilers here? b/c my review above has a few. Should I go back & spoiler code them?

 

[Trekker4747]

do one no where i can find sum na'vi porn yet

Um, want to take some black coffee, come back, and say this again?

Im sure the Avie Grace/Neytiri slash is already being written as we speak.

btw, is it ok to post spoilers here? b/c my review above has a few. Should I go back & spoiler code them?

IMHO, this thread is for discussin spoilers so uncoded spoilers should be expected.

If you feel the need you can code them, or you can just offer spoiler space before you get into the spoiler space.

 

[ThunderAeroI]

there's one scene I didnt get. How did Jake know that the giant red pterosaur boss would let him bond with him? he mentioned something about looking up? I dunno
also I wish there was more about Jake getting used to the avatar body, I mean that must feel wierd as hell. I also didnt like how the movie just ends abruptly with Jake opening his eyes.

so above average for me, but I still liked District 9 better. I suppose I should see it in 3d eventually, though I really dont feel the need too...

It is one line. He didn't know if it would work. Everything is connected to the network, so the big flying thing must be too. What makes me worried is that there is nothing bigger than him, and he isn't bigger than the bomber.

In any sequal I want to see a flying dragon that is friggin' hudge because you know they will need it in 12-14 years, no sooner than six.

 

[Trekker4747]

Jake seemed to think the Red Baron flying thing was so confident in its status it pretty much presumed that no one would try and ear-fuck it.

Jake proved it wrong and once he made the firewire connection and after the biological plug-n-play it was all over.

 

[Hyperspace05]

Ok, I just came back from my 2nd showing (in RealD 3D again), and the film definitely holds up. I might even raise my old grade (9/10) just a fractional bit. It is definitely on the top tier of Cameron's films for me.

There's a lot of small details you pick up on the 2nd viewing. Such a visually dense and wonderful world!

As far as the question about posting spoilers - it is probably best to use spoiler protection for the most crucial plot points near the end.

(I was spoiled accidentally on another forum about one of the last scenes [in the shack], which ruined the moment a little - but just a little. Such a great scene)

 

[Docbrown777]

mistake post

 

[Hyperspace05]

No he got treatment (he mentions being in a VA hospital), but they just did the minimal thing for him. They did not fix his spine.

 

[Docbrown777]

Did anyone else find it kind of hard to believe that science in the future has discovered how to grow a darn near perfect body of an alien/human hybrid and mentally link a human with it but we still aren't able to repair spinal cord injuries?

Err... they can. Sully just didn't have the $$$ for it (and Colonel Badass said his legs would be waiting for him back on Earth).

So in the future not only is there still no universal health-care but things have actually gotten worse in that the military no longer pays for surgeries to heal soldiers wounded in the line of duty? That's like someone getting their leg blown off in Iraq and then being told they have to pay for their artificial leg and rehab.

 

[Mr Light]

Just saw it, my first ever REAL3D movie. It was very good, though I did have a headache at the end of it If I had a complaint it's that maybe some of the "learning the native world" stuff could have been held for the DVD to make a slimmer two hour movie. The CGI is absolutely photorealistic. It was impossible for me to tell what was real and fake. Absolutely amazing achievement.

 

[Docbrown777]

Here's my three-word description: Badass "Fern Gully."

Voted excellent. Sure, the plot was predictable and the characters fairly standard, but it was all well-executed, and the visuals were amazing. Bring on a sequel!

And, with those mechs... can we get a Battletech movie now?

Did anyone else find it kind of hard to believe that science in the future has discovered how to grow a darn near perfect body of an alien/human hybrid and mentally link a human with it but we still aren't able to repair spinal cord injuries?

Err... they can. Sully just didn't have the $$$ for it (and Colonel Badass said his legs would be waiting for him back on Earth).

No he got treatment (he mentions being in a VA hospital), but they just did the minimal thing for him. They did not fix his spine.

He should have just called up his local congressman. I'm sure there are a bunch of other vets like him and he could get the military coverage changed.

There might even be a class action lawsuit of some kind there. That's pretty screwed up. You lose your ability to walk while in service of the government in the armed forces, there is a treatment that can cure this injury but you are denied it? That isn't even true today. If spinal cord surgery that could make you walk again was present today I doubt there is a western nation in the world that would deny it to injured soldiers.

Heck, if it was denied it would take all of a year before enough vets got together, called their congressmen and got the public all worked up about it that the policy would be changed.

 

[DarthPipes]

Troops would be the first ones to get that kind of surgery and rightly so.

I guess it was more of Cameron going over-the-top with the evil corporation/military industrial complex nonsense.

 

[melancholymecha]

Jake seemed to think the Red Baron flying thing was so confident in its status it pretty much presumed that no one would try and ear-fuck it.

Jake proved it wrong and once he made the firewire connection and after the biological plug-n-play it was all over.

ah ok, thanks...the whole plug n play aspect was one of the unique things I did like about the film.