Movie Review: Avatar

[lampie1970]

Note: I saw this movie in IMAX 3-D, there are regular 3-D and 2-D versions also in  theaters...

OK, so, the scope of this movie is massive. You can tell that it was NOT thrown together. There was none of that weird CG shake that is a tell-tale sign that it is CG. And most of this movie IS CG. Cameron was paying a lot of attention to detail, for a long time. The vistas, even though "fake", the product of someones imagination, were awesome! Visually stunning, innovative, and conceptually interesting...I do have a few complaints (as do others, and I look for them to post...you know who you are! ;) ).

Firstly, I liked it visually more than I liked the story. And thats ok with me...I mean I can live with watching most of this movie without sound...it IS beautiful. The story bothered me only cause it seemed a teensy bit political, shedding light on a hybrid of destruction of rainforests and big government-types moving natives off of land to get to valued resources. I do feel bad that I had some eye roll moments, cause I find it necessary to be green (I recycle, I conserve...), and I have American Indian heritage...so...you know...I may be being overly sensitive (maybe I am not doing enough and my conscience is bothering me....hmmmm). Others may not have had that type of a reaction to the story line at all...That being said, when I wasn't rolling my eyes, I was trying to keep them as wide open as possible to see everything...which brings me to criticism #2, and the reason I specified that I saw it in IMAX 3-D:

Secondly, the glasses hurt. I guess I have a bony nose or something, cause they are uncomfortable. I eventually rested them  on my forehead. My friend Tiff also complained about the glasses. As Kyle says: one size does NOT fit all....

All in all, I recommend you see it, and see it in the theater (no matter what version you choose), I think it will lose something when shrunk. I'm giving the story 3.5 stars and the effects and overall visual styling of the movie 4.5 stars...

[Kylenz]

IMAX 3D????!!?!?!?!?! HOLY HOLY HOLY!!!!!!!!!!! 

Cos' I'm lazy, I'm gonna copy and paste my little ranty thing from my Facebook. I hope it doesn't come across as too critical, my criticisms stem more from probably the theatre not being set up correctly (they really needed to ramp up the brightness).. anyway here it is:

Criticisms of Avatar in 3D
 Friday, 25 December 2009 at 10:25 | Edit note | Delete
Not that Avatar was BAAAD in 3D, in fact for the most part it was very impressive.. but there were some issues that really need to be sorted out and I couldn't believe they haven't sorted it out already via say, focus groups or something like that.

(1) The film was waaaay too DARK, compared to the 2D version. I couldn't see any detail on the bark on the trees, or the forest. This greatly affected the range of colours you could see, the luminosity, it was horrible, knowing that the film has a beautiful range of colour in 2D. Whoever owned the Riccarton Westfield Hoyts theatre really needed to ramp the brightness up to max. I can't wait for it to come out in blu-ray on 3D, at least I should be able to set the brightness in the privacy of my home and not rely on the cinemas to decide how bright is 'bright enough'. It was so dark, you couldn't see the beauty of those Pterodactyl-like creatures they rode on... they glistened in the 2D version.. in 3D you could barely make out any detail or colour because it was so dark-and-dim.

(2) There was a LOT of ghosting, choppyness, motion blur on fast action shots. This is inexcusable, and hard for the eyes to follow. It made certain scenes unwatchable, such as when Jake first encounters the jungle and tries to outrun the larger creatures. In 2D, each shot was perfectly composed and you could focus your eye on everything in shot, even though there was so much going on. In 3D, it was so dark and choppy and blurry, your eyes couldn't keep up with what was going on. Also the 'run forrest run' scene when Jake tests out his Avatar body for the first time on the commando course.. for some reason again it was dark blurry and unwatchable in 3D, yet perfectly clear and sharp in 2D! The ghosting reminded me of trying to watch a movie on an early LCD tv. In 2010, this shouldn't be happening, especially in a public cinema where people are supposed to be paying to see a cutting edge breakthrough technology.

(3) The thick black rims of the RealD glasses were always in the way, you could see an annoying black border at all times, obviously not a 'one size fits all' solution. They are poorly-designed. Ideally, I would redesign them to be wrap-around rather than flat. I would abandon the 'sunglasses' paradigm and would adopt a 'headband/blindfold' like design that stretches around the head like a tennis headband, with curved lenses stitched into the lycra-like fabric. It would be more comfortable and more of a true virtual reality experience that would truly put you into the movie itself. You could still recycle/reuse them and would still be low-cost to manufacture. Again, didn't they do any focus group testing of different designs, prior to deeming the bulky-framed RealD glasses the best solution? I'm seriously considering taking the lenses of my RealD glasses and making my own set of 'blindfold' glasses and take them with me next time I see a movie in 3D.

