Hanni

How can it be one of the greatest movies of "our time" if not only the dialog could've been better, but the characters needed more depth as well?

Hanni by all means, feel free to name a better movie!

It had some really good CGI, and I'm easy to please, so I liked it, but I don't really love it.
Sorry to people who liked it a lot or disliked it a lot.

Hanni

I do feel free, thank you.

LOL...Hanni. I could name quit a few action movies with a better story. Some of the best are even true stories. There are lots that left much more of an impression on me as far as the story goes, but as far as the 3d effects and overall visual effects go, I agree with i1984.

5thduke

does it beat black night anyway i will wait till its out on br

Big misstake imo.

Go see this movie in 3D.  I was enthralled the whole movie.   The story never really drags and keeps moving along for the whole 2.5(ish) hours.  The holograms at the base in 3D were impressive.   The movie is a little Dances with Wolves in space with giant mutated Smurfs, but the sheer fun of watching the move overcomes the predictability.  First movie since Empire Strikes Back that I am willing pay for twice to see in the theatre.  Definately going to IMAX this next round.  Now to just get tickets with a decent seat, that's going to be a problem. 

While it is true the story is by no means original, it has been told by many books, movies, etc.  The magic is in the telling of the story.  In that respect, this movie is pure win.  I saw it in 3D on the IMAX last weekend, when it was over I wanted to turn around and go see it again.  The friend I saw it with wanted to as well.  I think this is a must see on the big screen movie.

@onesavior 
You think the story was original when Disney did it??

  Circa 1953
 
I don't think Hollywood has come up whith an original story in ages.....
It's all in the way you tell the story that makes the movie.
The British literary critic Christopher Booker, has argued that there have only ever been seven basic plots, as follows:

1. 'Tragedy'. Hero with a fatal flaw meets tragic end. Macbeth or
Madame Bovary.
2. 'Comedy'. Not necessary laugh-out-loud, but always with a happy ending, typically of romantic fulfilment, as in Jane Austen.
3. 'Overcoming the Monster'. As in Frankenstein or 'Jaws'. Its psychological appeal is obvious and eternal.
4. 'Voyage and Return'. Booker argues that stories as diverse as Alice
in Wonderland and H G Wells' The Time Machine and Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner follow the same archetypal structure of personal development through leaving, then returning home.
5. 'Quest'. Whether the quest is for a holy grail, a whale, or a kidnapped child it is the plot that links a lot of the most popular fiction. The quest plot links Lords of the Rings with Moby Dick and a thousand others in between.
6. 'Rags to Riches'. The riches in question can be literal or metaphoric. See Cinderella, David Copperfield, Pygmalion.
7. 'Rebirth'. The 'rebirth' plot - where a central character suddenly finds a new reason for living - can be seen in A Christmas Carol, It's a Wonderful Life, Crime and Punishment and Peer Gynt.

onesavior

heymike_s
@onesavior 
You think the story was original when Disney did it??

my cousin found that, and I thought it was just funny...

I cant really judge much because I haven't seem the movie....I guess I should have explained with that last post it was suppose to be funny

I am just happy to see something different come out that makes people talk like this thread has

I too, found it an amusing anecdote.  I figured it was ment to be a joke
 
On the other hand, I also figured I would point out that Disney stole the story too!!

minger66
 Just watching the Colonel sipping coffee while laying waste to the aliens was worth the price of admission right there.

Yah, that was comical to me. Reminded me of the colonel in Apocalypse Now that said "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" ,but that was actually more believable to me then the coffee sipping colonel.

Apocalypse Now was a better movie IMO in it's day. If Batman was in IMAX if would have been better overall IMO, but like I have been saying go to Avatar to see it in IMAX. I was hoping Ironman2 would be in IMAX, but no the next one is another origonal Alice in Wonderland.

onesavior

+1

The movie was good and definitely worth seeing, but it was not the "best movie ever" or even movie of the year.


I've seen other movies this year that were better.

The Hurt Locker
Gommora
Anvil, the story of Anvil
Up

MSim

Avatar wasn't that good, they spent almost $500million to make it and that's the best they could do.

And the movie didn't cost anywhere near $500 million.


