Have you seen the movie 'Avatar' yet, and is it good as they say?

[Parche]

:hi:

[Xipe Totec]

1. Fern Gully meets Dances with Smurfs

If you've seen either one, youve seen Avatar.

Except for the pretty special effects in 3D.

[Alexander]

2. Yes, I've seen it, and no, it's not very good.

People are oohing and aahing over the special effects.

But special effects don't necessarily make a good movie.

The character development was nonexistent, the acting was questionable, the plot was a poor rehash of Ferngully and Dances With Wolves, and it goes on for about 45 minutes longer than it should. The ending makes no sense whatsoever.

Avatar's biggest fans on DU can't offer much more than "the special effects are amazing" and they get awfully defensive if you point out problems in the movie.

[Haole Girl]

3. I liked it (saw it in 3-D)

But I go to the movies to be entertained, not for intellectual stimulation. :hi:

[BrklynLiberal]

4. I have heard nothing but great reviews from those I know who have seen it.

Do a DU search on AVATAR for the last 2 weeks. see what has been posted about it. Mostly excellent.

Or just go see it and make up your own mind. That is what I am going to do.

[blue_onyx]

5. I just got back from seeing it

It is very overrated. The special effects were fantastic but I got a headache from using the 3D glasses for 3 hours. The dialogue was pretty cheesy at times. I don't feel like I wasted money but I wouldn't see it again. I guess I would rate it 6 out of 10.

[lazarus]

6. We've seen it twice in IMAX 3D

And are going a third time next weekend. It's fantastic.

[conscious evolution]

7. The 3D v. is a visual spectacle

Absolutely amazing CGI work that should be seen one a big screen for the full effect.

The storyline is kind of cheesy and formulaic but this movie is about the visual impact.No one is gonna get a Best Actor/Actress Oscar but its gonna clean house on the techinical stuff come awards time.

[stray cat]

8. If you thought Star Wars was blah when it was released you may not like Avatar

[Swede]

9. Everyone I know that's seen it gave it 2 thumbs up.

Welcome back Parche.

[hedgehog]

10. OK, so it's the story of Pocohantas - except this time

the Indians win. West Side Story is nothing but a re-hash of Romeo & Juliet, but it's still worth seeing, right?

We loved it and had no problem with the 3-D and I tend to get migraines.

[caitxrawks]

11. yes, and yes.

It's amazing. The end. See it in 3D.

[Blue_In_AK]

12. We saw it yesterday in 3-D

Yes, it's a derivative story, but the effects are really cool. We liked it.

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

13. Waste of time and money

as noted Dances With Wolves, Pocahontas, a little Tarzan, Clutch Cargo, wooden acting and cheesy dialogue. And borrowed from the old Rocky and Bullwinkle show 'upsidaisium' now called unobtainium.

[mreilly]

14. Can't really say; I walked out as it was so bad

No, seriously: this is the first and only movie I ever walked out of; it was boring, and held no interest for me whatsoever. 45 minutes in, and I was gone. 3-D totally unimpressive to me, and plot painfully non-existent. I boycotted what I felt was a ripoff of my money and departed.

[travelingtypist]

16. I walked out, too.

Only I lasted till around 90 minutes. I thought the Avatar learning to fly was cool and the creatures/plants, but that was about it. I'll watch the end when it comes out on DVD.

Waste of time, waste of money.

[Stardust]

15. I expected to be disappointed but most emphatically was NOT.

I thought the 3D was stunning - the entire movie was a trip into a world I enjoyed immensely. I expected the message to be dumbed down but it wasn't. I envy anyone seeing it for the first time and am confounded by those who didn't like it.

[alphafemale]

17. It's amazingly beautiful.

Yes. The storyline is thin and rather predictable, but if you allow yourself to go along you are in an amazing place for awhile. It's a world where your movement is not limited so much by gravity.

You can share the main character's joy as he escapes from his own physical limitations and far surpasses it to do things human beings have imagined doing only in their dreams from the time we began to dream.

Tarzan knew nothing about vine swinging.

And I want a flying dragon thingee, dammit.

:hi:

But, yeah.

The story itself is kinda lame.