(4) Many times you are 'seeing double', or at least the faint outline beside it, which shouldn't be happening if they had the technology exactly right. You could see it quite visibly on the text of Jake's 'video logs'. Perhaps this is another reason the overall images can be quite ghosty and blurry.. it's not as sharp as it potentially could be.

(5) The resolution of the image is not as good as 35mm film, not by a long shot. I noticed the overall picture quality lacked fine details, it looked a bit like trying to watch SD (standard definition) tv on a 60" high definition television, when you try and blow up those details on a huge screen, the details get washed out and not so clear. I get the feeling the digital format standard is a compromise, and not as good as it could potentially be. Whether it be higher bitrates or twice the resolution it needs to be, the images are not as sharp as they should be. Extreme closeups of human faces in 2D looked much clearer than in 3D, it was like watching behind a layer of vaseline-on-glass. However, there were some occasions where the 3D looked stunning in that regard.. mostly though when there is a dramatic use of contrast in the shot. Not so good when there was already plenty of natural light in the shot, human faces looked flat and un-3D. I think they could use a much higher resolution and hope to god this won't be the resolution standard they use for decades to come because it will do an injustice to cinema.

(6) Although it looked INCREDIBLE when you had things in the foreground, so close to you that you felt you could touch them, the resolution looked so poor. To use a videogame analogy, it was like being affronted by having a 320x240 pixel object with a 1920x1200 picture behind it, like having a pixelated monster from the videogame DOOM at the front of your vision, with the lush environment of CRYSIS in the background. An illuminated vine will swing towards you, but it would be so low-res, it looked like a chunk of fluffy string coming at you! Whereas, in real life, the closer something moves towards you, the more detail you will see on the objects. In this 3D film, the complete opposite happens. Those ferns in the jungle look amazing at the bottom of the screen, almost as if you are hiding right behind them, but they are so pixelated they look somewhat cut out of cheap cardboard!

Having said that though, the way that little details such as bubbles and leaves fly towards you and dance around on the screen, look totally wondrous. The floating jellyfish-like creatures that fly around Jake and dance around before us... it really is a heavenly sight to behold.

And slow-moving scenes that don't involve too much panning or fast action look totally beautiful in 3D, it's like James Cameron was thinking properly on most of the scenes. But there are other scenes where you are wondering if Cameron really did oversee the movie and 'OK'-it fit for release in theatres, I mean, did he really sit down in the theatre with RealD glasses, put his hand on heart and say his eye could keep up with all the fast action scenes with no ghosting? Or that the movie wasn't too dark? If I was a famous film maker, I would be really pissed off if the cinema-goers couldn't see the bark on the trees or the range of colours on the Pterodactyls..

I'm just frustrated as there is so much potential in what I saw, I could see how good it could be.. it's just been terribly implemented and not giving people the best possible experience. Potentially, it could be like experiencing virtual reality. It's not as good as it should be...

The film itself was BRILLIANT, a simple story but effective.. and it would not surprise me if indeed mainstream science is suppressing evidence for a 'shared consciousness' amongst all living things.. there is an excellent (but long) documentary on YouTube about this called 'Quantum Communication' about the suppression of scientific concepts once considered 'whacko new-agey' - just as Sigourney Weaver's Grace character was portrayed  - but guess what... she was right!!! They show that we all do emit energy frequencies like antennas and they can be measured too! I think that films such as Avatar are drip-feeding these concepts to the masses and will one day be accepted as truth. I know it's only a movie.. but sometimes Hollywood does this kind of thing, even without us realising.

[Paperback Writer]

I'm totally committed to seeing this film, even more so, given the diversity of reviews, here and - there.

Kyle, I totally agree with you and the sentiments of Small Secrets, thanks for sharing those clips.
I have read some similar stuff and am aware of some of these factors in hypnosis and EFT.

I reccomend a book with a lot of hard science on this topic, it's by Valerie Hunt.  Title of book is is in my office, but if you want it, I'll have it after the New Year.

[Kylenz]

Wow, that sounds really good, I'm always excited to read more 'hard science' about this stuff!

[Paperback Writer]

Kyle, I remembered the name of the book: The Infinite Mind.

I loved this movie and have no qualms about saying it worked on almost every level for me.
I am definitely NOT a science-fiction guy, but this was fabulous.  Maybe because I have very limited knowledge of this genre, it's easier for me to enjoy the film.

Political? Naw, before recent history, all the themes in the movie -  have historically been a part of books and movies.  Defending your home - including it's people and resources against a bully  is very mainstream.

