Hmmm, I can't remember very clearly...

No, seriously guys...it surprises me how people bash 2012 for some reason.  Not only was it wildly popular and successful, but IMO, it was not only well done, but it also was exactly what it wanted to be.

Disaster flicks get a bad rap for some reason.  Everyone cries cliche this and cliche that.  Maybe they are one big old cliche with a bunch of cliched characters, but at least those characters have some feelings, emotions, and back story.

People are going to get the wrong idea of m e with this comment, but I remember actually being moved near the end of 2012, and really wanting the characters to survive.  May have even had a few of those Avatar tears in my eyes...not 100% sure, but I did relate to many of the characters and they did work, IMO.

There wasn't a single character I liked in Inception, other than maybe the zany, cliched "master chemist" dude and the 2 minutes of Michael Caine's character.  No one else had any life at all.  Who the fuck were they?  No clue.

I think we're kind of off topic here on the Avatar thread, huh?

I dont think anyone needs to be embarrased or ashamed in enjoying a movie. If it's your cup of tea, it's your cup of tea. I love some terrible movies and would watch them again and again over what some would consider classics.

I'm not sure what I was expecting with this - part of me didn't even like the concept to begin with which is why I never watched it in cinemas - but I did go into it expecting something spectacular given the hype. I gave it a shot with an open mind.

I wanted it to work, as I did 2012, but both seem to share similar problems. One being overlong. 2 and a half hours? Did it really need to go on that long?

I love disaster movies and I dont mind watching the world become a fire ball and cities destroyed. Part of the interest for me is actually seeing the destruction and how people would react to it and I thought Deep Impact handled it a lot better then both of these movies.

I thought the best movie ever was Independence Day when I first watched it and I can still enjoy it now even though I recognize  the movie has so many corny lines and plot points and is just plain ridiculous. I guess what Im trying to say is I understand why people might also enjoy this. Its pure escapism. That's what movies like this are meant to do. Take you out of the world you live in and take you into a new one.

But for me, it was just a typical disaster movie set in a different location. It was by the beats and as predictable as any of the flicks I've mentioned. Which makes me kind of negative towards this as it was presented as being "original,new, fresh".

Meh. I did enjoy it. I just dont really get the big deal over it.

Okay - with all due respect to the various members of SS that enjoyed this film:

It was Fern Gully with CGI.  Absolutely horrible.

Not a detailed review, but succinct...  Cameron's lost his edge.

I watched it on tv, but I have to say I am so tired of the standard Hollywood plot. The white, militaristic, capitalistic, clearly Americans the greedy bad guys, out to enslave native peoples and exploit the environment, and have no desire to understand anyone else's culture. Meanwhile the natives are spiritual and superior in every way. I am not even basing this criticism on political grounds. I am basing it on what in most areas is a sin in Hollywood...predictability.

I watched part of Green Zone the other day, and I had to leave the house, but what I saw surprised me as being interesting. I avoid these movies just because they are so predictable. Political diversity would really make these movies more interesting.

Leit-

Here here.  That's one of the reasons I couldn't stand Avatar.   Believe me, I'm not far right politically (I'm basically libertarian, with a touch of "moderate' when it comes to economic issues.)  

But the whole "evil white capitalists exploiting and killing the pure innocent natives" has been done to death.  It's black and white, cliche and absolutely cartoony.  Even worse, when it's as long as Avatar.  Which was very, very, very long.

Gimme some complexity and subtly in the plot, please!!

The other side of the coin is that it remains the White guy who has to save the Natives.

Be nice if Black people could be allowed to save themselves every now and again.

Ultimately films are a bourgeois artform...they cost money to make and there main purpose is to make more money from an investment than you could in any other field.

What other field of Enterprise can turn Blair Witch's $30K into $300M?

Hollywood films are also a form of propaganda...they're actively used to push Western commercial values onto the rest of the World, hence the US giving countries like Turkey "free" access to films in Trade Agreements. There's more films that push commecialism than push altenatives to corporatism.

There's still plenty of political diversity in films, but you have to look outside the system for them and largely outside of the US where political diversity doesn't really exist....both parties are right of centre.

Guys and gals...c'mon now...seriously.

What happened to a film simply being 90 - 180 minutes of pure escapism entertainment?

Read whatever you must into any or all films, but watch them for what they are meant to do...entertain.

Avatar certainly did that, and if you weren't entertained, chances are good that you went in already jaded and looking for reasons not to like it.

Quoted from Dreamscale Guys and gals...c'mon now...seriously. What happened to a film simply being 90 - 180 minutes of pure escapism entertainment? Read whatever you must into any or all films, but watch them for what they are meant to do...entertain. Avatar certainly did that, and if you weren't entertained, chances are good that you went in already jaded and looking for reasons not to like it.

Forget about it, dude. The movie's over a year old. People are always going to hate on it. You're probably right that some people just wanted to hate on it. I know I did. I didn't want to like the movie with the cutesy blue aliens, fruity color scheme and recycled plot that any wholesome all American family could enjoy. In fact, it's kinda asking for it, isn't it?

Well, I didn't hate it and in hindsight, I think if Avatar were the standard for popcorn flicks and not the cream of the crop, I'd be a lot happier with the industry.

But for some people, it's just not their thing. For my part, I don't like feel good movies. I like movies about misery. I don't like CGI. They churn out effects movies by the dozen. You're not going to impress me. I don't use escapism as my criteria to seek out films. The fact that I enjoyed Avatar, despite being what it is, is probably what I'd consider it's greatest triumph.