[TommyO]

19. I just saw it yesterday in IMAX 3D

I went in knowing that the storyline was thin and predictable, and was completely blown away by the visually immersive quality of the movie. My brother, who was questioning whether or not to see the movie because he can, and frequently does, fall asleep during any movie (sleep deprivation can do that), was wide awake during the whole movie. I was the only one of us that noticed that the native Na'vi only had three fingers and an opposable thumb, while the genetically engineered avatars has four fingers.

[alphafemale]

23. Didn't notice that.

I did notice the scar on the colonels face though. That would have matched the hand you described now that you mention it.

[TommyO]

30. He mentioned that he got the scar on his first day on Pandora

I need to see the movie again to see if other Pandoran life has three fingers/claws. Or just check the internet tubes...

[CBR]

18. Yes I saw it and enjoyed it; however, I watched District 9

yesterday and thought it was a better film.

[Paladin]

20. It's Alright, But It's No "Starship Troopers" :) (n/t)

[bikebloke]

21. No I haven't and no it's not.

:P

I read somewhere that after the big bucks raked in with Avatar, Hollywood greedheads want to make the next James Bond in 3-D. Real bad idea.

[Raffi Ella]

22. I saw it!

the visuals were amazing! fun way to spend a couple of hours :D

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

24. yes,

if your taste runs to visually stunning, eye massage movies, giant plot holes and all.

I liked it.

[CBGLuthier]

25. no and no

nothing ever made can be a good as this over hyped POS is alleged to be.

[nolabear]

26. I enjoyed it but was shocked at how unoriginal it was.

I'd heard so much, not just about the effects, which are just wonderful, but about people deeply connecting with the Na'vi concept and wishing for such a world. And I understand that concept, the longing for connectedness and a world of beauty and a sense of being part of a bigger whole. Hell, my own Indian roots call to me all the time. But I hadn't realized how much it was a stereotypical "Great White Hope fulfills Native destiny and helps The People overcome the white aggressors." It's a very, very old story, from Moses to Cortez to Dances With Wolves, and not a bad one if you don't kind of hate the subtle message that they couldn't do it themselves, but I was surprised at how formulaic it turned out to be. And after the loooooooong battle sequence in 3D I felt like I'd been beaten. That said, I'd see it. It's beautiful and does call out to something essential.

I was actually a little more excited by the preview for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which looks just terrific.

[tekisui]

27. Yes, no.

It was a 3 hour commercial for Hollywood's newest toys. The characters were flat, the story a cliche and action predictable. There were some visually stunning parts, but the 3-D was overdone and distracting. I fell asleep, but no one could tell because I had those glasses on.

[S_E_Fudd]

28. Yes and yes...brilliant film...

And don't let the naysayers convince you the story is no good...it may not be entirely original (how many are these days), but it is executed very well!!!

[many a good man]

29. Who are "they"?

I don't know if it's as good as "they" say, but it's pretty darn good. Visually outstanding and a good storyline, if you don't think too hard.

[montanto]

31. If you get really stoned and

watch it in 3D I guarantee it's worth every penny.

[MilesColtrane]

32. It's got sci-fi airplanes.

You may like that aspect.

Plot was completely predictable...I give that a C.

Eye candy was A+.

The one thing that struck me was that the 3D presentation enhanced the believability of the CGI.

I remember seeing clips on TV, and thinking how fake it all looked.

Not so in the theater.

[proteus_lives]

33. It's shiny but it sucks.

[XemaSab]

34. I saw it, and I really liked it

:)

[Mutley]

35. I liked it.

No, it's not deep and philosophical, or even all that original, but it was still fun. Yes, the visual effects are the best thing about it, and no one will win a Best Actor/Actress Oscar for their performance, but I didn't think the acting and dialog was as bad as people say. It looks really neat, the story was moving, and it doesn't require any deep thought to enjoy it. It makes a good "go out and forget real life for a few hours" kind of movie.

[kath]

36. My teenage daughter said the dialog was painfully, cringingly AWFUL.

Whiz-bang special effects do not a great movie make.

I have no desire to see it -- have seen the preview a few times and HATED it.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

37. Spend seventy minutes watching that review of Phantom Menace.

It's shorter, it's better written, it's more entertaining, and the criticisms mostly apply to Avatar as well.