Have You Watched "Avatar" Yet? It's AMAZING!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Oerg
  • Start date Start date
AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers around the film "Avatar," highlighting its impressive 3D effects and visual storytelling, which many found to enhance the immersive experience without overshadowing the narrative. While some participants praised the film as a top contender for best movie of the decade, others criticized its plot as unoriginal and predictable, drawing parallels to earlier films like "Dances with Wolves." The balance between story and special effects was a key point, with some arguing that the visuals alone do not compensate for a lack of depth in the script. There were also discussions about the scientific plausibility of elements within the film, such as the floating mountains and the concept of "unobtainium," with varying opinions on how much explanation is necessary for a science fiction narrative. The film's themes and character development were debated, with some viewers expressing disappointment in the stereotypical portrayals and overt moral messages. Overall, while "Avatar" was recognized for its groundbreaking visual achievements, opinions diverged on its storytelling and originality.
  • #101
Greg Bernhardt said:
watched it again on imax 3d and enjoyed it even more than the first time

I just did the same thing. I saw it last week in a retro-theater, with old-fashioned 10-minute reels, and the "burn holes" and the rough cuts when the reels changed, and relatively small screen.

I saw it again in digital 3D. I held my nose through the dippy dialog, but the amount of detail that came through in 3D was astounding. I noticed there wasn't so much "up close in your face" effects, but a lot more "deep into the distance" sensations. And all those tiny insects, which were only blurs in 2D, were all individual bugs whirling in circles throughout the depth of field.

They could have turned off the sound and I would have been happy.

And I did notice, second time around, at the beginning of the film that the "marines" who were on the planet/moon were called "nothing more than mercenaries working for the corporation" (OWTTE). Cameron could have done a better job at heightening this distinction between these and "legitimate" marines.

The movie needed a group of tough, powerful, human bad guys. What better than a rouge platoon of marines?
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #102
I was watching The Fast and the Furious yesterday and noticed it has a similar story as Avatar.
 
  • #103
Chi Meson said:
What better than a rouge platoon of marines?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2y8Sx4B2Sk
 
  • #104
mgb_phys said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2y8Sx4B2Sk

'tis a nice color for lipstick, though. :)
 
  • #105
Dembadon said:
'tis a nice color for lipstick, though. :)

Now I see what they meant when they said Sarah Palin was going rogue.. Sarah Palin was going rouge, oh that explains it all.
 
  • #106
Chi Meson said:
And I did notice at the beginning of the film that the "marines" who were on the planet/moon were called "nothing more than mercenaries working for the corporation" (OWTTE). Cameron could have done a better job at heightening this distinction between these and "legitimate" marines.
Yes, this does change things, albeit subtlely. It would have helped to have this made more clear.
 
  • #107
Chi Meson said:
And I did notice at the beginning of the film that the "marines" who were on the planet/moon were called "nothing more than mercenaries working for the corporation" (OWTTE). Cameron could have done a better job at heightening this distinction between these and "legitimate" marines.
Wasn't that the whole political message of the film though?
A savage indictment of the role of the Royal Marines in attacking the innocent American colonists in the 18Century?
 
  • #108
i STILL haven't watched it yet!:D
:(
 
  • #109
we_get_it.png
 
  • #110
mgb_phys said:
Wasn't that the whole political message of the film though?
A savage indictment of the role of the Royal Marines in attacking the innocent American colonists in the 18Century?
Out of all the "whap in you face" messages of this film, I have to say I did not see that particular one.

I saw the US corporate takeover of Hawaii all over this film (with the US Navy "observing and complacent"). The Navi people seemed to be visually and linguistically a deliberate blend of native Americans and Africans and Pacific Islanders.

I saw the ongoing corporate stripping of Alberta for tar-sand (not "Tarzan"), I saw the UK heavy-handed control over India, the Japanese control over "Indochina," the Brazilian devastation of the rainforest, the gold-dredges of Alaska, the poisoning of lake Baikal, the fish wipe-out of the Snake and Columbia rivers...

There is no end or beginning to examples of corporations/empires taking whatever they want from wherever they want. All you need is the monetary or military might, and the rationalization and justification will follow.
 
Last edited:
  • #111
mgb_phys said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2y8Sx4B2Sk
Hah! I didn't even notice that typo (obviously) :duh:

I meant to say "...a maroon platoon of marines." Gosh, I feel silly.
 
