Have you seen Avatar?

[Quintus 5,391]

'Coz I'm interested

Note that there isn't an "I enjoyed it, but..." option. That's because when all is said and done, you either enjoy a movie or you don't, so please don't be a bitch and moan about it.

[Luke Skywalker 1,284]

i HAD to choose option one...because there was not and option like : 'Yes, i liked it but the fuss is exccesive'

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,251]

Not yet.

[Incanus 5,519]

Yes, I have seen it. And yes, I liked it in moderate fashion.

[Richard Penna 2,082]

Not yet. Meant to a few weeks ago but then the snow came, and my brother's already seen it.

[Neimoidian 13]

I have seen it and liked it, but wasn't overwhelmed.

[Andy 1,492]

I have seen it and liked it, but wasn't overwhelmed.

I want to see it in 3D, yet my wife gets nauseous in 3D movies, so I gotta find another person to go with.

[Koray Savas 2,095]

Haven't seen it yet. I want to see it in IMAX, so I need to wait for it to stop selling out so I can get in for free.

[ChuckM 1]

I have plenty of complaints about it, but the graphics alone were enough to make it enjoyable, so option A for me.

[Datameister 1,394]

I've seen it.

I enjoyed it, but...

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,476]

I see 11. Haha I made a funny.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,765]

I've seen this piece of crap.

[Red 73]

Not yet, but I will. I will.

[John Crichton 4]

No, not yet at least.

[Trent B 317]

Yes I have and I liked it. I'm buying it on Blu once it's released.

[Marian Schedenig 5,520]

Yes, and I liked it. But aside from the effects, it's nothing remotely special.

[Diego 21]

Nope and I don't plan to.

[Romão 1,931]

I saw it and I thought it was very mediocre and I don't think I'll see it ever again.

[Jay 27,216]

Saw it in IMAX3D and liked it quite a bit

[Dean1700 4]

My wife and I saw it last weekend and while we both enjoyed it I thought it lacked originality. I suppose I compared it too much to the western genre of cowboys and indians but there was also alot of influence in the vehicle designs from Aliens too. While the effects were certainly amazing I thought that the film lacked some back story to how humans discovered the Na'vi, how they thought up the idea of the Avatars and how the Na'vi found out about them and why they didn't see them as a threat yet found humans to be a threat.

For me it was like many who went to see Titanic and, because of the hype, left the cinema expecting more than what was offered (I make this comparison because I know many felt there was too much hype around Titanic but I absolutely loved it so there is no bias in my above statement)

There should be more Poll options too, such as:

"Yes, I saw and FREAKING LOVED IT. IT'S THE BEST MOVIE EVER"

"Yes, I saw it and it's a great movie"

"Yes, I saw it and it's a good movie"

"Yes, I saw it and...MEH. It's okay"

"Yes, I saw it and I wish I could get the 3 hours of my life."

"No, I haven't seen it but am busting a gut to see it."

"No, I haven't seen it but will see it when the hype dies down a bit first."

"No, I haven't seen it and will wait till it comes out on DVD before I do"

"No. Why should I even waste my time with this crap?"

[Wojo 2,442]

Yes, and I liked it. But aside from the effects, it's nothing remotely special.

As far as a backstory goes, while the information would help, I'm not sure it would have helped drive the already-too-long movie along.

It does make hints here and there that the human and Na'vi have been in contact for decades. Scientists have written large books, the natives have learned English, the humans have learned Na'vi, schools have been set up, and the populace back home have become sympathetic about these Na'vi to the point that the corporation can't go in guns a blazing without causing riots in human society (though they end up doing it anyways).

In that sense, it's much like the first Star Wars movie. It makes a few casual comments here and there about the events leading up to the movie's time frame, and some of the historical events, without ever becoming a preachy historical lesson, and comes across as natural. Same with Alien, Pitch Black, and many other "first installments" of popular sci-fi franchises.

[Datameister 1,394]

Although I'm not wholly in love with Avatar, I agree that the backstory was handled well. Nice to give hints of it without hitting the viewer over the head with exposition.

[Hlao-roo 388]

I am yet to watch a film directed by James Cameron, although The Terminator is on my to-see list.

[JoeinAR 1,759]

I am yet to watch a film directed by James Cameron, although The Terminator is on my to-see list.

Gee you're not in a hurry to see your must see list if the film is 26 years old.

[Wojo 2,442]

That's not entirely fair. Gone with the Wind is 71 years old and I've never seen it. I don't have a "must see list," though I have no excuse since the DVD is in the house.

[Marian Schedenig 5,520]

Yes, and I liked it. But aside from the effects, it's nothing remotely special.

As far as a backstory goes, while the information would help, I'm not sure it would have helped drive the already-too-long movie along.

