Avatar

Steven Davis · December 22nd, 2009, 05:27 PM

And each time I've had to turn around and ask someone to close their noise makers. It seems that no matter what people like to comment on each scene, this after I've dropped 30 bucks on tickets and popcorn!

I'll wait to buy it and blast it in my tv room.

Mathieu Ghekiere · December 24th, 2009, 07:57 PM

I was actually pretty dissapointed.
Not a bad movie, but not a very good one either.

My first movie in 3D. I still think it distracts more from the content then making it immersive. But the thing that made the movie fail for me was the very mediocre script. Some bad dialogue, no chemistry between the main actors, elements that could (should?) have been played out better,...

all in all a very mediocre movie that has some impressive technical qualities but could have been much better on all fronts.

Andy Tejral · December 24th, 2009, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mathieu Ghekiere

I was actually pretty dissapointed.

Man, did we see the same movie?

I realize that I didn't say how I liked the movie itself, aside from the technical aspects. I loved it! The world they created was just so amazingly beautiful.

I've heard other complaints about story and dialog. Personally, I just don't get it. I totally bought into the whole world. 'Willing suspension of disbelief' switch fully engaged here.

I'm curious--did your reaction have to do with the hype before hand?

I never saw any previews and only heard a bit about how much it cost and its technical revolutionary-ness. I really didn't know anything about the story going into it.

Mathieu Ghekiere · December 25th, 2009, 06:02 AM

No I didn't has superhigh expectations. I watched it with a pretty objective look, I think.
It's not a bad movie. But I didn't think it was great either. And speaking with the 2 people who joined me, we pretty much had the same opinion.

Story: okay, but not great. But Titanic had that too. And Titanic was a much better movie then this. The script is where most of the faults lie. I didn't feel much for the characters. The paralized soldier versus his freedoms as an Avatar were too unexplored. The chemistry between the soldier and the Nazi-woman wasn't there - or not enough to make a great movie.
The villain was too cliché and didn't have any depth. Sometimes that's not neccessary, but here I felt it could have made a better movie if they worked more on the 'good' side of the villain (for instance, the fact that he keeps his word about the healing of the soldiers legs and stuff, more of that).
Action scenes were okay, but I had very little real wow moments. I didn't have any moment were I felt a lot of emotions.

I think this is proof that if you don't really care about the characters in an action scene, the action scene as a whole doesn't really work.

Kevin Spahr · December 26th, 2009, 10:22 AM

With this type of 3D technology is there a "sweet spot" where one should try to sit?

I guess would be dead center horizontal and vertical...

Benjamin Hill · December 26th, 2009, 02:08 PM

No movie is flawless and can be everything to everyone. That said, 'Avatar' comes as close as anything- heaps better than Star Trek '09 if you ask me, but the box office negates my opinion there as well...

Seeing 'Avatar' a second time, I was surprised by the difference the 3D *didn't* make- while it was a cool movie for them to use the technology on, it didn't really help me enjoy the movie, and it actually made it a little harder to watch at times- especially when there was a lot of action/movement in the frame. I'm sure the technology will improve to address that, but I think I actually enjoyed it more the the first time in 2D. Look forward seeing it on blu-ray.

Ethan Cooper · December 26th, 2009, 11:30 PM

It's funny how everyone can come out of the movie with vastly different opinions.

I finally saw it today and thought the 3D was well done and fairly restrained. It added depth to the viewing experience, which I thought was important for showing off the grandeur of Pandora although there were a few times where it felt very much like looking into an old Viewmaster.

I thought the story was very predictable, but solid enough to be enjoyable. I would have enjoyed a little more back story as to how we discovered and settled on Pandora, but whatever, it worked well enough.

I'd give the story a C and the visuals an A.

Brian Luce · December 28th, 2009, 05:44 AM

I like it a lot. But were all the scenes in 3D? Felt like only about 25% were.
Also, I kept wiping clean my glasses during the first ten minutes, to be honest, it didn't look especially sharp. After reading this thread though, I'm thinking the projectionist may have had his head up in yinyang.

Avatar is what the movies are all about. Nobody does it better than Cameron.

John Stakes · December 28th, 2009, 09:13 AM

Brian I am pretty sure it was the projectionist/equipment. Unfortunately the greater advances in technology lead to different elements in compatiblity, and some fine tuning. I may have noticed a couple parts where the image wasn't perfect, but not enough to be able to recall when this happened.

The thing that makes Avatar simply amazing, and perhaps the most important element of it's use of 3D, is the fact that they used it to help tell the story, NOT to "shock and awe." I can guaruntee that I will see all of James' upcoming films (5 in the works!).

JS

Stelios Christofides · December 28th, 2009, 11:57 AM

As I said earlier, "Avatar" is going to be the standard of reference in the forthcoming 3D films,whether you liked the movie or not.

