Movie: Avatar

[Psyke]

I got in late and had to watch it from the first row of the theater. Even then, it was still

FUCKIN' OMGWTF EPIC

Are all seats based on a first come first served basis?

I've yet to watch any movie in 3D, so this might be a good start...

[Yukimura]

Saw it in 3D pseudo-IMAX and the visuals were certainly omfg epic win. I was so drawn into the beauty of the characters and scenery that it never really crossed my mind that the aliens were completely digital constructs.

The story though was like a blending of every common action/adventure/heroic coming of age/being tamed by the savages trope into one movie with very slick special effects and setting. I was somewhat awed at how religiously the plot followed the archetype of its genre though I didn't see the predictability that came from that as a huge detractor save for a few scenes where being able to guess what would happen robbed them of their suspense and emotional impact. If I had to make one complaint though it would be that the actual execution of the final battle seemed unrealistic, even with the handicaps given to the human side to try and even things up. Still it was an awesome battle and I would gladly go back to see the movie again just for the final battle sequence.

One last thing, if you are a mecha fan this movie features some live-action mecha porn of the highest caliber I've ever seen in a live action. After seeing this and District 9 I am completely convinced that a live action Gundam or Macross movie could be made with amazingly realistic and gritty mecha battles.

[Pandadice]

just saw it.

that movie was pretty sweet, and I'm sure my local tiny movie theater didn't do the visuals justice.

but you're right about the predictability of the series. pretty much everything is predictable.. but that's not to say it isn't good. (can we mention spoilers?) when the panther came out and picked the chick up, that was really powerful.

lol "hello perfect society. let me teach you about war and revenge". ahh the touch of humans... xD. but no really, I loved the tree hugging green anti-war themes it had.

and what was the deal with the avatar-sized box of matches? did anyone else think those were kinda ridiculous? xD

also the seemingly over developed pilot.. seriously, her character got way too much time for what she actually did, imo <.<.... like when she's like "I didn't sign up for this" and peels out.. O_o

The visuals were pretty great.. but I mean, when you're making fake monsters look real, it doesn't seem like that'd be that difficult. cause it's like "those skeleton dogs aren't animated badly, they're just supposed to look like that", and it seems kinda easy to write off <.<.. but that's not saying they weren't good. I definitely wanna watch this in blu ray.

so yeah, over all worth seeing. Someone told me it's super similar to The Last Samurai, and if that's the case then I feel like actually watching through that movie for once (in stead of dropping out about 20 minutes in like I've done the first 3 times I've tried <.<)

[Board of Command]

so yeah, over all worth seeing. Someone told me it's super similar to The Last Samurai, and if that's the case then I feel like actually watching through that movie for once (in stead of dropping out about 20 minutes in like I've done the first 3 times I've tried <.<)

It's pretty much the same plot. Replace Jake Sully with Tom Cruise and blue aliens with white people.

[Dark Dragon]

It actually remind me of Dances with Wolves.

[Testarossa Autodrive]

I saw this on Sunday.

Wasn't exactly disappointed, but there was definitely a lot of unnecessary hype. I'd seen the story done before. The dialogue wasn't anything special and kind of pissed me off at times. The acting was pretty good, but not amazing. I did enjoy the graphics, though that seemed to be the highlight of the film. It did get a little long and drawn out. Had they done the story better or given me something innovative to stick around for, I doubt I'd've considered it an issue.

Overall, I'd give it a 7/10.

There were so many things they could have done better or different to take it over the edge, and yet they spent so much money to do stuff I'd seen dozens of times before.

[darkshadow]

Greatest movie ever... I have nothing else to say at this time, I'm still in awe.

[Lucifus]

I already commented; but I just have the come back and say it again. F*cking great movie.

Cannot wait for bluray! =)

[Munsu]

I saw this on Sunday.

Wasn't exactly disappointed, but there was definitely a lot of unnecessary hype. I'd seen the story done before. The dialogue wasn't anything special and kind of pissed me off at times. The acting was pretty good, but not amazing. I did enjoy the graphics, though that seemed to be the highlight of the film. It did get a little long and drawn out. Had they done the story better or given me something innovative to stick around for, I doubt I'd've considered it an issue.

Overall, I'd give it a 7/10.

There were so many things they could have done better or different to take it over the edge, and yet they spent so much money to do stuff I'd seen dozens of times before.

The hype was due to the "graphics" more than anything. In fact, that was the hype... the new techniques that Cameron has been working on for some time finally realized. Hopefully all this means a step closer to the Battle Angel Alita movie.

[Testarossa Autodrive]

Of course. It's just a little disappointing, even though I knew the other aspects of the film probably weren't going to shine as brightly as the visuals.

[Sapphire]

When I was watching the scenes at the human base I was definitely thinking, "Oh, they DEFINITELY have what it takes to make an Ender's Game movie! The only challenge is finding enough GOOD child actors".

[Logrus]

Haven't watched it yet but gonna go watch it for the first time 3D stoned out of my mind.

Is this a good idea?

