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The Staff of SOH
Captain Tenneal
Charter Member
Nuke em from Orbit it's the only way to be sure!! :salute:
hubbabubba
Charter Member
Finally went to see it in 3D with my wife and daughter. My wife wanted to go to a non-3D representation but, after reading your posts, I insisted for the 3D viewing and, lucky me, won this argument.
General impression; WOW!
About 3D; Adds to the «immersive process», according to my daughter who had seen it in its non-3D version before. But, like previous comments on this thread, was not an occasion to throw everything at our faces, like Voyage to the center of the Earth, for example.
About scenario; Not very inventive, but not the kind of movie to start soul-searching-brain stems-pinching interior voyage. Go see Ingmar Bergman if you want introspection. The voyage here is done by the image itself.
About CGI; The best ever done, period. When I saw 2001; A Space Odyssey, I said to myself; «Now they can do pretty much what they want.» Then came Star Wars, which used Kubrick's tricks minus scientific rigors. Then came Lords of the Rings, who offered us a very believable Middle Earth and a very believable Gollum, and now this...:isadizzy:
About the Na'vi people; I must admit that it was my biggest concern... before seeing the movie. Even though Peter Jackson had succeeded in creating a plausible Gollum, «human-like» CGI creatures are usually what kills the wonder for me. Still pictures in previews did nothing to help; they made the Na'vis look like cartoons. What made me «make the jump» was, in retrospect, the avatars; Sigourney Weaver, as an avatar, was ... how to describe that... «herself». Not only looking like her, but walking, moving, making facial expressions like her. It was, I suppose, what made me believe in the «real» Na'vi.
About Pandora’s flora and fauna; Animals are very inventive. They look like something familiar, then you start noticing that they have six legs, four eyes and nostrils where our animals have leg pits! An exobiologist’s dreams-come-trough. Actually, the Na’vis looked pretty average after seeing those beasts. Likewise for the plants; pretty average, apart from their sizes. Ferns and trees could have been imported from a prehistoric Earth, with a few «curves» to keep us wondering. A word about the filaments that lets everything communicates on Pandora. Botanists will tell you that it is not so uncommon as you may think. Shrubs and trees have been observed to communicate over long distance by filament-like links underneath. Mushrooms do form intricate networks that covers state-size regions. Making it go a step further is not so far fetched.
Is it Science-Fiction?; On the human side, yes. The technology is plausible and some of their flying machines are not very far from project-x of today. On the Pandora side, I’m not so sure. Flying islands, explained by not being explained, are more in line with the definition of the Fantastic genre. But who really cares?
Political overtones?; If you have a guilty conscience, it’s your problem.
The movie was released a month ago and movie theaters are still jam-packed for matinees shows! It must tell something.
General impression; WOW!
About 3D; Adds to the «immersive process», according to my daughter who had seen it in its non-3D version before. But, like previous comments on this thread, was not an occasion to throw everything at our faces, like Voyage to the center of the Earth, for example.
About scenario; Not very inventive, but not the kind of movie to start soul-searching-brain stems-pinching interior voyage. Go see Ingmar Bergman if you want introspection. The voyage here is done by the image itself.
About CGI; The best ever done, period. When I saw 2001; A Space Odyssey, I said to myself; «Now they can do pretty much what they want.» Then came Star Wars, which used Kubrick's tricks minus scientific rigors. Then came Lords of the Rings, who offered us a very believable Middle Earth and a very believable Gollum, and now this...:isadizzy:
About the Na'vi people; I must admit that it was my biggest concern... before seeing the movie. Even though Peter Jackson had succeeded in creating a plausible Gollum, «human-like» CGI creatures are usually what kills the wonder for me. Still pictures in previews did nothing to help; they made the Na'vis look like cartoons. What made me «make the jump» was, in retrospect, the avatars; Sigourney Weaver, as an avatar, was ... how to describe that... «herself». Not only looking like her, but walking, moving, making facial expressions like her. It was, I suppose, what made me believe in the «real» Na'vi.
About Pandora’s flora and fauna; Animals are very inventive. They look like something familiar, then you start noticing that they have six legs, four eyes and nostrils where our animals have leg pits! An exobiologist’s dreams-come-trough. Actually, the Na’vis looked pretty average after seeing those beasts. Likewise for the plants; pretty average, apart from their sizes. Ferns and trees could have been imported from a prehistoric Earth, with a few «curves» to keep us wondering. A word about the filaments that lets everything communicates on Pandora. Botanists will tell you that it is not so uncommon as you may think. Shrubs and trees have been observed to communicate over long distance by filament-like links underneath. Mushrooms do form intricate networks that covers state-size regions. Making it go a step further is not so far fetched.
