Avatar (the film)

[juan]

i saw it imax 3d...it was amazing....great story line

[moverfive]

Sorry.....after having seen both the Matrix and specifically Dances with Wolves, it is hard to call the story line 'original.'

Cool looking movie no doubt.....but if you painted the Sioux Indians blue, put a big pony tail on Kevin Costner, and then throw in a little Matrix (the "linking" and the references where the main character was taking on some of the "the one" characteristics).....you have most of the storyline of Avatar.

[Paul Santiago]

I've seen it 3 times now. Once with my son. Once with my wife, and the last with my wife and granddaughter. There is a lot to see in the movie. I notice something new every time.

Although I still enjoy it, I think I can wait for the DVD now to notice anything else.

[Loves2Shoot]

Sorry.....after having seen both the Matrix and specifically Dances with Wolves, it is hard to call the story line 'original.'

Cool looking movie no doubt.....but if you painted the Sioux Indians blue, put a big pony tail on Kevin Costner, and then throw in a little Matrix (the "linking" and the references where the main character was taking on some of the "the one" characteristics).....you have most of the storyline of Avatar.

[Flexmoney]

Gotta be an episode of the Smurfs like that too.

Then again...are there any original stories?

[bobobooie]

Saw the 2D version on the big screen as the wife and I figured we'd get dizzy watching in 3D. Simply the most awesome movie we've ever seen. Not because of the plot, but because of the attention to detail and the weirdness of the planet itself. From the floating mountains to the plants and animals, it was spectacular. Gonna go back and try the 3D next time.

[Precision40]

Saw the 2D version on the big screen as the wife and I figured we'd get dizzy watching in 3D. Simply the most awesome movie we've ever seen. Not because of the plot, but because of the attention to detail and the weirdness of the planet itself. From the floating mountains to the plants and animals, it was spectacular. Gonna go back and try the 3D next time.

You definitely need to see it in 3-D, allot of the aerial stuff is just amazing. I never see movies in the theater for a 2nd time, but this one is just crazy...

[kevin c]

Coughed up for the 3D IMAX. Megaimpressive visuals. Fun time for me, bad time (headaches) for the wife and son, who fortunately were on their second go around, 1st time being 2D.

The irony is that special FX can be spectacular by themselves, but that the ambition of a lot of CGI developers is to make the environment and characters so realistic that maybe you get wowed at first, but then accept what you see and get absorbed in the story proper. For me, the Lord of the Rings trilogy was successful doing that. Here, the story line was predictable (and offensive to some of us), and had, in some sense to be made up for by the amazing wow factor of the visual environment.

It was worth seeing the 3D IMAX version, but I may not buy it, not just because the story wasn't spectacular, but because I may have ruined myself for the DVD/BluRay version.

[3quartertime]

Took a friend to see it again at the IMAX last night. The shaky cam and 3D combo made her absolutely nauseous! She could only leave the glasses on for a minute or so then take them off again. I know some people have a hard time with the shaky cam stuff, but it seems the 3D really intensified the negative sensations.

I had a great time thou!!!

[calieigh]

Just got home from seeing it in 3D, not Imax like I planned but still was good. I did find that my glasses might have messed with the 3D, but I am not sure. I also was not sure if I was seeing the 3D the way it's suppose to be seen because I have never watched anything in 3D before let alone this new 3D tech.

Besides that, it was a beautiful and amazing movie.

[kellyn]

Truimph of the Will was visually spectacular as well.

[ChuckS]

We went and saw it in 3D IMax last week. Like Kevin said, at first it was amazing effects and it became "normal". After the first 0:15 or so, I didn't "realize" it was 3D until the floating little creatures or the fire ash. It was truly amazing. My wife has tendencies to motion sickness had a couple issues with some of the low level flight scenes and such but she kept her glasses on and said she really enjoyed it.

Later,

Chuck

[usmc1974]

I saw Star wars first run in 77. I am not going to say it was THAT great, but, it was awesome dude watched it twice. just as good the second time.

[ninemmbill]

Avatar was a visually stunning film. I have never been a big fan of the whole 3-D stuff before, but it looked really good in this film. However, as mentioned earlier, I have seen this same story dozens of times before.