[Idealistic]

The story has been done many times, yes, but the way angle they went about it made it all the better. It wasn't just "Advance nation invades weak nation", they threw a twist into it with another species and the whole Avatar premise. Add that with the great visual effects, and the story was refreshed and made the movie AWESOME.

Also, after just finishing an ethics class this semester and we also read "Against the Machine", a book on how the internet has taken over our lives, which also mentions Avatar in the making(book written in 2008), seeing Jakesully get absorbed into a "pretend" world was rather interesting.

Indeed, if you are sort of an outcast(Jake being handicapped) and are accepted in another world, real or fake, you would definitely become attached to it.

[UChessmaster]

I`m sorry but i can`t help but feel dissapointed by this movie, perphaps because of all the hype... can anyone that liked the movie mention 3 good things about it besides the cgi?

[Sapphire]

1) I loved the representation of future human technology. I got all giddy when that guy freakin' copy pasted with his hand.
2) I thought the acting was particularly good. I really liked the lead guys expression of emotions, as well as his chemistry with the lead female. It drew me in.
3) I LOVED the world of Na'vi. It simply seemed fun and amazing. If someone offered me the opportunity to have an avatar I'd definitely take the chance. The history of the world is both intriguing and touching. I loved seeing the assimilation of the human into the Na'vi culture. They had their own challenges within their culture as well as having to deal with challenges from the outside and adapt to it. The sense of escapism this allowed was phenomenal.

[Ryllharu]

I don't really know how specific you mean by CGI. Would that include the quality itself, or things like the fact that Cameron didn't go overboard on things thrusting out of the screen (the 3D cliche paddle and rubber ball, etc) and tended towards tasteful use of foreground versus background and atmospheric effects like ashes, pollen, or vegetation. Rather than outward, there was more use of illusory depth. Or do you include even the motion capture as well? There was a bit more too it than simply being "good" CGI.

That aside, the xenobiology was well thought out and supported by random dialogue throughout the movie. The 'evil' Colonel mentioned that Pandora had lighter gravity, and as such, everything on Pandora were giants to humans. Less strain on bones and vascular systems led the Na'vi to become giants, and most of the other animals too. I thought it was rather innovative that everything on Pandora functioned with bioluminescence. From the rhino things, the Na'vi, random bugs and most plants interacted with each other through flashes of light or iridescent body parts for displays. Anything and everything pulsed with electricity and light, just like the scientists were beginning to find out.

The toxic atmosphere added a nice touch to the movie, emphasizing that it was a hostile, alien world, in every way imaginable.

While the exploitation of native populations and environmental harmony were the bigger themes, the stuff Idealistic touched on above about virtual worlds and longing for them instead of the decidedly less enjoyable reality added good subtext to the movie as well.

Edit:
Saph caught what I completely forgot. The human technology was great too. Nothing completely overboard on the science fiction (cold sleep instead of warp drives or other FTL travel), HUD displays and portable screens like we're starting to get now, and almost all the military hardware flew on VTOL fans. Aside from the Avatar system, everything else is within a few decades of what we have today.

[Sapphire]

Very good points Haru, and it reminds me of this article on Dennou Coil. And in general, I think it's amazing when fiction has an influence on the direction of technology.

On another note, just how much of Avatar was CGI? I thought that maybe the Na'vi actors were actually just in suits, like the actor for Smeagol was in Lord of the Rings, but I am hearing all sorts of terms getting thrown around. And what exactly was the new technique?

[XanBcoo]

And what exactly was the new technique?

There could be more, but the one I've read most about was the idea to use small cameras to capture the actors' facial expressions.

Here's a neat little featurette about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2_vB7zx_SQ

And a much longer interview with Cameron: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aao0YSITuxc

Edit: The movie was really good. The story was cliche, but in a way that used strong character archetypes. Despite the fact that I knew everything was green screened, it was written in such a way that I felt emotionally attached to and invested in Pandora and the Na'vi.

A+ would watch again in super duper IMAX.

[Munsu]

Here's a blog post about Battle Angel Alita that explains a bit of the technology and techniques Cameron used for Avatar:
http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/t...-battle-1.html

"There are actually three technologies we designed from scratch for this movie. One was the fusion 3D camera system, which would have a big role in Battle Angel because it's more live-action by proportion. The other one is the facial performance capture, which would allow us to create Alita that way."

And he said the third and most important technological advancement was probably the Simulcam - "a real-time tracking system that used the motion-capture infrastructure on a live action stage, so that when I look through the eyepiece of my 3D camera, I see the set extensions as they will be."

He added: "We can even bring in CG characters in real-time, meaning actor-to-actor, meaning somebody's acting a CG character over here and I'm seeing him in my eyepiece interacting with an actor in a live-action shot.

"That's never happened before," he said. "For Battle Angel that'll be critical, or for any other film - maybe Avatar 2 - whatever else we film."

[XanBcoo]

I'd really love to see a sequel for Avatar. Cameron has proven that he can do sequels the right way.

Pandora is a world that really needs to be explored further.