Fortunately, the theater lighting was not a problem and no problems were detected in being able to enjoy the incredibly stunning visuals.  I think the forest scenes may have been a little less bright, but that would reflect reality on Pandora, right?  Different solar system.  Rain-forest - less light - kind of like when I'm in the Redwood Forests, here. (Frustrating getting the right light to capture everything on film when taking photos). So it's realistic.

The acting was subtle, with the different origin of their species to keep in mind.  The 'physical acting' was incredible, adjusting to different sizes, costumes and physical challenges in space and on Pandora.

This movie - is literally - out of this world - worth twice the price!   I'll see it again, just to experience the visuals, so instead of following the stories I can devote the time to just watching and experiencing.

The equivalent of this movie - in Rock Music history - is like the difference between 'muzak 'and listening  to  Sgt. Pepper on acid!

[lampie1970]

I saw it again, took two 10 year old boys to see it...and they were blown away, as was I again, even in 2D....I think i like it better cause in 2D you can look at what you want, the scenery and all that, as opposed to what Cameron is wanting you to see, or throwing at you to see or whatever. Anyways. Still love it :D

[chris]

i have a friend who just saw this movie. he isn't much of an independent thinker. but he said something that really surprised me. he loved the movie. thought it was as visually exciting as anything he's ever seen. but he was left with that idea that the film maker hated america. whaaa?

so i ask you...is my friend brain damaged? i was under the impression that this took place on another planet in the future...soooo?

[Kylenz]

It's because the humans were seen as destructive capitalists, and happened to have American accents..

..no, it's a reminder to ourselves that we have to look after the environment, other cultures and put our principles before profit.

Yes, it took place on another planet.. the earthlings come to Pandora for mining purposes, and bring all the conventional weaponry under the sun with them. What I don't understand, is why they are still mucking around with conventional bombs some 200 years into the future. Surely a few EMP or scalar weapons would render any enemy destroyed in seconds, with zero environmental damage.

Yes, the film is anti-war. Yes, the film is pro-environment. And yes, the film is anti-capitalism/the American way, whatever you want to call it. It reflects the way a lot of people feel about the way the global economy functions. But I wouldn't say it's anti-American.. it's anti going in gung-ho and taking over some foreign land with no understanding of their culture or the environment. Perhaps this may well reflect US foreign policy in the Middle East in the recent decade. But all of us as humans are complicit. Not just Americans. We are all responsible.
 

[mervap]

I one looks back at history, almost every country has a period that can be looked back on with some embarassment as pertains to the treatment of the indigenous population. Here in the US, for instance, there were once native tribes living in almost all parts of the country until Europeans came here. Because the land was desireable, the Native Americans were "moved", rather unceremoniously in most cases, to less desireable areas. Because I look back at what was done to them with some horror doesn't make me anti-American, it just indicates that I am honest about my country's origins.

I must see this film to make any judgement on the content, but I suspect I will agree with most of it....

[Paperback Writer]

Ha, Chris, you will - no doubt -  formulate your answer to your question, after you see it.

Now, if you want to observe a firestorm - just pose the same question over at Mikes place.

ENJOY THIS MOVIE!

[lampie1970]

It's because the humans were seen as destructive capitalists, and happened to have American accents..

Really??? They didn't sound like me...hahahahahahahahahha

....just teasing kyle...

(for those of you that do not know...i have a very obvious SOUTHERN, but yes, still american, accent)

[chris]

(for those of you that do not know...i have a very obvious SOUTHERN, but yes, still american, accent)

well, lampie...i have the good fortune to be spending a business week in good old nashville, tn starting this weekend. what are the odds i will be coming home saying y'all to everyone?

[lampie1970]

its very addictive ;)


ya'll is one syllable :D


Welcome to the South ya'll!!!!

[Kylenz]

Now, if you want to observe a firestorm - just pose the same question over at Mikes place.

That's the thing, you can't debate these things, because it's his house, his rules, everything in his Yankee Doodle land is apple pie.. and any dissenters with a different view are ripped to shreds, misrepresented in the process, and hung out to dry. I enjoyed everyone's company and membership over there, except one guy - the forum owner.

At least here, we can talk about Avatar and raise issues of environment, justice, and collective consciousness. Bring another side to the table and not be written off as a whacko or a racist. Everyone here shows maturity and decency. Except 2 of 3, nasty blighter he is!!  ;) 

[2 of 3]

Everyone here shows maturity and decency. Except 2 of 3, nasty blighter he is!!   ;)

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See what happens when you listen to Nickleback! Now I have to find a priest and have them exorcised from poor kyles soul!!!