It doesn't matter whether you're into science fiction or not, if you love movies, you have got to see AVATAR. Even if you don't love movies, go see it. Visually, AVATAR is the most amazing thing I have ever seen in a movie theater. At first, the 3D feels like a gimmick…you're very aware of it and the glasses. Even the initial shots of the blue creatures look like typical CG. But once the movie gets to Pandora, you are immersed in a spectacular world and you will totally forget the technology that got you there. The images on screen are stunning, detailed, and utterly convincing…and the 3D puts you right into this make-believe world in a way that no other movie ever has before. It doesn't matter that the script and characters feel achingly familiar (think DANCES WITH WOLVES with blue aliens), or that the villains are one-note, one-dimensional cliches in an astonishingly fresh, 3D wonderland. What you're seeing is so amazing, that the serviceable, on-the-money dialog and predictable characters are irrelevant. It's an experience. It's not just the 3D that's incredible, it's the realism of the computer-generated world. Every leaf, every drop of water, every machine, every creature, looks like a real thing, not some computer-rendered object. The blue aliens actually look as if they are made of flesh-and-blood instead of code. This movie is a monumental step forward in film-making that you have to experience. AVATAR is going to make a trillion dollars…and it deserves ever penny.
Pretty much my feel about it. I will only add that I saw it in 2D, since the nearest 3D version was quite some distance away, and I still had that feeling about the visuals. I want to see it again for the visuals (the story, not so much).
If people are praising the movie for the visuals and saying the story is aweful, I will pass. Visuals only entertain me for a few minutes without good characters and a decent story.
Lee, does the 3D require glasses? I wonder if it works if you’re blind in one eye (as I am). Oh well, I have a feeling this 3D phenomenon is going to be passing me by.
I didn’t say the story was awful, just one that he has been done time and time again. But it’s strong enough to hold you through the spectacular visuals.
lee
OK, I’ll be the one to say the story is awful. It’s the same “wise natives living in perfect harmony with nature (now with gender equality!)” v. “evil, money-grubbing white people” that we’ve seen a thousand times before. I was reminded of THE LIVES OF OTHERS — a very well-made movie that tells people the lies they want to hear.
But Lee’s right about the CGI; it’s the best ever done. You pretty much forget the natives are computer generated.
Can’t agree more with Bryan. Though it was a good movie to see, the movie is exactly how it looks. It’s the same people living on their own and doing a good job at it, then people who woant to improve them come in and it all goes down hill until two people from each side decide to call amends.It rapidly became one of my favorite movies in my collection though, and I was unhappy to see the concept. In a world of so much crap, shining lights like this are too few.