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I don't agree with this Avatar pan by Nerve's Scott Von Doviak, but I laughed at the following line: "After spending a while in the aquarium-like world of Pandora, I started to feel like I was staring at the world's most expensive screensaver." Okay, perhaps the fact that I laughed means on some level that I did agree with Von Doviak. All right, maybe...in a kind of peripheral. don't-bug-me, having-too-good-a-time sense.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 18, 2009 at 7:45 AM

comment #1

JulesWinnfield says ...

I don't think we screened the same film. Honestly, visually it was one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. The shots when they are underwater, walking through the forests at night with the glowing flowers, and just the amazing details and life like look the navi people have is out of this world. The dialogue didn't sound like 14 years in the making, but I was so deep into the visuals and sound effects that I could have cared less.

Our projector froze for about a minute on Jakes face right as the humans are about to light up the tree. I didn't see one soul leave the theater.

Posted by JulesWinnfield at December 18, 2009 8:17 AM

comment #2

Pynchon8 says ...

"Don't bug me I'm having a good time," sounds like Eloi. Sounds like Wells asinine generalizations caught up to him.

Posted by Pynchon8 at December 18, 2009 8:27 AM

comment #3

Fortunesfool says ...

Doviak probably liked 'Star Trek'.

Which, incidentally, was named 'best sci-fi film of the decade' by Total Film magazine in the UK.

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comment #4

DeeZee says ...

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Posted by DeeZee at December 18, 2009 9:58 AM

comment #5

bluefugue says ...

>The dialogue didn't sound like 14 years in the making, but I was so deep into the visuals and sound effects that I could have cared less.

Cameron's dialogue is often iffy (Titanic being a classic example) but what bothered me more was that structurally and plotwise, Avatar had a realy Screenwriting-101-hero's-journey vibe about it. You can just pick the story beats as they come down the pipe. It all feels like it's fulfilling a sense of obligation, and that drained some of the joy from the storytelling. The facile thing to say is "Cameron's always like that," only he's not. His merging of Vietnam-era military vibes with sci-fi in "Aliens" was truly striking, if somewhat derivative of Heinlein. The drowning scene in Abyss achieved an emotional intensity that absolutely beggars anything in Avatar. And the action scenes in T2, particularly the early ones, feel punchier and more real partly because they are smaller scale.

Visually Avatar is the closest thing we've yet seen to a John Carter of Mars movie, and it's absolutely worth seeing. But I think it's a relatively weak writing effort from a screenwriter who can -- based on his best work -- legitimately be said to have been a master of the Hollywood popcorn style (which is a lot harder to master than some people might think).

Posted by bluefugue at December 18, 2009 1:30 PM

comment #6

lipranzer says ...

bluefugue, I agree completely. I'd add that while TITANIC may have been cornball, I was completely invested in the story. I wasn't quite here, despite the efforts of Zoe Saldana.

Posted by lipranzer at December 18, 2009 3:14 PM

comment #7

Chase Kahn says ...

I'm honestly stunned so many dig "Avatar", I'd rather sit through "The Fellowship of the Ring."

Posted by Chase Kahn at December 18, 2009 5:01 PM

comment #8

Geoff says ...

Ok, I saw it, this afternoon - AMAZING, live up to the hype! Beautifully shot, exciting, immersive, and not nearly as hokey as I would have thought. Cameron yanks you into this world and does not let go - very nicely paced, true sense of danger throughout and true sense of beauty throughout.

Sam Worthington was much better than I thought he would be - usually, voice-over narration can sink you, but he does it well. The performance capture was simply amazing, the actors made you buy it, too.

Only real weakness I found was the score - James Horner is just too damn derivative of his own hits, at this point. Not only did I hear too many Titanic-like cues, but the guy was aping a lot of Glory, as well.

Still a home run, four stars, one of the best of the year, no doubt. Just like with Precious, the political stuff has been WAY overstated - this story has been around for hundred's of years and all of a sudden, it's a left wing screed???? Give me a break - the Breitbart/Nolte crew has got to seriously lighten up, already. It's ok to dwell for two hours of screentime on the stoning of Sonja-whatever her name is or focusing on a cat-of-nine-tails ripping apart Jesus, but having

SPOILER ALERT

one intense scene about the destruction of a tree and thousands of people around it is overdoing it???? It's a good scene and makes a good point, but it's not liberal propaganda. We've seen Alderaan get blown up, we've seen Vulcan get blown up, we've seen the White House get blown up - were those political? Seriously, Breitbart and Nolte and the rest of them should just lighten the fuck up, already.

But back to the movie - yes, the story is derivative, but I can assure that you have never seen it like this. It moves, stays true to its own logic, and just dazzles - every one should be learning from Cameron, at this point.

I also think the film is much more chick-friendly than any one is giving it credit for - hell, I want to take my wife now, because she loves Yoga, reads lots of books about spirituality and nature, and might even get the story more than I did.

Stephen Lang was fantastic and gave his character all of the necessary charisma, Zoe Saldana does a great job portraying some one somewhat alien and feral yet relatable, and it's nice to see Michelle Rodriguez playing the role she was always meant to play.....the tough Cameron heavy with a heart of gold.

The film should do well, but I'm expecting numbers just above Star Trek-domestic - $300 million is going to be tough with the Sherlock Holmes buzzsaw coming, next week.

Posted by Geoff at December 18, 2009 9:33 PM

comment #9

doublexjohn says ...

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comment #10

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comment #11

badpete says ...

"Don't bug me I'm having a good time," sounds like Eloi. Sounds like Wells asinine generalizations caught up to him.

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comment #12

badpete says ...

"Don't bug me I'm having a good time," sounds like Eloi. Sounds like Wells asinine generalizations caught up to him.

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badpete says ...

The veteran Conservative MP told BBC Radio 4's PM programme she had tried it out on several people before using it in the House of Commons.

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atish says ...

Which, incidentally, was named 'best sci-fi film of the decade' by Total Film magazine in the UK.
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comment #17

badpete says ...

."Don't bug me I'm having a good time," sounds like Eloi. Sounds like Wells asinine generalizations caught up to him.

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Which, incidentally, was named 'best sci-fi film of the decade' by Total Film magazine in the UK.

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badpete says ...

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atish says ...

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comment #24

atish says ...

You can just pick the story beats as they come down the pipe. It all feels like it's fulfilling a sense of obligation, and that drained some of the joy from the storytelling. The facile thing to say is "Cameron's always like that," only he's not. His merging of Vietnam-era military vibes with sci-fi in "Aliens" was truly striking, if somewhat derivative of Heinlein. The drowning scene in Abyss achieved an emotional intensity that absolutely beggars anything in Avatar.
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comment #28

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