Stelios

Swen Goebbels · December 30th, 2009, 11:37 PM

This was also my first 3d movie I watched in a normal cinema and not in an entertainment park in Hollywood or similar.

The first minutes I really started to get a headache but after a while my eyes got used more to watch the 3d movie.

However, for me 3d was a nice experience and I can imagine that in future they will improve 3d more an more or hopefully my brain will "learn" to watch 3d without a headache. But for my taste not every movie has to be 3d in future. This just will mean more and more cgi, and I still prefer the real world way more.

At all Avatar was not a bad movie (my friends enjoyed it a lot), but for me it was just not my taste. I've seen way better Cameron movies!

Matt Buys · January 1st, 2010, 10:38 AM

I have a 3D guru question. I sat in the third row and felt the 3d effects were mediocre. If you sit farther back are the 3d effects better?

Paul Doherty · January 1st, 2010, 10:54 AM

Visually I thought the 3D version was great and worth the price - at one stage I almost felt that some of the insects were in the cinema with me.

But the story was too predictable. Halfway through I was thinking it reminded me of Pocohontas and when we came out one of my party described it as "extreme Pocohontas".

Matthew Overstreet · January 3rd, 2010, 01:53 PM

Well, I haven't seen this film yet, but everyone I talk to is saying "it's the best movie ever made." Here's my thoughts... I think these people are simply impressed.

I get the strong feeling that people are in love with the way this film looks, and if they saw it in 3D, it may even be their first 3D experience. I think we all know that visuals come second to sound and story.

Let's wait this out a year... probably the length of time that it will take for the "wow" factor to die out and then we'll get true opinions out of people. I think the same thing happened with the Dark Knight... when it first came out, a buddy of mine thought it was the best superhero movie ever made. A month later, he admitted that he was just caught up in the hype.

Saying something is the "best ever" is pretty bold.

Steven Davis · January 3rd, 2010, 02:16 PM

I did go see it, and other than the pair beside me making out the whole time, it was a good movie.

I put it up there with Iron Man; better than Transformers, but not in the same class with Lord of the Rings. That's my two cents.

December 22nd, 2009, 05:27 PM	#16
Steven Davis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 3,065	I've been to the movies twice this year And each time I've had to turn around and ask someone to close their noise makers. It seems that no matter what people like to comment on each scene, this after I've dropped 30 bucks on tickets and popcorn! I'll wait to buy it and blast it in my tv room. __________________ What happens if I push the 'Red' button?

December 24th, 2009, 07:57 PM	#17
Mathieu Ghekiere Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 2,195	I was actually pretty dissapointed. Not a bad movie, but not a very good one either. My first movie in 3D. I still think it distracts more from the content then making it immersive. But the thing that made the movie fail for me was the very mediocre script. Some bad dialogue, no chemistry between the main actors, elements that could (should?) have been played out better,... all in all a very mediocre movie that has some impressive technical qualities but could have been much better on all fronts. __________________ http://productionsofthe3rdkind.com http://pr3k.com

December 25th, 2009, 06:02 AM	#19
Mathieu Ghekiere Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 2,195	No I didn't has superhigh expectations. I watched it with a pretty objective look, I think. It's not a bad movie. But I didn't think it was great either. And speaking with the 2 people who joined me, we pretty much had the same opinion. Story: okay, but not great. But Titanic had that too. And Titanic was a much better movie then this. The script is where most of the faults lie. I didn't feel much for the characters. The paralized soldier versus his freedoms as an Avatar were too unexplored. The chemistry between the soldier and the Nazi-woman wasn't there - or not enough to make a great movie. The villain was too cliché and didn't have any depth. Sometimes that's not neccessary, but here I felt it could have made a better movie if they worked more on the 'good' side of the villain (for instance, the fact that he keeps his word about the healing of the soldiers legs and stuff, more of that). Action scenes were okay, but I had very little real wow moments. I didn't have any moment were I felt a lot of emotions. I think this is proof that if you don't really care about the characters in an action scene, the action scene as a whole doesn't really work. __________________ http://productionsofthe3rdkind.com http://pr3k.com

December 26th, 2009, 02:08 PM	#21
Benjamin Hill Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Iowa City, Iowa Posts: 670	'Avatar' great, 3D alright No movie is flawless and can be everything to everyone. That said, 'Avatar' comes as close as anything- heaps better than Star Trek '09 if you ask me, but the box office negates my opinion there as well... Seeing 'Avatar' a second time, I was surprised by the difference the 3D didn't make- while it was a cool movie for them to use the technology on, it didn't really help me enjoy the movie, and it actually made it a little harder to watch at times- especially when there was a lot of action/movement in the frame. I'm sure the technology will improve to address that, but I think I actually enjoyed it more the the first time in 2D. Look forward seeing it on blu-ray. __________________ youtube.com/benhillmedia linkedin.com/in/benhillmedia