Perhaps not. It's not really a lack of backstory that bothered me, more the general feeling of a way too linear and unoriginal (as in: been done exactly the same way before) story. And the at times really awful dialogue.

I kept thinking that with all this overall setup of world and background, and the inspired casting of Ribisi as the bad guy, a solid drama set among the higher military ranks would have been much more interesting than the adventure story it actually was.

That's not entirely fair. Gone with the Wind is 71 years old and I've never seen it.

Neither have I. But Joe is one of those people who think that if someone hasn't seen a film that's more than a year old, he's not acting sanely and also doesn't have a right not to be spoiled.

[AC1 3,565]

I haven't seen Avatar but these days I rarely watch movies that just have been released. I haven't seen Moon either and that's a movie which interests me a lot more.

I've seen Gone With The Wind and it was one of the hardest things I ever had to endure.

Alex

[Wojo 2,442]

Moon never came to a theater around me, and I don't fancy driving a long distance to see a movie. Though I would like to see it too.

One thing still irks me about Avatar. When General Pickett shows up to level Home Tree, Michelle Rodriguez is flying a chopper, with the shaved head guy on the open deck as gunner. She refuses to fire on the tree, so she flanks left and withdraws. He is on the deck shouting in protest that she's flying away.

Why wasn't she court martialed for going AWOL? There were more than enough witnesses, including the gunner. She shows up to bring breakfast to Sam Worthington and Sigourney as if nothing ever happened. If that military can monitor a chopper being turned on and stolen, certainly they can see one flying away from a battlefield.

I understand that you need to keep her character morally pure by not firing upon the very natives she's about to save and become martyr for. But you also need to keep her character on Pandora and in the military so she can steal the chopper that moves the broadcast trailer so our hero can play Avatar for the final battle. That outweighs the need to create the massive logic and plot hole of her leaving.

[Datameister 1,394]

Yeah, that didn't make much sense to me, either.

[Dean1700 4]

When General Pickett shows up to level Home Tree,....

Lol. I can just hear it now..

"Up Men, Up. And to your posts. And let no man here today forget you are from old...Earth"

[indy4 152]

I saw it, and I enjoyed the experience, almost entirely because of the visuals.

Having said that, it's a movie that I would have forgotten by now were it not for it's incredible success. I expect that when the rest of Hollywood catches up to Avatar on the SFX level, they will say the same.

I applaud James Cameron for having made several (incredibly) successful films in the past, for that is really the only reason Avatar was such a hit. I don't mean people are seeing the film because of Cameron's name, I mean the studios were willing to give him money to hire some pretty damn good SFX people because of his past Box Office smashes.

Oh, and the score's great.

[Uni 306]

Saw it. Thought it was great. No apologies, no regrets.

- Uni

[Hlao-roo 388]

That's not entirely fair. Gone with the Wind is 71 years old and I've never seen it.

Yeah, it's not as though The Terminator has actually sat on my list for 26 years. I don't mean, by the way, that I have a literal list, but I do have a slew of films I've mentally bookmarked as ones to see one day. I'm obviously not an avid moviegoer, so who knows how far I'll get?

[MSM 85]

I still haven't seen Jaws, nor Schindler's List.

I saw Atavar, and liked it, but I think it is hyped too much. The story is very predicatable and a little childish also. The effects are amazing of course.

[Greg1138 2]

Seen it, loved it.

[crocodile 6,294]

Second option. The score and the visual side are both impressive. But I'm not into computer graphics so it doesn't excite me at all. The script is dreadful. Sorry boys and girls, I tried twice.

Karol

[Quintus 5,391]

Why apologise for not liking a movie? You were never obliged to even see it, let alone enjoy it.

[JoeinAR 1,759]

the script was dreadful, in what way? Another unjustified criticism.

[Luke Skywalker 1,284]

I have been told to be on Lucasfilm payroll several times. (i wish i had that kind of income...)

But heck, Joe, lately you sound like James Cameron's own Rick MCallum...

[Quintus 5,391]

The difference between Joey and MCallum is that the former isn't trying to defend a piece of shit.

Avatar's script is far from perfect, but in absolutely no way is it a bad screenplay. Parts of it could do with a bit more work, but it works well, for the most part. Tonally it is actually very good, suiting the movie down to the ground.

[JoeinAR 1,759]

I have been told to be on Lucasfilm payroll several times. (i wish i had that kind of income...)

But heck, Joe, lately you sound like James Cameron's own Rick MCallum...

I'm attacking unfounded criticism Luke. Its the first criticism of people who say they don't like Avatar, or Cameron attacking his scripts or dialogue. His scripts are always servicable. The dialogue very real. It might not be artistic, but that's not the point.