Is it Science-Fiction?; On the human side, yes. The technology is plausible and some of their flying machines are not very far from project-x of today. On the Pandora side, I’m not so sure. Flying islands, explained by not being explained, are more in line with the definition of the Fantastic genre. But who really cares?
Political overtones?; If you have a guilty conscience, it’s your problem.
The movie was released a month ago and movie theaters are still jam-packed for matinees shows! It must tell something.
Unobtainium has unusual magnetic properties. That's why chunks of it break off, and float. (Info from "official?" Avatar website) Now a whole planet full of this stuff, and wildlife that communicates via "electrical grid" is gonna cause some BSOD's! As I said before, no furry animals? Supposed to be dinasour-like era? Fur too hard to do CGI? Not if you have seen G-Force...
As far as political overtones? I kept rooting for the RDA!
As far as political overtones? I kept rooting for the RDA!
jmig
SOH-CM-2025
Finally went to see it in 3D with my wife and daughter. My wife wanted to go to a non-3D representation but, after reading your posts, I insisted for the 3D viewing and, lucky me, won this argument.
General impression; WOW!
About 3D; Adds to the «immersive process», according to my daughter who had seen it in its non-3D version before. But, like previous comments on this thread, was not an occasion to throw everything at our faces, like Voyage to the center of the Earth, for example.
About scenario; Not very inventive, but not the kind of movie to start soul-searching-brain stems-pinching interior voyage. Go see Ingmar Bergman if you want introspection. The voyage here is done by the image itself.
About CGI; The best ever done, period. When I saw 2001; A Space Odyssey, I said to myself; «Now they can do pretty much what they want.» Then came Star Wars, which used Kubrick's tricks minus scientific rigors. Then came Lords of the Rings, who offered us a very believable Middle Earth and a very believable Gollum, and now this...:isadizzy:
About the Na'vi people; I must admit that it was my biggest concern... before seeing the movie. Even though Peter Jackson had succeeded in creating a plausible Gollum, «human-like» CGI creatures are usually what kills the wonder for me. Still pictures in previews did nothing to help; they made the Na'vis look like cartoons. What made me «make the jump» was, in retrospect, the avatars; Sigourney Weaver, as an avatar, was ... how to describe that... «herself». Not only looking like her, but walking, moving, making facial expressions like her. It was, I suppose, what made me believe in the «real» Na'vi.
About Pandora’s flora and fauna; Animals are very inventive. They look like something familiar, then you start noticing that they have six legs, four eyes and nostrils where our animals have leg pits! An exobiologist’s dreams-come-trough. Actually, the Na’vis looked pretty average after seeing those beasts. Likewise for the plants; pretty average, apart from their sizes. Ferns and trees could have been imported from a prehistoric Earth, with a few «curves» to keep us wondering. A word about the filaments that lets everything communicates on Pandora. Botanists will tell you that it is not so uncommon as you may think. Shrubs and trees have been observed to communicate over long distance by filament-like links underneath. Mushrooms do form intricate networks that covers state-size regions. Making it go a step further is not so far fetched.
Is it Science-Fiction?; On the human side, yes. The technology is plausible and some of their flying machines are not very far from project-x of today. On the Pandora side, I’m not so sure. Flying islands, explained by not being explained, are more in line with the definition of the Fantastic genre. But who really cares?
Political overtones?; If you have a guilty conscience, it’s your problem.
The movie was released a month ago and movie theaters are still jam-packed for matinees shows! It must tell something.
This is one of the most well thought out and written posts I have ever read, here at SOH. Thank you for such a lucid and concise review of the movie. I hope you start posting more often.
hubbabubba
Charter Member
Well... thanks... I'm blushing...:redf:
I do post mostly in CFS1 section, see you there...
H
harleyman
Guest
Saw the 3D movie last Wednesday..
Loved it..I place no political implications on movies...just mindless enterainment for me...But I thought it was fantastic...
Loved it..I place no political implications on movies...just mindless enterainment for me...But I thought it was fantastic...
well i got to see it today in 3D, free ticket with 2 meals included so i thought what the heck ... and i have to say .... sorry tigisfat
Sure the story wasnt the best, but it wasnt anywhere near as bad i thought it was gonna be, and the visuals, well they where simply stunning. First time i've ever seen a movie in 3d (nearest cinima which does it is 40ish miles away!) and i loved it. The bit when he woke up and the ash was falling around him was brilliant, it was like it was floating down right in front of you. Dont think it would have had the same impact in 2d though ... but it looked great in 3d!
Sure the story wasnt the best, but it wasnt anywhere near as bad i thought it was gonna be, and the visuals, well they where simply stunning. First time i've ever seen a movie in 3d (nearest cinima which does it is 40ish miles away!) and i loved it. The bit when he woke up and the ash was falling around him was brilliant, it was like it was floating down right in front of you. Dont think it would have had the same impact in 2d though ... but it looked great in 3d!