December 26th, 2009, 11:30 PM	#22
Ethan Cooper Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Houma, La. Posts: 1,400 Images: 5	It's funny how everyone can come out of the movie with vastly different opinions. I finally saw it today and thought the 3D was well done and fairly restrained. It added depth to the viewing experience, which I thought was important for showing off the grandeur of Pandora although there were a few times where it felt very much like looking into an old Viewmaster. I thought the story was very predictable, but solid enough to be enjoyable. I would have enjoyed a little more back story as to how we discovered and settled on Pandora, but whatever, it worked well enough. I'd give the story a C and the visuals an A. __________________ ∅ -Ethan Cooper

December 26th, 2009, 10:22 AM	#20
Kevin Spahr Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Carlisle, PA Posts: 451	With this type of 3D technology is there a "sweet spot" where one should try to sit? I guess would be dead center horizontal and vertical...

December 28th, 2009, 05:44 AM	#23
Brian Luce Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,290	I like it a lot. But were all the scenes in 3D? Felt like only about 25% were. Also, I kept wiping clean my glasses during the first ten minutes, to be honest, it didn't look especially sharp. After reading this thread though, I'm thinking the projectionist may have had his head up in yinyang. Avatar is what the movies are all about. Nobody does it better than Cameron.

December 28th, 2009, 09:13 AM	#24
John Stakes Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 558	Brian I am pretty sure it was the projectionist/equipment. Unfortunately the greater advances in technology lead to different elements in compatiblity, and some fine tuning. I may have noticed a couple parts where the image wasn't perfect, but not enough to be able to recall when this happened. The thing that makes Avatar simply amazing, and perhaps the most important element of it's use of 3D, is the fact that they used it to help tell the story, NOT to "shock and awe." I can guaruntee that I will see all of James' upcoming films (5 in the works!). JS

December 28th, 2009, 11:57 AM	#25
Stelios Christofides Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Nicosia, CYPRUS Posts: 1,080	As I said earlier, "Avatar" is going to be the standard of reference in the forthcoming 3D films,whether you liked the movie or not. Stelios __________________ My Blog: http://steliosc.blogspot.com "I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I am free" Nikos Kazantzakis

December 30th, 2009, 11:37 PM	#26
Swen Goebbels Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Aachen, Germany and Las Vegas NV Posts: 107	This was also my first 3d movie I watched in a normal cinema and not in an entertainment park in Hollywood or similar. The first minutes I really started to get a headache but after a while my eyes got used more to watch the 3d movie. However, for me 3d was a nice experience and I can imagine that in future they will improve 3d more an more or hopefully my brain will "learn" to watch 3d without a headache. But for my taste not every movie has to be 3d in future. This just will mean more and more cgi, and I still prefer the real world way more. At all Avatar was not a bad movie (my friends enjoyed it a lot), but for me it was just not my taste. I've seen way better Cameron movies!

January 1st, 2010, 10:38 AM	#27
Matt Buys Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Asheville NC Posts: 426	I have a 3D guru question. I sat in the third row and felt the 3d effects were mediocre. If you sit farther back are the 3d effects better?

January 1st, 2010, 10:54 AM	#28
Paul Doherty Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: Sherburn, England Posts: 136	Visually I thought the 3D version was great and worth the price - at one stage I almost felt that some of the insects were in the cinema with me. But the story was too predictable. Halfway through I was thinking it reminded me of Pocohontas and when we came out one of my party described it as "extreme Pocohontas".

January 3rd, 2010, 01:53 PM	#29
Matthew Overstreet Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Whitman, Massachusetts Posts: 168	Well, I haven't seen this film yet, but everyone I talk to is saying "it's the best movie ever made." Here's my thoughts... I think these people are simply impressed. I get the strong feeling that people are in love with the way this film looks, and if they saw it in 3D, it may even be their first 3D experience. I think we all know that visuals come second to sound and story. Let's wait this out a year... probably the length of time that it will take for the "wow" factor to die out and then we'll get true opinions out of people. I think the same thing happened with the Dark Knight... when it first came out, a buddy of mine thought it was the best superhero movie ever made. A month later, he admitted that he was just caught up in the hype. Saying something is the "best ever" is pretty bold. __________________ Late December. A feature film by Matthew Overstreet & Christopher J. Adams.

January 3rd, 2010, 02:16 PM	#30
Steven Davis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 3,065	Well I did go see it, and other than the pair beside me making out the whole time, it was a good movie. I put it up there with Iron Man; better than Transformers, but not in the same class with Lord of the Rings. That's my two cents. __________________ What happens if I push the 'Red' button?