The Pub Discussion Board

Eric Storm · 2010-12-22 08:06:40

So LAoW and I watched Avatar on DVD the other night.

First, let me say this: It's a good movie. Decent story, good special effects, and I was able to get into the story. I'll admit I'm not OVERLY picky about my movies, but if I can't get "inside" the story, the movie sucks. This movie allowed me to do that with no trouble, so it passes in that respect.

We both thought it would make a good video game... if it had only been approached right. (We've heard that it wasn't, and that the video game sucks.... *sigh*)

Here's my thing, though: What was the hype for? Yes, it was a good movie. Lots of action, good plot (if predictable), visually pleasing and cool stuff to see...

But it wasn't "all that and a bag of chips"...
It wasn't "the mother of..." well, anything, really...
It wasn't the end all and be all of movies...

So, I have to wonder, why the heck was this movie hyped all to hell when it came out? Did it have something to do with the 3d stuff, which you can only see in the theater? Otherwise, it was just your basic "good action flick".

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it. I just don't see what was so special about it.

Eric Storm

Storymaster69 · 2010-12-23 05:34:22

It was mainly James Cameron's marketing machine because of how long it too before the movie was filmed plus some "controversy" by it supposedly being Pocahontas in space.

Eric Storm · 2010-12-23 07:55:54

Pocahontas in space?

This movie is about as much like Pocahontas as Blade is like The Munsters. The only similarity at all is that she is a native, and he is not, and they have a relationship. That particular theme could probably be found in several dozen movies.

Eric Storm

Veritas · 2010-12-23 09:10:06

[ADMINISTRATOR'S WARNING: The conversation after this point contains spoilers.]

I completely agree. The movie was seriously over-hyped.

Plus I found one big flaw in the storyline (in my POV).

The people in the Avatar program were supposed to serve as intermediaries, negociators or diplomats - but they don't even try to establish peace. Of course, the pshyco general doesn't help the situation, but they never really explain what the humans want to the Na'vi so that they could negociate. To them, humans are simply genocidal maniacs.

If the Avatars had simply don their job, many lives might have been saved.

Eric Storm · 2010-12-23 09:47:47

Actually, this *was* explained in the movie, in that the reason the avatars had not done this job was that the Na'vi would not accept them. That was why it was so important for him to become a member of the "tribe", so that he COULD do the job they'd been sent there for.

And then the psycho general just never gave them enough time to do the job, once doing the job was possible.

Eric Storm

lordalpha · 2010-12-23 22:30:47

I hope to see the movie soon, but since EVERY damn theater here was playing it in 3d, and I have enough problems without 3d induced migraines, I'll just wait for it to hit the 9 dollar bargin bin.

Eric Storm · 2010-12-24 03:37:32

? Why does 3d give you a headache? And which kind of 3d gives you a headache? There are several types...

Eric Storm

lordalpha · 2010-12-24 03:55:00

Because of my disability(If you want to call it that) All of them do. Ive tried a few times now, but so far, all of them give me a migraine(And that sucks, because I REALLY want to see TRON: Legacy at the Imax 3d near by, but it is NOT worth the massive headache!)

Veritas · 2010-12-24 09:27:41

Eric Storm wrote:
Actually, this *was* explained in the movie, in that the reason the avatars had not done this job was that the Na'vi would not accept them. That was why it was so important for him to become a member of the "tribe", so that he COULD do the job they'd been sent there for.

And then the psycho general just never gave them enough time to do the job, once doing the job was possible.

Didn't know this. It always seemed to me that the whole operation was mismanaged.

I also didn't like the message "Humanity sucks. Wherever we go, most people will fuck things up." Then the guy decides it's better to be an alien - an alien species he was just introduced to and whose culture he just got to know. Who wants to bet that there are going to be some serious cultural and psychological conflicts?

lordalpha wrote:
Because of my disability(If you want to call it that) All of them do. Ive tried a few times now, but so far, all of them give me a migraine(And that sucks, because I REALLY want to see TRON: Legacy at the Imax 3d near by, but it is NOT worth the massive headache!)

I have something similar. Whenever I try to play games with rapidly changing graphics (especially POV shooters) I get dizzy and migraines. I'm kinda hesitant to try 3D because of that.

Eric Storm · 2010-12-24 18:33:05

Veritas wrote:
I also didn't like the message "Humanity sucks. Wherever we go, most people will fuck things up."

Not "most people", Veritas. The message was "The military is incapable of peaceful behavior, and are a bunch of hyper-aggressive barbarians who will always fuck up the chance for peaceful coexistence, and then be utterly incapable of defeating even a primitive enemy when they force war upon us all."

Yeah, I don't like this particular message, either... but I've grown used to it from Hollywood.

Veritas wrote:
Who wants to bet that there are going to be some serious cultural and psychological conflicts?

If I understood the process correctly, he already knows pretty much everything about the tribe's way of life before he becomes one of them... so I can't see that there would be much in the way of cultural conflict. Psychological conflict.... of course not. It's a movie, and he is required to live "happily ever after!"

3dtongue

Eric Storm

Veritas · 2010-12-24 20:41:50

Eric Storm wrote:
[The message was "The military is incapable of peaceful behavior, and are a bunch of hyper-aggressive barbarians who will always fuck up the chance for peaceful coexistence, and then be utterly incapable of defeating even a primitive enemy when they force war upon us all."

Backed by big business and corporations of course.

They weren't government representatives in the movie - but a corporation and its private military/security.

This brings up a pretty big question though... Were there no gov. officials overseeing the project? No civilian oversight? This was a pretty big deal, so where is the press - a CNN spaceship? How about protesters - a future version of greenpeace - "save the Navi!"

Eric Storm · 2010-12-24 23:48:23

Well, given that the planet was toxic, I imagine the protesters would have been a fair way away.

Government oversight... In order for them to have jurisdiction, they'd have to own the planet. Otherwise, the corp. can basically tell the government to go fuck itself. What happens on Pandora is not "their" business.

Civilian oversight... well, that's the corporation, and their interest is money, not the environment or the Na'vi.

What was not well-established in the movie is the level of tech on Earth. I mean, these guys had fancy-schmancy helicopters and genetically-created avatars... but they're still using firearms as opposed to an energy weapon of some kind, or an EM-driven projectile... So it is entirely possible that any protesters would not have the tech/money to go to Pandora to protest.

Eric Storm

The Pub Discussion Board

#1 2010-12-22 08:06:40

Movie Review: Avatar

#2 2010-12-23 05:34:22

Re: Movie Review: Avatar

#3 2010-12-23 07:55:54

Re: Movie Review: Avatar

#4 2010-12-23 09:10:06

Re: Movie Review: Avatar

#5 2010-12-23 09:47:47

Re: Movie Review: Avatar

#6 2010-12-23 22:30:47

Re: Movie Review: Avatar

#7 2010-12-24 03:37:32

Re: Movie Review: Avatar

#8 2010-12-24 03:55:00

Re: Movie Review: Avatar

#9 2010-12-24 09:27:41

Re: Movie Review: Avatar

Eric Storm wrote:

lordalpha wrote:

#10 2010-12-24 18:33:05

Re: Movie Review: Avatar

Veritas wrote:

Veritas wrote:

#11 2010-12-24 20:41:50

Re: Movie Review: Avatar

Eric Storm wrote:

#12 2010-12-24 23:48:23

Re: Movie Review: Avatar

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