James Cameron's Avatar

Posted by F1ak3r on Dec. 20, 2009, 11:17 p.m.

I saw it the other day. Went to the cinema, paid R65 (!) for a ticket, and got some neat 3D glasses. Unfortunately, I had to return the glasses afterwards. They were plastic and everything… =(

Anyway, so people are saying that it's "the best movie ever made" and stuff like that. In a way, they're right. Technically, it looks amazing. The visuals are absolutely spectacular. But with a budget of $250-300 million, that's the kind of thing that should be expected demanded.

The plot, however, is far from the sorta thing you'd expect to see in "the best movie ever made". It's the age old story of a white man - I mean human - becoming a member of a Native American - I mean blue alien - tribe and fighting against his former comrades to save them.

The entire movie's message is basically that these aliens are totally better than us, and yet if ol' Jake the Wheelchair Marine2 hadn't joined them, they'd've been exterminated. Interesting message.

A good decent bit of entertainment, and technically superior to anything I've ever seen before, but not breathtakingly original. But I guess the main point of watching it is to enjoy the visuals. Just don't think to hard about:

- Why aren't the blue aliens freaked out by members of their species (very life-like replicas, at least) being remote controlled by humans? I don't know about you, but if aliens started growing humans in tanks and pretending to be them in order to ingratiate themselves with us, I'd be rather unnerved.

- (SPOILERS) So we're told that the bond between blue alien and freaky dragon thing is everlasting and very special and stuff1. Then Jake has this whole long scene where he gets his freaky dragon thing, and that's all good. BUT THEN he just abandons it in favour of a bigger freaky dragon thing later. What about the freakin' bond?

- Why didn't they think of bringing in the freaky triceratops things in themselves? Sure, they couldn't directly control them, but a bit of prodding, a bit of poking with sticks, and a bit of general provocation and agitation, and those thing's woulda been tearing through the forest, crushing everything in their path. That's what I would've done, anyway.(/SPOILERS)

- Why are the blue aliens such uppity jerks? Sure, the humans were kinda jerks too, but all the aliens wanted to do was carry on living as they always had, sticking their hair into everything and carving spears out of trees, because their culture was apparently "better" than ours. You can't tell me that none of them were the least bit curious about the visiting aliens.

As far as "aliens as a metaphor for non-white races" movies go, give me District 9 over this any day.

Also, once the movie's over, hide the plastic glasses in your pocket and make a run for it.

1 - A sky bison would be less dangerous to get, though.

2 - I wish movie people would start making main characters I like. This one starts out as a block-headed soldier guy, and ends up renouncing his humanity and becoming a nature-headed soldier blue guy.

F1ak3r

Comments

SteveKB 14 years, 10 months ago

no the americans humans were the ignorant ones but being bullies. It's capitaliszm i tell yah

@tylerthemiler there was never a human face remember? she was always and aliem.

Also RAWRspoon is being defensive. Zelda sucks also they didn't cover the vents becuase they didn't expect them to know they had a weakness there.

tdl; rawrspoon is being an ass and so am I. Merry christmas.

Unaligned 14 years, 10 months ago

I haven't seen it yet, but I guess by what you're saying, this is the Crysis of movies?

Ferret 14 years, 10 months ago

I really think this movie was taken from such a dried out and overused plot that you can find anywhere. Basically it was a cool Pocahontas. I thought the devices used to move the story was very well done and the dialogue never seemed out of place. The visuals were great, hard to tell what was CG and what wasn't. But everything that happened in the story was just way to predictable.

I agree with you and this is defiantly not the best movie ever.

Also, why the hell did the mech at the end have to pull out a knife? That is just stupid…

MMOnologueguy 14 years, 10 months ago

Every time I read one of these reviews that lower my expectations my desire to see this movie increases.

SteveKB 14 years, 10 months ago

@ferret cuz he didn't have his gun

tylerthemiler 14 years, 10 months ago

@meow44:

That is exactly the point I am making. Having the boobs of Megan Fox is not longer a prerequisite to acting. If you are a good actor/ress and you are not a goddess looks wise there is now a place for you in Hollywood.

OBELISK 14 years, 10 months ago

Quote:
James Cameron's Avatar
WAS FUKIN AWSUM

Tasm 14 years, 10 months ago

It looks like the dumbest fucking movie ever produced. Also, Marines != Soldiers.

SteveKB 14 years, 10 months ago

also i put my glasses in mah pocket :3 gonna "recycle them" in another 3d movie. also it did remind me of district nine but in that movie the human is such a douche that it made me hate him (he freakin abondaned the father in front of the kid) also you learn more about the aliens in Avatar which was nice and they aren't as ugly.

as for that flying animal bond thing, that doesn't me he couldn't get another one, just means that they dragon thingy he had before can't get anyone else.

and I do agree the plot was sorta predictable but the way it unfolded and had some details that i didn't expect was the nice bit.

F1ak3r 14 years, 10 months ago

@RawrSpoon:

Zelda thing - Haha!

Airvent thing - I guess in the year 2154, this movie had become the new Star Wars1… wait…

First contact thing - They really should've put that in. Some little scene when mankind discovers the planet, maybe a few rotating newspapers, at least something.

@Rez:

I'm beginning to hate the parts of the human race who think this is the bestest movie evar omg. Technical finesse should never be a substitute for interesting and original subject matter.

@Cesque:

That's where all the apostrophes from movies like Two Weeks [sic] Notice are going.

@meow44:

So, you liked it? Okay, that's fine. I didn't think it was terrible. I actually sorta enjoyed it, to be honest. I'd certainly watch it again instead of Terminator Salvation or Fighting.

Also, you sneaky bastard. I wish I still had my awesome 3D glasses.

@Sinistrade:

Basically.

@Ferret:

Yeah, that's basically my opinion too. Well made, but not inspired or inspiring.

@MMORPGguy:

The box office must love you.

@Obelisk:

The visuals where, yes.

@mike.fourthirty:

Sorry about that. Guess my military knowledge isn't particularly… existent. I just used soldier as a catch-all term for "military person who isn't a general/colonel".

1 - If this is the new Star Wars and the Jonas Brothers are the new Beatles… then that's entropy in action!