Avatar (2009)

[Valadius]

A visual masterpiece, a work of technical and artistic genius, a passionate magnum opus. This film will make you feel emotions like you haven't felt in the longest time, if ever, at the movies. The realm of the possible in film is expanded forever.

[TransMonk]

For a 300 million dollar cartoon, I'm glad someone liked it.

This movie is the exact reason I have HBO. In 10 to 12 months I will be falling asleep to it on my couch.

[metirish]

What The Critics Said

A visual masterpiece

a work of technical and artistic genius,

a passionate magnum opus

This film will make you feel emotions like you haven't felt in the longest time, if ever, at the movies.

The realm of the possible in film is expanded forever.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Lol

[Benjamin Grimm]

I was curious to see this movie, until I saw a clip on Letterman.

It showed a couple of pretentious blue monkeys scurrying around in a tree.

It looked absolutely dreadful.

Now maybe it's possible to make a really good movie about pretentious blue monkeys, and I've judged Avatar unfairly, but I don't care to invest the time and money to find out.

I don't think I'll watch it on HBO either.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: It showed a couple of pretentious blue monkeys scurrying around in a tree.

What, were they running around calling the adventure they were having a "magnum opus" and waxing about having "expanded the possibilities of scurrying forever"?


(Kidding, Val.)

[nymr83]

What The Critics Said

"I get paid to give good reviews to high budget films!"

[Edgy MD]

Wait, was Valadius writing on his own or copying from the press release?

[Valadius]

That was my ten-second review of Avatar. No, I'm not kidding. I really think it's that good. I saw it again on Sunday.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Listen closely. Can you hear that? That's the sound of me eating my words.

The story is a pretty conventional adventure jobber filtered through a very modern prism. Paralyzed Marine Jake Sully (a solid Sam Worthington) is pressed into service learning the ways of the Navii, who look like a Blue-Manute-Bol-Group and live in a lush rainforest with exotic creepy-crawlers and flying banshees, via his bio-engineered custom avatar; he comes to understand them in ways that make him more than a little conflicted about eradicating them. Think anti-imperialist, post-global-warming riff on "Dances with Wolves." (There are also some fun parallels with "Aliens"-- greedy, single-minded corporation with squirrelly project manager and cartoonishly mindless mercs faces off with high-minded Sigourney Weaver, eg.)

Forget movies-- it's the visually richest thing I've seen in a few moons. (If you see it in 3-D-- they're handing out glasses, so you don't necessarily need to trek to an IMAX to do so-- "rich" might be underselling it. Significantly.) The flight and other action sequences are indeed spellbinding. Unlike most blockbusters, it's no series of escalating battles... the movie imagines a fantastic world, and spends a lot-- A LOT-- of the first hour or so just lingering on... or really, in it. Simply put, the first 2/3 or so is beautiful.

There's a lot that'll be written, no doubt, about the various meanings or different paradigms through which you can view or in which you can fit this movie. Also, it's a little long, the last battle royale is a little bombastic and cliche-ridden, the characters are figuratively and literally archetypes... yadda, yadda, yadda. Know this, though: at its best, it's a very different, much more immersive-- almost full-body-- experience than watching a regular 2-D movie, and it is wickedly, unassailably rad.

[Guest themetfairy]

I agree that this is a visual masterpiece. It's not my type of film in general, but I appreciate it.

[soupcan]

It was a fantastic movie. Really, freakin' fantastic. Go see it. You will not be disappointed.

I don't know about making me feel emotions I've never felt before, but it was an excellent flick.

[Fman99]

Dances with Smurfs

[Guest themetfairy]

Fman99 wrote: Dances with Smurfs

ROFL!!!

[ashie62]

Long on technology, short on character development and about everything else..ughh

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Ashie62 wrote: Long on technology, short on character development and about everything else..ughh

Slagging a Cameron spectacle like this is like slagging a race car for being "long on speed, short on everything else."

[Edgy MD]

Nah. We have a right to look for meaning.

[Vic Sage]

Effects aside, there is sufficient meaning to make this more than mere spectacle. It has a moral worldview, whether one is sympathetic to it or not. It has an archtypal narrative which, while not groundbreaking, hits the right notes to work. Dismissing it out of hand is as silly as lauding it as a life-changing experience. It's simply an excellent SF epic, with great FX.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, I figured Ashie was overstating it. I expected it was loaded with allegory about our imperialist selves.

Still not particularly interested.

[ashie62]

I don't like watching CGI movies..Avatar, 300, Holmes...They look like Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.

I like a good story, well written and not "over produced"

[Vic Sage]

ok, but why do you think "CGI movies" cannot have a good, well-written story?
I submit, as Exhbit A, the LOTR trilogy.

[nymr83]

it was a visually beautiful movie...with a script more predictable than the heroes prevailing in a saturday morning cartoon.

[A Boy Named Seo]

great movie.

[TransMonk]

TransMonk wrote: For a 300 million dollar cartoon, I'm glad someone liked it. This movie is the exact reason I have HBO. In 10 to 12 months I will be falling asleep to it on my couch.

It was only 5 months and I rented it on DVD. We just got a fancy new TV a few months ago.

I still fell asleep. I guess the 3D glasses might have helped me stay awake.

[Frayed Knot]

I saw just recently - in a theatre on a big screen although not 3D.
My review: Eh

[Zvon]

Didn't see this in the theaters.
Did on DVD like 2 months ago.

With all I've read and seen about it I have to say it was all they said it was.
Not like a top ten of all time flick though - I gave it 4 and a half stars.
Even with its cliche-ness and how it could be said its just a CGI version of other tales,
it was all they said it was.

I expected the CGI to be distracting if only for some fleeting and more difficult scenes.
After viewing, to the point where it goes CGI and foward, I can truthfully say after 2 minutes I forgot
I was watching CGI and allowed myself to be stunned by its beauty.

I'm the kind of guy that prefers escapism when it comes to movies and TV,
and this surely allowed me a little get-away.

[metirish]

Saw it on HBO last night and glad I did, visually spectacular.....dare I say magnum opus?, no I won't say that but throughly enjoyed it.