  • #112
Chi Meson said:
Hah! I didn't even notice that typo (obviously) :duh:
The first rule of PF - everybody writes rouge by mistake
 
  • #113
mgb_phys said:
The first rule of PF - everybody writes rouge by mistake

I though the first rule was "don't date your sister."
 
  • #114
Chi Meson said:
I saw it again in digital 3D. I held my nose through the dippy dialog, but the amount of detail that came through in 3D was astounding. I noticed there wasn't so much "up close in your face" effects, but a lot more "deep into the distance" sensations. And all those tiny insects, which were only blurs in 2D, were all individual bugs whirling in circles throughout the depth of field.

I tried to see it this weekend but, the IMax 3D screens were sold out for the entire day. I guess I'll have to get the tickets online next time. I haven't seen a movie in 3D before so this should be a good first one. I'll watch for the bugs and other details. Thanks for the heads up.
 
  • #115
Very awesome, awesome movie...love it and with the success its having it will probably be made into a trilogy

James Cameron is a genius!
 
  • #116
Chi Meson said:
I though the first rule was "don't date your sister."
I always thought the first rule was
Never throw poo at a man holding a gun.
And the second rule was
Never stand beside someone throwing poo at a man holding a gun.
 
  • #117
Borg said:
I tried to see it this weekend but, the IMax 3D screens were sold out for the entire day. I guess I'll have to get the tickets online next time. I haven't seen a movie in 3D before so this should be a good first one. I'll watch for the bugs and other details. Thanks for the heads up.

You got into the same problem as me. I was planning to see it in IMAX with a friend on Saturday. Due to an amazing lack of foresight, we forgot to consider:

(1) That Avatar is currently the most popular movie.
(2) That there was only one IMAX 3D theatre in the city of Toronto.
(3) That the whole city of Toronto was going to converge on this one theatre.
(4) That we were planning to arrive at 3 p.m., 20 minutes before the start of the movie.
(5) That many people are going to have the same stupid plan as we did.

Guess what happened?
 
  • #118
ideasrule said:
(2) That there was only one IMAX 3D theatre in the city of Toronto.
Well it is a world class city !
 
  • #119
ideasrule said:
You got into the same problem as me. I was planning to see it in IMAX with a friend on Saturday. Due to an amazing lack of foresight, we forgot to consider:

(1) That Avatar is currently the most popular movie.
(2) That there was only one IMAX 3D theatre in the city of Toronto.
(3) That the whole city of Toronto was going to converge on this one theatre.
(4) That we were planning to arrive at 3 p.m., 20 minutes before the start of the movie.
(5) That many people are going to have the same stupid plan as we did.

Guess what happened?

You're in T.O., eh? We went to the Coliseum near Square One. It's also in Woodbridge at 400 and 7.
 
  • #120
Theres one in Brampton too, in Trinity Commons
 
  • #121
Gold Barz said:
Theres one in Brampton too, in Trinity Commons

Brampton. That's part of Mississauga, kind of like Cooksville, right? :-p
 
  • #122
DaveC426913 said:
Brampton. That's part of Mississauga, kind of like Cooksville, right? :-p

They wish they were part of Mississauga, we're too great of a city to be associated however. :smile:

I never knew that Toronto only had one 3D IMAX theatre... is that the Scotiabank Theatre... I'm pretty sure out near Wonderland there's another theatre.

Mississauga only has one too the one Dave spoke of near Square One but Oakville-Burlington border also has one now which isn't too far... I actually think it's closer than the one at Square One for me :smile:
 
  • #123
Nah Brampton and Mississauga are two different cities, they are right beside each other though
 
  • #124
Is there hidden meaning in Avatar? Seems to parallel the "Gaia hypothesis" very closely.
The Gaia hypothesis is an ecological hypothesis proposing that the biosphere and the physical components of the Earth (atmosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere) are closely integrated to form a complex interacting system that maintains the climatic and biogeochemical conditions on Earth in a preferred homeostasis. Originally proposed by James Lovelock as the Earth feedback hypothesis,
Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis

Maybe the author wants to make a point that all things on Earth are inter-related. My impression was that there could be a lot of ways of re-interpreting the movie, this being just one perspective.
 
  • #125
Gold Barz said:
Nah Brampton and Mississauga are two different cities, they are right beside each other though
It was a jibe. :devil: Don't Bramptonians have city-envy?

