Is anyone excited about the movie "Avatar"?

[sabredog]

Saw Avatar (3D) last night with my family and even though primed with reviews good and bad, enjoyed the movie greatly.

The plot was done to death so we will have to see what Cameron has planned for the next two planned instalments.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Actually WETA did a lot of the special effects for Avatar. New Zealand tax credits saved them $30 billion on the production costs.

Thirty billion WHAT??? pesetas? denier? Lira? pence? Surely you don't mean $30,000,000,000!

[kindlekitten]

finally saw it... BRILLIANT!!!

[Exer]

For those of you who didn't enjoy this movie strictly due to your opinion of it having a poor story, what sort of story do you think would have made the movie better? I'm honestly curious. I agree that the plot was a tale we've all heard before, but does that mean it is actually bad? Or does that mean perhaps it is simply a story of something that is likely to happen given a similar situation?

For example if Hollywood made another movie about a kid from a poor neighborhood becoming a sports star and getting into trouble with drugs and various crimes before finally getting his life together -- is that a "poor" story because it's been done before, or simply a sad tale of something that happens much too often.

SPOILERS BELOW read with caution.

I, for one, thought the story was pretty believable. The "story", not necessarily the characters. The "story" of a corporation doing whatever it has to secure a natural resource of vast monetary value. The "story" of said corporation letting no obstacle (including indigenous peoples) stand in its way.

I also found the entire military aspect believable, because keep in mind the whole military operation was more of a mercenary outfit, rather than a professional "army". This was more "Blackwater" than it was "The Marines". These folks were there strictly for profit, is it any wonder they were so brutal in their efforts to secure it?

But yeah, I am curious to hear what new story, or what plot changes would have made it a more enjoyable experience for some of you folks.

[kindlekitten]

I interpreted it as purely Soldiers and Indians. young soldier falls in love with Indian Maiden, goes native....

[mores]

Originally Posted by Exer

fullquote

What he said! I wonder what story, what plot, has never been done before. You can take the most brilliant movie by the mostes brilliantest director, writer and actor and reduce it to something dull that has been chewed up by a gazillion other films, books, comics, tv shows etc.

[Krystian Galaj]

Here's a plot comparison with Pocahontas

Spoiler:

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by Exer

For those of you who didn't enjoy this movie strictly due to your opinion of it having a poor story, what sort of story do you think would have made the movie better? I'm honestly curious. I agree that the plot was a tale we've all heard before, but does that mean it is actually bad? Or does that mean perhaps it is simply a story of something that is likely to happen given a similar situation?

For example if Hollywood made another movie about a kid from a poor neighborhood becoming a sports star and getting into trouble with drugs and various crimes before finally getting his life together -- is that a "poor" story because it's been done before, or simply a sad tale of something that happens much too often.

SPOILERS BELOW read with caution.

I, for one, thought the story was pretty believable. The "story", not necessarily the characters. The "story" of a corporation doing whatever it has to secure a natural resource of vast monetary value. The "story" of said corporation letting no obstacle (including indigenous peoples) stand in its way.

I also found the entire military aspect believable, because keep in mind the whole military operation was more of a mercenary outfit, rather than a professional "army". This was more "Blackwater" than it was "The Marines". These folks were there strictly for profit, is it any wonder they were so brutal in their efforts to secure it?

But yeah, I am curious to hear what new story, or what plot changes would have made it a more enjoyable experience for some of you folks.

They can transport a consciousness into a genetically engineered 9 foot tall cat-Smurf, they can travel years and years in stasis to Pandora, and these technologically superior humans can't make a synthetic version, or think of a better name for 'unobtainium'? That's the major plothole that you see in the first ten to fifteen minutes of the film. The first thing any script-doctor would have seen and made notes upon, but Cameron is too big and the project was too big for that kind of interference.

No a story doesn't have to be radically different to be good. Most stories are exactly the same at the heart:

The retelling of a journey from want or need, through obstacle, toward satisfaction or disappointment.

I didn't have any sense of Want or Need from the first hour of the film (it might have come later).

