like 2012, the graphic was awesome.. storyline wise, of course, the normal predictable one.. as the movie finished i quickly labeled it "cgi pocahontas".. lol..

The movie was normal. There isn't much else to shout about except for the CGI, which is probably the theme of the whole movie. It was easy to tell of which is CGI and which isn't though. However, the worth it part was that it's quite a long length movie.

Nope, I didn't let the hype get to me. In fact I'm still not buying that 3D is the future of movies. What this movie managed was take a step forward, but it's hard to see when the next step will occur, or what 10 steps ahead will look like.

What I truly like about the movie, is what made people like Star Wars in the first place. A simple story told extraordinarily. A world that sweeps you away and sucks you in. Movies about good vs evil like this need not be in any way complicated, it just needs to be told correctly, it just needs to nudge you into unequivocally picking the good side, it just needs you to fully get behind the main character, it just needs to make you feel like punching the air when Jake shouts "This is our land!", it just needs to make you want the main character to live and not die. And in my opinion Cameron delivers. And maybe 'just' is the wrong word I'm using, because I can't remember the last time an epic movie like this managed all that. The more I think of it the more I love it.

A second viewing will be in order. Let me see how this holds up.

This post has been edited by QuickFire: Dec 20 2009, 10:08 AM

I watched the 2D version first then the 3D one, maybe it's the glasses making stuff darker (or the weight of the glasses) or the quality of the MBO cinema's 3D projectors, but I love the 2D version more, as I can see the facial expressions of better without the glasses getting in the way

Found an excellent review,

SNIPPETS



http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_templa...identifier=1931

Yeah, Transformers is totally soulless

Totally made me feel like a kid again. The moment they landed in Pandora, it felt like the moment I was sucked into Jurassic Park.

The master shows the kiddies how it's done

it was beautiful, a feast of colors for the eyes, and the 3d in the cinema made everything even better. but one drawback, the storyline was boring ><"
well not boring per se, more towards overly cliche'd. i mean, you'd think that if the guy is gonna blow 300mil on a movie he could at least write a better story.

and this doesnt even compare to star wars, what made star wars awesome was that it was a futuristic sci fi movie which was very original for its time, avatar on the hand, besides its technological advances did not present an original and predictable albeit entertaining story. i got bored waiting for the movie to end ><"

anyways, gonna catch it in imax 3d next in a couple of weeks, just to see if theres a big diff between imax 3d and real3d.

300 million? This movie is more expensive than Transformers 2?

The story was boring of course, but on how its told, how its executed, everything was damn good

QFT.

For me, despite a rather familiar storyline, the movie is still both visually mesmerizing and entertaining experience. Might gonna give it another go again.

just watch it last night...
its... awesome....

i dun care bout the story... what i care is how its story blend with movie environment....
and Cameron blending the story very well.. the forest... unimaginable.. although its just copy from our
real world but with new touch its look imaginative, attractive n creative... real pandora i think..
too much story sometime can make the movie boring.. and normally simple story gain more profit...
cgi looks great although they should be better (looks at Navi character, sometime like cgi cartoon) but of course its not an easy as said with our current tech... but for me Avatar cgi bettter than star wars I,II n III....

p/s : just watch stardust at astro... i dunno how many time i watch this movie but i really like it... great story such as illusionist : the orange tree really create something that we are not expected but really good happy ending..

It was as cringeworthy as This Is Sparta.

My take on "Avatar: The Pinnacle of 21st Century Movie Visual Effects Extravaganza"

NOTE: For those who say this is a "normal movie", or "yeah, the hype isn't getting to me", please DON'T READ, you are better off commenting on maybe next year's "Lovely Bones"

As with all movies using CGI to extreme effect, most can't deliver a great "visual-effects-driven-story". Remember "Jurassic Park" ? Yes. When the guys were in that moving vehicle, you were in for the ride itself. You always felt you were part of the adventure from the start. You were part of the experience itself.

Here is the deal - - I didn't know about Avatar until later this year. Didn't know who the actors were. Didn't even know what it was about. Then the trailer was released and it really blew me away. But I wasn't going to let all the visual-fest get to me just yet. I hate to bring this name into this... but "Transformers 2" anyone? My heart pumped with excitement whenever I watched the trailer for T2 but the movie failed miserably. It was a mess.

Indeed I went to watch this movie knowing "it was from the man who directed Titanic" so it was going to be big. It was going to be "revolutionary". My expectations were high. Perhaps too high with all the hype and all.

The movie has the usuals of a typical action flick - - a start, a middle, climax and then the ending. The start was breathtaking. I have never seen such amazing detail in visual effects in a movie. I could already feel the 'epic-ness'. But no... I am not going to fall for it just yet. Where is the whole "in-your-face-realism" ? I awaited....

The plot is fact: predictable. I will not deny this. Hero saves the day. Indeed. But are you going to judge the entire movie (and what it has to offer) solely on this? For movie critics of course ; no use of a pretty face but can't deliver the goods. To me the story is great although nothing we haven't heard before. That aside, I had no issues at all with the story being too linear, or too predictable or even too similar to other flicks (Matrix?).

What drives this predictable plot are the visual effects. I have never seen anything quite like this. As I said earlier I wanted "more of what they claimed to be revolutionary" and what I got at the end of the movie was a lot more than I wanted. "Avatar" delivers a million packs of punch of every visual effects in a movie seen prior to this movie. It is an astounding accomplishment. A breakthrough is what I call it. I just can't believe how photo-realistic the Na'vi look and how mesmerizing the performance capture has given to these synthetic actors. Absolutely ridiculous!

