Just saw "Avatar"
And I have to say I wasn't impressed.
Don't get me wrong, the film's visuals were beautiful and the cgi was superb.
Aside that though I really couldn't get over the gaping plot holes and poor dialog. It also seemed extremely unoriginal, a mishmash of various other films, especially Dances with Wolves.
To borrow from another reviewer who said it better than I could:
It certainly looks amazing, even if the main characters are ridiculous, ten-foot-tall, expressionless, blue Gumbys. In between bouts of stabbing pain in my temples from the 3D glasses, I admired the way Cameron and co. used their 3D palette more creatively than the other 3D films of the past year or so. There's a lot going on in the frame, and an incredible depth of field (which isn't as obvious as it sounds). There's inevitable blurring around the edges, and some extreme-foreground objects are distractingly transparent. And "jaw-dropping" isn't quite excited enough to describe its effect during the flying scenes, which threaten to liberate viewers from their seats and toss them into the ceiling. It's pure cinematic joy, like riding in a roller coaster that requires you to wear bulky glasses that pinch into the sides of your head.
But everything about the story, the setting, the dialog, and the parts that aren't purely visual is awful. It's actually worse than Dances with Wolves in terms of cultural imperialism. Like so many other "white guy goes back to nature" movies, it posits that the best native is in fact a white guy gone native. He was raised in the offending culture so he understands how it works, but he's also able to learn the native culture almost instantly, become an accepted member of that culture, become a better native than the erstwhile best native (usually a young, hot-tempered man), and lead the natives into battle, either showing himself to be an honorable leader or dying valiantly in the attempt.
Though...in closing. I really don't see the whole hype about this film, especially within the furry fandom. Tall blue elf people with tails? Eh, I don't see the connection.
It was worth the price of admission just purely for the visuals but other than that the film doesn't deliver much. Wouldn't see it again. =/
Don't get me wrong, the film's visuals were beautiful and the cgi was superb.
Aside that though I really couldn't get over the gaping plot holes and poor dialog. It also seemed extremely unoriginal, a mishmash of various other films, especially Dances with Wolves.
To borrow from another reviewer who said it better than I could:
It certainly looks amazing, even if the main characters are ridiculous, ten-foot-tall, expressionless, blue Gumbys. In between bouts of stabbing pain in my temples from the 3D glasses, I admired the way Cameron and co. used their 3D palette more creatively than the other 3D films of the past year or so. There's a lot going on in the frame, and an incredible depth of field (which isn't as obvious as it sounds). There's inevitable blurring around the edges, and some extreme-foreground objects are distractingly transparent. And "jaw-dropping" isn't quite excited enough to describe its effect during the flying scenes, which threaten to liberate viewers from their seats and toss them into the ceiling. It's pure cinematic joy, like riding in a roller coaster that requires you to wear bulky glasses that pinch into the sides of your head.
But everything about the story, the setting, the dialog, and the parts that aren't purely visual is awful. It's actually worse than Dances with Wolves in terms of cultural imperialism. Like so many other "white guy goes back to nature" movies, it posits that the best native is in fact a white guy gone native. He was raised in the offending culture so he understands how it works, but he's also able to learn the native culture almost instantly, become an accepted member of that culture, become a better native than the erstwhile best native (usually a young, hot-tempered man), and lead the natives into battle, either showing himself to be an honorable leader or dying valiantly in the attempt.
Though...in closing. I really don't see the whole hype about this film, especially within the furry fandom. Tall blue elf people with tails? Eh, I don't see the connection.
It was worth the price of admission just purely for the visuals but other than that the film doesn't deliver much. Wouldn't see it again. =/