Here's a few things that annoyed me specifically about this story (the hour that I saw of it before walking out):

1. The protagonist was weakly motivated to begin with. Wheelchair-guy 'lucked' into the assignment rather than wanting the assignment. Okay, so maybe later on he becomes 'activated' to the cause of the Cat-smurfs, and awakens from apathy to fight the good fight, but it's dull to begin wtih and by minute fifteen I don't give a shit about him or what he wants, and I can barely remember his name.

2: The goal of mining 'unobtainium' is a ridiculous goal for a people who can transport consciousness, travel in spaceships and survive five years of stasis. I did not believe this for one second and it took me right away from any story that was being told.

3. Once wheelchair-guy fights the Four-legged Rancor monster we're fully into cartoonland and from this moment on I started losing interest altogether. He's stumbling around like an idiot and he's scared and then he's fighting some cadaver-dogs with a firestick and then Cat-smurf-Pochahontas shows up and is distracted by a silver Dandelion spore on the end of her....well this was the point, or not long after where I couldn't stand it anymore.

[kindlekitten]

"cat-smurfs" *giggle* LOVE IT!!!!

I think "unobtanium" was deliberately ridiculous. one of the premises you missed in your walk was that the home planet had been rendered uninhabitable... may have helped. any movie going experience (except a documentary, and Gore's doesn't count) requires suspension of beliefs for awhile, otherwise they just do not work... your reality hat was on too tight that night my man!

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

"cat-smurfs" *giggle* LOVE IT!!!!

I think "unobtanium" was deliberately ridiculous. one of the premises you missed in your walk was that the home planet had been rendered uninhabitable... may have helped. any movie going experience (except a documentary, and Gore's doesn't count) requires suspension of beliefs for awhile, otherwise they just do not work... your reality hat was on too tight that night my man!

I know I truly love some godawful films that make no sense at all, but I just love them. This one just didn't do anything for me. The 3D experience didn't wow me, the story left me flat, and I thought most of the CGI was cartoonish.

I suppose I like my sci-fi movies more subdued, like 2001: A Space Oddysey or the recent Moon. I'm not a fan of 'the military in space' motif, except in Aliens, where I think it was the first and last time to get it right on any level.

[kindlekitten]

dunno what to say... go do a doobie and try it again?

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

dunno what to say... go do a doobie and try it again?

Those were the days And 2001: A Space Odyssey on LSD is life-altering (but you didn't hear that from me )

[Ham88]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

I know I truly love some godawful films that make no sense at all, but I just love them. This one just didn't do anything for me. The 3D experience didn't wow me, the story left me flat, and I thought most of the CGI was cartoonish.

I suppose I like my sci-fi movies more subdued, like 2001: A Space Oddysey or the recent Moon. I'm not a fan of 'the military in space' motif, except in Aliens, where I think it was the first and last time to get it right on any level.

Did you see it in Imax? Or just a normal 3D screen?

I've seen it twice, I liked it, once on Imax, and once in a normal theater. Maybe, its me but the in the normal theater I found the CGI a lot more cartoony, it might just be me, but it seems this is a movie that really needs to be seen on one of the fancy new Imax 3d screens, as I found the movie less enjoyable on the normal screen.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Those were the days And 2001: A Space Odyssey on LSD is life-altering (but you didn't hear that from me )

I can't wait until Feb. 26. That's when Moon becomes available to rent at Amazon. It will be available for sale before then, however. I haven't seen it, but I've heard nothing but good about it.

2001 is my all-time favorite sci-fi movie. I was tripping on mescaline when I first saw it (in Cinerama) back in 1968. Perhaps the mescaline is the reason why I understood it the first time I saw it. So much of the film is communicated non-verbally that I think it threw everyone who wasn't tripping for a loop. My LSD and mescaline days are behind me now, but that film is still remarkable whether you see it bent or straight.

[mores]

Originally Posted by Krystian Galaj

Here's a plot comparison with Pocahontas

Spoiler:

Amazing !! Great find!