[Datameister 1,394]

The script's okay, IMO. Nothing about it really bothered me, and nothing about it struck me as particularly brilliant. Perhaps that's part of the realism you're talking about, Joey. But in any case, it's far from my first criticism.

[indy4 152]

It's hard to back up criticisms of films one dislikes, because that usually means one hasn't seen it very often. For instance, I remember cringing at some of the dialogue, and also reciting in my head lines of characters right before they said them. I can't give you any examples, because I've only seen it once.

[Datameister 1,394]

Hahahaha, I did the same thing in one part! As I've only seen it once as well, I can't remember what the line was, but right before the character said it, I was thinking, Don't say ________...don't say _________...

And then the character said __________.

Again, not my main criticism of the film. I'm fine with a script and a plot that aren't the most original or witty in the world, at least in the case of Avatar. What bugs me is that the visual effects were not as 100% convincing as some folks had made them out to be, and that the 3D was mediocre at best, at least in the theater where I saw it. Those were touted as two of the film's greatest strengths, which was part of why it was hard for me to forgive their weaknesses.

What I loved most about the film was definitely the way it devoted so much time to exploring Pandora and its lifeforms. That's where the soul of the film is, and that's what I found most compelling.

[JoeinAR 1,759]

It's hard to back up criticisms of films one dislikes, because that usually means one hasn't seen it very often. For instance, I remember cringing at some of the dialogue, and also reciting in my head lines of characters right before they said them. I can't give you any examples, because I've only seen it once.

did you cringe in Indy 4 because that movie needed more work on it's script. But even it wasn't terrible. It just wasn't believable.

the last movie I saw where I cringed at the dialogue was Revenge of the Sith.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

[indy4 152]

It's hard to back up criticisms of films one dislikes, because that usually means one hasn't seen it very often. For instance, I remember cringing at some of the dialogue, and also reciting in my head lines of characters right before they said them. I can't give you any examples, because I've only seen it once.

did you cringe in Indy 4 because that movie needed more work on it's script. But even it wasn't terrible. It just wasn't believable.

the last movie I saw where I cringed at the dialogue was Revenge of the Sith.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

I maintain my belief that the cheesy dialogue in KotCS (and the rest of the Indy films for that matter) is part of its charm. I know many here don't agree with me, but I thought for the most part the dialogue fit the mood of the film like a glove. Having said that, there were some cringe-worthy lines in KotCS. Some that were over doing it, some that seemed out of character, and some that just didn't make sense. But as a whole I thought the dialogue was good.

RotS is much more mixed. There were some great lines, but there were quite a bit of bad ones as well (though to be fair, it probably would've helped if the acting was better), many more than those in KotCS. The "NO" line makes me embarrassed for George Lucas, but hearing Obi-Wan shout "You were the Chosen One!" gives me goosebumps.

Avatar was not all bad. Just some of the dialogue was cheesy, cliche, and predictable (sorta like the film in general). I'd say the dialogue was about average overall. The acting was generally really good, so that probably helped.

[Quintus 5,391]

I think that's a fair summary of the dialogue.

[Luke Skywalker 1,284]

average or serviceable are not qualities to defend with sould and heart, IMHO.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,476]

Another thread is taken over by KOTCS discussion! On its dialogue...hmmm.

Harrison Ford was constantly out of character if you ask me. I know he's old now, but it's not excusable. The fans, as Spielberg allegedly dedicated the movie to at SDCC, don't want to see a goofy old Indiana Jones saying "somewhere grandpa is laughing!" or "drop dead!" or running through an idealized 1950's town yelling "hello, can I use your phone?!" WTF. Seemed completely out of character and very lame. Indiana Jones is supposed to be COOL. He was not particularly cool or even interesting in KOTCS. Sucks because he was SO interesting in all three previous movies. Now he's just some lame old guy with a family that can't shoot anyone because Spielberg and Lucas themselves have families and are seemingly completely different people now.

Shia played the Mutt role like he's played every other role I can think of. He was fairly likeable and gave the most consistent performance, but he wasn't a particularly good character. But he still seemed very natural and human, unlike, say, that fool Hayden Christensen in ROTS! Karen Allen had a very weak-sounding voice and came off like a completely different person in KOTCS than in ROTLA. She lost her charm. The fat guy from Departed was a horribly written character, so frankly there wasn't much the actor could do with him. Irina was completely over the top and a bit too damn silly (even for the Indy movies, plus female villain for Indy was a slight turn-off), but she is somewhat excused for sexiness.

[Charlie Brigden 5]

I cringed at both KOTCS and AVATAR. Not to mention all of the prequels. AVATAR is a far better film than the prequels, though.