[3quartertime]

I saw Star wars first run in 77. I am not going to say it was THAT great, but, it was awesome dude watched it twice. just as good the second time.

Funny. I've used the first Star Wars to describe the Avatar experience too! By today's standards it's corny and goofy, but man did it rock back then!!!

Just watched Avatar in 2D. I still think it's a great movie. I seriously doubt it will have the following that Star Wars did. Even if 3D becomes mainstream in households like they are saying Avatar just doesn't have an impact after the WOW factor in 3D...

[davidwiz]

Saw it in IMAX 3-D last night. That was the first time since it came out that I've been able to get tickets. And, the showing that I saw (6:10pm) was sold out.

From a production standpoint, it was simply amazing. I can't imagine how watching it in 2-D will do the film justice. The plot/storyline was predicable, but that's not the reason to go see it.

On a side note, I'm surprised that Cameron has cased ammo being used 140+ years in the future.

[XD Niner]

I went with my wife to see the 3-D version yesterday at a Sunday matinee. The auditorium was still half full even thought it's been out for six weeks or so. It was my second time seeing it and her first. She hates science fiction movies in general but actually thought this one was "very good." I noticed many things that I hadn't seen when I first watched it.

[diablodawg]

The visual effects were spectacular, but the storyline was complete and utter crap. All the characters were completely one dimensional and rediculous. A five year old could write better than that. From the blatantly liberal and partisan cliches such as "shock and awe," to the unbelievably patronizing view of the military's mindset and education, this movie was offensive. Not to mention the egregious slander poured on my fellow Marines. Where have the good writers gone? It clearly could have been a great movie (and has already racked up the cash of one) but hire some writers or something.

For a hilarious and very poignant, well thought out review, search for avatar review on youtube. Same guy did one on Star Wars Episode I that kept me laughing for days.

[BoldasLions]

I had dreams the next three nights that I was fighting in that war! If a (2.5d)movie can do that, It has to be a good one. Though, I did not appreciate some of the insinuations about the war.

Edited June 28, 2010 by BoldasLions

[Duane Thomas]

I waited to see it in a second-run movie house for $3. (In 2-D obviously.) Even in 2-D I could tell that, in 3-D, this movie would be an absolutely amazing visual experience. For many people, I think the absolutely amazing visual experience hides the fact that, as a movie, in the areas of decent plot and compelling characterization, there's really not a whole lot there. This was surprising to me. Traditionally plot, and creating characters you can care about and root for, have been two of Cameron's real strengths.

[Jman]

I agree. It was as though Cameron really knew he had something...technically. Then rushed a story together so he could show everyone the technology.

Yes, a mind blowing visual experience. Especially in IMAX 3D.

[Graham Smith]

Under the heading of better late than never...

When this movie first came out, I wanted to see it in 3D but everytime I planned on going, something messed up my plans. As a result, I didn't see it till it came out on DVD and used it (and the price drops) as the excuse I needed to get a BluRay. I have to admit, that while the story is a bit formulaic, the visual imagery is absolutely stunning and the movie is so immersive that I can understand why some people were so depressed after walking out of the theater and back into the "real world".

So, when the extended version re-release was announced, I decided to take the opportunity to see it in 3D and I've got some really mixed reviews.

First of all, it's not like seeing something in 3D for real. Much of the broader scenes that could really use some depth of field are either 2D or the effect is just too subtle. The rest of the time, it's OK but it doesn't make it a better movie. In fact, at many points it had a clearly gimmicky feel. If you have not seen a 3D film, it's not really 3D - what it is is like the old stereoscopic viewers where images seem to exist in several planes. IOW, it's not a smooth stereo view, it's "choppy", with the subtitles appearing to exist several feet in front of the screen. I actually found this to be rather distracting in a lot of places.

OTOH, I'm 60 and have been looking at 2D images for so long that something different actually feels more artificial in many ways. Oh, well...

[DoNoHarm]

Wow, lots of mixed reviews. Personally, it was the most immersive movie i've ever seen. Corny sounding, but coming out of this movie, I felt that I had really been in another environment / world. I saw it in 3D, but my eyes don't do 3D very well and I have to take glasses off every 10-15 minutes to prevent headaches. Even with this, this was still an amazing experience.