Q_Goest said:
Is there hidden meaning in Avatar? Seems to parallel the "Gaia hypothesis" very closely.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis

Maybe the author wants to make a point that all things on Earth are inter-related. My impression was that there could be a lot of ways of re-interpreting the movie, this being just one perspective.
I think that is the surface-level obvious message. It's kind of too much a part of common philosophy to be worth much attention to those who like to pick apart movies. The idea is that there are more subtle but darker undertones to the movie that sneak in under our awareness. It is these that are interesting to discuss.
 
  • #126
Good to see that so many people are in the Toronto area! I'm from Richmond Hill and my friend is in Toronto proper, and the closest IMAX 3D theater to both of us (as well as the only one in Toronto proper) was the Scotiabank one downtown. I was thinking about going to the one in Vaughan, but that seemed too far from my friend's home. In hindsight, it would have been better to travel as far into the suburbs as possible instead of going downtown.

I may see this movie again when it's well past its peak. That would be my 3rd time watching it. Now I see why people watch movies 3 times: poor planning.
 
  • #127
I'm going to watch this movie later on tonight for the first time lol. I've been trying to go for the past couple weeks but no time really. I'm not going to be watching it IMAX 3D though. Whatever the other 3D option at the local theatre is is what I'll be watching. I don't mind though lol :smile:
 
  • #128
DaveC426913 said:
A friend of mne pointed out something really telling.

Cameron said he's been thinking of this idea for about 15 years.

You know http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104254/" 17 years ago?

The similiarities are startling.

:biggrin:
And this, 12 years ago:
IMDB said:
...the land lay covered in forests, where, from ages long past, dwelt the spirits of the gods. Back then, man and beast lived in harmony, but as time went by, most of the great forests were destroyed. Those that remained were guarded by gigantic beasts who owed their allegiances to the Great Forest Spirit...

Preceded by https://www.amazon.com/dp/0425032795/?tag=pfamazon01-20:
A Customer said:
On the planet Athshe, there is no word for war, there is no concept of murder, there is no language of hate. The world is one vast, green, gentle forest full of people who live between the world-time and the dream-time, who resolve their conflicts by means of ceremonial singing. Then the Terran League discovers Athshe's existence and a pattern of "colonization"-very similar to the exploitation of "primitive" cultures on Earth-begins to destroy the planet and its people; and, eventually, one young Athshean named Selver learns how to hate.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #129
mgb_phys said:
The first rule of PF - everybody writes rouge by mistake

I think you meant "rogue", not "rouge". Everybody writes "rouge" by mistake.
 
  • #130
Borg said:
I tried to see it this weekend but, the IMax 3D screens were sold out for the entire day. I guess I'll have to get the tickets online next time. I haven't seen a movie in 3D before so this should be a good first one. I'll watch for the bugs and other details. Thanks for the heads up.

ideasrule said:
You got into the same problem as me. I was planning to see it in IMAX with a friend on Saturday. Due to an amazing lack of foresight, we forgot to consider:

(1) That Avatar is currently the most popular movie.
(2) That there was only one IMAX 3D theatre in the city of Toronto.
(3) That the whole city of Toronto was going to converge on this one theatre.
(4) That we were planning to arrive at 3 p.m., 20 minutes before the start of the movie.
(5) That many people are going to have the same stupid plan as we did.

Guess what happened?

Finally got IMAX 3D tickets for tomorrow. Looking forward to it.
 
  • #131
Borg said:
Finally got IMAX 3D tickets for tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

Only tomorrow?? Too late. Good seats are already gone. :-p
 
  • #132
Hmm the movie was ok... it wasn't as great as I was expecting with all the hype around it. As well the 3D didn't really make it any more impressive IMO. I could have just as easily watched it in 2D and felt the same way about the movie.
 
  • #133
Sorry! said:
it wasn't as great as I was expecting with all the hype around it.
Hype has become corporatized and funded.

In my world, hype is counter-productive; the more hype there is, the more suspicious I am.
 
  • #134
Sorry! said:
Hmm the movie was ok... it wasn't as great as I was expecting with all the hype around it. As well the 3D didn't really make it any more impressive IMO. I could have just as easily watched it in 2D and felt the same way about the movie.

Thats why you should watch the movie on opening. I pretty much stumbled into the movie theater because a couple of friends wanted to go to the movies. I had no expectations about the movie, did not see the trailers, and did not read any reviews.
 
  • #135
Sorry! said:
Hmm the movie was ok... it wasn't as great as I was expecting with all the hype around it. As well the 3D didn't really make it any more impressive IMO. I could have just as easily watched it in 2D and felt the same way about the movie.