The budget was $237 million and maybe up to $310 million.
http://www.thewrap.com/article/true-cost-and-consequences-avatar-11206?page=1

minger66

Hanni

Raver

MSim

Avatar wasn't that good, they spent almost $500million to make it and that's the best they could do.

 

Based on the overwhelming number of stellar reviews and record breaking profits they have received I would say they did something right.

They did GREAT. But high sales are not everything!

 
That's fine if you don't like the movie, which you probably have not seen, but you seem overly intent on reminding everyone in this thread of that.  We got it, Hanni does not like Avatar. 

??? Of course I have not seen it. I never said I didn't like it. How can I not like something I didn't even see? Don't put words on other's mouths, ok? It's disrespectful.

Raver

Hanni

Raver

MSim

Avatar wasn't that good, they spent almost $500million to make it and that's the best they could do.

 

Based on the overwhelming number of stellar reviews and record breaking profits they have received I would say they did something right.

They did GREAT. But high sales are not everything!

 

I'll agree with you there..............see MW2 for example. 

But it's not only sales with this movie. There are an overwhelming number of excellent reviews for this movie from the majority of people that have seen it.  The negative response has been pretty minimal in the grand scheme of things. 
With everyone on the web being a critic these days I find that amazing.

I'll probably go see it this weekend. I'm exited.

minger66

To me almost every movie currently made is in some way based on a prior used theme.  It's how the story it retold that makes the movie great.  The Lord of the Rings movies are a good example, hardly an original premise, but Peter Jackson told the tale in such an epic way that they were truely great movies.  Just watch Willow if you want a tale of fantasy gone wrong.  Besides, in Avatar you have an evil corporation, aliens, explosions, jungles, and blue women with tails, there has to be an epic movie in that.   Just watching the Colonel sipping coffee while laying waste to the aliens was worth the price of admission right there.

Actually, LOTR was very original when it was written 50 years ago (you do realize The Lord of the Rings was a series of stories/books long before Peter Jackson made them into movies, right? lol).  You really can't compare Avatar's story to Tolkein's lore, Tolkein is in a whole different league.  It is fair, however, to compare Cameron's movie to Peter Jackson's trilogy, and in that respect IMO Cameron has achieved something truly remarkable.
 
All in all, Avatar gets 4 out of 4 stars from me. :)  I've already seen it on the IMAX twice and I may go again.  I've never seen ANY movie 3 times in the theater before, that alone says something about how masterful I think the production is.

chris-nyc

minger66

To me almost every movie currently made is in some way based on a prior used theme.  It's how the story it retold that makes the movie great.  The Lord of the Rings movies are a good example, hardly an original premise, but Peter Jackson told the tale in such an epic way that they were truely great movies.  Just watch Willow if you want a tale of fantasy gone wrong.  Besides, in Avatar you have an evil corporation, aliens, explosions, jungles, and blue women with tails, there has to be an epic movie in that.   Just watching the Colonel sipping coffee while laying waste to the aliens was worth the price of admission right there.

Actually, LOTR was very original when it was written 50 years ago (you do realize The Lord of the Rings was a series of stories/books long before Peter Jackson made them into movies, right? lol).  You really can't compare Avatar's story to Tolkein's lore, Tolkein is in a whole different league.  It is fair, however, to compare Cameron's movie to Peter Jackson's trilogy, and in that respect IMO Cameron has achieved something truly remarkable.
 
All in all, Avatar gets 4 out of 4 stars from me. :)  I've already seen it on the IMAX twice and I may go again.  I've never seen ANY movie 3 times in the theater before, that alone says something about how masterful I think the production is.

Tolkien's works weren't wholly original and have many origins outside of his own mind. What tolkien was able to do was get a wide adoption and success with his writings, where previous works were not nearly as widely accepted and adopted. It is an endless cycle of adaptation and interpretation to the current culture base. It wouldn't be different from saying ann rice has created the new image of what vampires are compared to the myth and lore that created the idea and it has become widely accepted and popular compared to even a generation ago.

I saw it in 3d last week. here are my thoughts,

first, the 3d was done very tastefully. no shots of arms and stuff reaching at you just for the sake of 3d.

second, it didn't live up to the hype for me. i knew nothing of the plot going in. so it was all a surprise. but it really didnt grab my interest like some other movies.

third, it reminded me of fern gully.


but it was cool i guess. i wont see it again until its on dvd though.