Aside from the ridiculous visual effects, the music score is hauntingly beautiful. Usually in movies, the music is present because it should be but in "Avatar" it is present and is truly memorable. I will not forget the music when the great hometree is being culled down with rockets from the gunships. It is such an epic score - - truly the embodiment of the emotions being shown on screen. It was huge, it was emotional and it was truly memorable. Leona Lewis ends the movie, and I somewhat felt it similar to My Heart Will Go On. The music for the Na'vi and the movie itself are both separate - - the natives have their own unique music score and then there is the movie score that is for all the action sequences.

So just what I got from RM18 ticket price is more than the ticket price itself. I felt it wasn't fair it took them years and years to conjure up this breakthrough movie and we just sat there and watched it all in its glory. I really wish I could thank James Cameron himself for giving us this perhaps once in a decade movie speciality... I mean, come to think of it, when will any movie be of this quality say in a few years time? Perhaps not even close. We'll have to wait a 'lot longer' to see a movie surpass what "Avatar" has achieved.

As for the 3D effect, I felt that whenever you just took a breather and looked at the screen properly, you can see depth. You can see the "distance" in the images. For most part, we are still taking it for granted. I felt I wanted the movie to move on that I didn't really savor the beauty that is the world of Pandora. Speaking of which, Pandora is the most breathtaking alien world ever envisioned. Absolutely the finest to the last trickle of detail.

There isn't a single word that can be used to sum up what Avatar has done. It is a cumulation of everything that is the best in the movie world of the 21st century thrown in and then pushed to its absolute limits. I felt like they pushed the limits beyond the limits and that is what we seen on screen. No way this movie would have been possible if they didn't push it to its extreme limits of what technology could do. This is the benchmark for movies for years to come.

There isn't an ounce of doubt in my mind that this is going to be on my "Must-buy" Blu-ray movie list. This movie is worth watching again and again and I am dying to watch it again.

It wouldn't be fair to just give it a score... but let's see it part by part:

Story - 9/10 predictable, but no way is this even a bad thing here
Visual effects - 10/10 ridiculous
Music - 10/10 hauntingly beautiful, James Horner is god
3D effect - 9/10 put the 3d glasses on and step into Pandora, for real
Pace - 10/10 clocking in at 2 hours 50 minutes, I'd watch it again in a heart beat

96/100

Final verdict:
The 21st century movie breakthrough that is one helluva near-3 hour epic adventure you will never forget! You don't get this kind of magic often. This is quite possibly the rarest of gems. An unmissable movie.

No, "This! Is! Sparta!" was awesome. "This is our land!" is just meh.

I've read through three opinions in this thread from people I have respect for and each one of these three mention that Cameron has created a world that sucks you in instantaneously. That I agree. But one thing, am I the only one who had the dialogue take me OUT of the film instantaneously as well? Lines like "This is our land" and "Outstanding" just takes you out of the whole fecking experience.

And the more I think about Lang and the entire corporation on Pandora, the more I feel that Cameron is insulting me. Okay, I get it! You're anti war and anti-exploitation but with lines like "shock and awe" and "preemptive strike," I feel like I'm beaten down to submission to get the message.

Also, for a movie that sucked you in, doesn't it bother you that this movie lacked proper action sequences? There just wasn't any suspense throughout the film. The only time I felt it was when Sully was eating his breakfast (you'll know what I'm talking about) and it was from then onwards, it just struck me that that sequence was the only time I grabbed the edge of my seat. Remember T2 when Arnold and Connor were chased in the prison and chased out of the arcade or in Aliens during the final fight or in T1 when Sarah Connor was limping away from the Terminator? In Avatar? Na-da.

I didn't like Star Wars but I can respect it enough. Sadly, this is the same case. I'll watch it again but chances are only to appreciate the visual and audio effects. This in HD will kick some ass. That is about it.

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Added on December 20, 2009, 4:21 pmI'll probably give a point to Jake Sooly for sounding like a normal person instead of a steroid pumped freak. But his accent was another problem that took me out of Pandora. It's quasi-American. I still hope Avatar becomes a hit because I like Cameron and I enjoy his films.

This post has been edited by kobe24bryant: Dec 20 2009, 04:21 PM

Nah seriously the whole show basically just showing off the graphics and love between the two fellas.

C'mon lah,2.5 hours and most of it is showing the two fellas flying in the air,walking thru jungles meeting the parents and all....

Its just to show off the graphics in 3D only.

Other than the graphics,this movie is really really boring..Nothing exciting and interesting to talk about..

True, the dialogue isn't up to his previous movies' standards, but I dont find it bad. Just... not that good. True also, "This is our land!" was cringeworthy, in the trailer. But watching the movie and all that went on before the line was delivered, I cant help but say "f*** it, I dont care if the line is bad, this is indeed OUR LAND!".

I see you.

What I felt missing from the movie was the emotional attachment to the characters. It's very unlike James Cameron who usually comes out with sub-cool action movies with characters that I really care for. After all, the characters are the one that actually breathes life to the movie and not the CGI, they're just the limbs. In this case, the best limbs I've ever seen.

The problem with CGI movies is that they age whether you like it or not. Take away the amazing effects, the movie has nothing to offer. They have action sequences but how many of them are worthy to be in the ranks of the legends? I see where kobe is going with his comments and I actually feel the same. The acting was the problem IMO. I wonder what people see in Sam Worthington? Dull as hell. The effects were outstanding but the acting, dialogue, storyline were subpar. It's like Pocahontas of the 21st century.

The movie (a James Cameron movie, surprisingly) lacks that edge that blows other movies aside the way T2, Alien, True Lies, even The Abyss did. The villains were laughable and my biggest problem is the cast selection. had they got better actors and characters, I'm sure the movie might be a tad better.