Are you missing an eye or something?!

Edit:

Or did you sit too close to the screen? 3D is better in the middle-back area of the theater.
 
Last edited:
  • #136
Do you have (uncorrected) myopia? I conveniently lost my prescription glasses on the day I went to see the movie, and that definitely made the far-away scenes less realistic. (It even made reality seem less realistic since I had gotten so used to having the glasses.)
 
  • #137
You realize that in 3 weeks this movie was out it already grossed $1.137 BILLION ?
 
  • #138
Finally saw it. Wow! :!)
 
  • #139
Borg said:
Finally saw it. Wow! :!)

The person sitting next to me in the movie theater asked if this is my first time. I said it's my second. The person said it's her third time.
 
  • #140
waht said:
The person sitting next to me in the movie theater asked if this is my first time. I said it's my second. The person said it's her third time.

I'm guessing that's not because of poor planning?
 
  • #141
The only thing keeping me from repeated visits is the length. Fun movie to watch but just too long. I'll bet this is typical for a lot of people.
 
  • #142
Borg said:
Finally got IMAX 3D tickets for tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

DaveC426913 said:
Only tomorrow?? Too late. Good seats are already gone. :-p

I actually got there an hour and a half before it started (first showing of the day). I was the first and got seats right in the middle. A lot of people arrived an hour early.

Even though I already had my tickets, I checked availability and they were sold out for the whole day except for the 10:30 pm showing again. Looks like it's going to stay popular for a while. Any bets on the gross? The first 2 billion dollar movie? :bugeye:
 
  • #143
I've read a number of discussions about hidden meanings in the movie. Maybe I'm odd but, I couldn't help but, notice this:

The attack on the Home Tree reminded me of the collapse of the World Trade Center on 9/11, complete with an ash-covered landscape afterward.
 
  • #144
waht said:
The person sitting next to me in the movie theater asked if this is my first time. I said it's my second. The person said it's her third time.

And you didn't get her number??
 
  • #145
I enjoyed it, but leaned over to my son at one point in the movie and said

"you turned injun on us, dincha"
(from Dances with Wolves)

A pretty movie, but also a linear and predictable plot.
 
  • #146
rolerbe said:
I enjoyed it, but leaned over to my son at one point in the movie and said

"you turned injun on us, dincha"
(from Dances with Wolves)

A pretty movie, but also a linear and predictable plot.

Ooooooh! That's why it's being compared to Dances with Wolves!

I feel silly.

Halfway though Avatar I turned to myself and said "He's going native - that's what this story is about".

And then everyone's been talking about the comparsion with DwW. I assumed they were talking about gthe Westerners sweeping in and showing the natives how backwards they were and saving them. It made no sense.

But duh. Going native is the critical commonality.
 
  • #147
DaveC426913 said:
Halfway though Avatar I turned to myself and said "He's going native - that's what this story is about".
I tend to try to avoid analyzing a movie while I'm watching it, but halfway through I started looking for a way for him to become permanently native...then Sigourney Weaver died and I knew.
 
  • #148
russ_watters said:
I tend to try to avoid analyzing a movie while I'm watching it...
Me too. I try really hard to experience a story in-the-moment, to not predict (and I dislike people who ego-stroke by doing-so).

But some stories are like runaway trains heading into crowded stations. To not see what's coming, you'd have to be on the other side of town.
 
  • #149
http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/epic-fail-avatar-plot-fail.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #150
NeoDevin said:
clipped

I'm thinking this is possible with many, many movie combinations.
 

Similar threads

Why is Avatar the Number 1 Movie of the Century?
Replies
7
Views
3K
Filmmakers lost in the world of 3D animation and special effects
2
Replies
58
Views
7K
It's remarkable how big of an impact professors can have
Replies
3
Views
4K
What interesting videos did you watch today?
Replies
30
Views
4K
Intermediate Axis Theorem.... fun to learn it again with You Tube
Replies
3
Views
960
Do you think we should attempt contact with aliens?
Replies
9
Views
2K
Car Crash Analysis: Analyzing Friction & Speed
Replies
9
Views
4K
Do You Ever Have That Feeling That Someone Is Watching You
Replies
12
Views
2K
Home Repair & Maintenance Advice for Newbie?
Replies
11
Views
3K
What's the best major between Physics & Chemistry for entering MS in Nuclear Engineering?
Replies
12
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top