It's the biggest movie of all time. You've got more people on your side than on the other side. No worries.

My company did ad work for Avatar, and I found it pretty amusing that we weren't able to pull a single usable quote from the film.  I think the best we could come up with was You're not in Kansas anymore, and that's from another film!

Seriously, how is this screenwriting board not tearing this film apart?

I am like you Wonka, more libertarian than anything. It was not my wish to turn this into a political thread, but politics is a big part of this movie and of Hollywood. My criticism of that is based on the fact that it's become completely predictable and cliche. Leftist politics have long dominated Hollywood, fine, but at least there used to be some subtlety. Now they want to make sure you get the message, no confusion.

I watched Edge of Darkness the other day. They used to just make the evil politician look and talk like a conservative. Now they actually put the (R) next to his name. And for good measure, they throw in a shot about Fox News. In a suspense movie!

People are tired of having this stuff thrown in their faces, and it keeps them away from certain types of movies. All of the movies about the Iraq war did very poorly at the box office, despite the predictable critical acclaim. That's because no one expects they will see a movie about a complex situation. They expect they will see the standard Michael Moore view of the world, crap that is as much fantasy as Avatar.

I didn't hate Avatar. I didn't hate Last Samurai, which is more of the same. They are visually beautiful movies with some solid acting. I am entertained by these movies. I am just tired of having the message thrown down my throat. God, just a little diversity of message would be nice, and a more complex understanding of the world. And since Avatar is a metaphor for our world, and the Iraq/Afghanistan wars, that is included.

Once upon a time, we had cowboy and Indian movies, where the Indians were always murderous savages. Instead of evolving from that, we just exchanged hats. Now the Native Americans are noble and spiritual caretakers of the environment. The reality is natives are human like the rest of us; they warred with each other, had different cultures, and some were very exploitive of the environment with slash and burn agriculture.

Rick hits on a key point. Ever notice how you still need the white person to save the day? That's what this is really about. That's the clue to the underlying force behind this philosophy.

I'm not asking for Hollywood to become Sean Hannity Productions. We don't want that. I just would like to see more diversity of thought, and would prefer to stop having the message of a failed ideology shoved down my throat. The political agenda of Hollywood has had a stifling affect on the product. If they open up the windows and let some air in, not only we see some different kinds of movies, but good movies like Avatar will become better.

You know...I really, honestly don't have a problem with anyone liking or disliking a film.  It's all personal preference, and God knows my personal preferences are far from the norm.

The problems I have with this latest wave on the thread are twofold.

First of all, I just can't see how anyone with any kind of intelligence and movie industry knowledge and insight could say that this film was "terrible", or any words like that.  I literally can't see how it's possible.  

There are so many literally terrible films made every year...and trust me, I see alot of them, cause alot of them happen to fall in the horror genre, and most of them are ZERO budget pieces of shit that didn't have the right to be made in the first place.

Like it, love it, dislike it, or hate it, Avatar is far from a terrible movie.

Secondly, let's understand that anyone can read anything they want into any piece of entertainment, be it on film or on paper.  Critics and the like have been reading BS into everything they can get their hands on since the last Brontosaur died out.

I'm so sick and tired of hearing all this BS because it has nothing to do with anything, even if there is some semblance of truth behind the comments.  It's just downright laughable and sad to me at the same time.

Symbolism may be real in many cases, but c'mon peeps, let's move on beyond it.  Is everything white, good?  Is everything black, bad?  And is it really inferred to be so?  You really think so?

And, really, who gives a shit?  Why do people think things are being shoved down their throat when they're paying to see them, or at least choosing to see them, now that we're way beyond that with this example.

I see and listen to so many downright hilarious reviews from complete A-Holes who tell us what things actually mean in a movie, and how or why it's so deep...or so devious, or so whatever they deem it to be.

BULLSHIT!

Juts watch the damn movies and either like or dislike them for exactly what they are...entertainment.  If it doesn't entertain you, don't watch it...do something else that does entertain you...like bitching about a war here or there or how this asshole is screwing the world and getting away with it.

Unbelievable!!!

A lot of people are not entertained by films that don't have depth.

Not sure why you are so angry about it. Lots of films are extremely deep with masses of hidden depth.

Avatar conatins a strongly political theme whether you like it or not, and people are free to talk about it if they so desire.

It's still silly to get your knickers in a twist.

Like I said, it's Avatar. Biggest movie of all time. People are gonna hate it. Some of them for no reason. Some of them for no reason other than the fact that it is the biggest movie of all time and they want to be a rebel. It's the same as hating on Stanley Kubrick as far as I'm concerned. Just trendy. People hate the shit out of Inception too. Same thing.

That's it, really. I hate the whole argument that people who don't like movies shouldn't bitch about them. The Internet wouldn't be the same without it. Might as well have some fun.

Quoted from James McClung It's still silly to get your knickers in a twist. Like I said, it's Avatar. Biggest movie of all time. People are gonna hate it. Some of them for no reason. Some of them for no reason other than the fact that it is the biggest movie of all time and they want to be a rebel. It's the same as hating on Stanley Kubrick as far as I'm concerned. Just trendy. People hate the shit out of Inception too. Same thing. That's it, really. I hate the whole argument that people who don't like movies shouldn't bitch about them. The Internet wouldn't be the same without it. Might as well have some fun.

I loved Avater. Thought Inception was a boring, souless mess and like some Kubrick films, not so much others.

Don't get me wrong. There's plenty of people out there with valid objections to Kubrick films and Inception. But there's also plenty of people without them. My cynicism meter's on high right now so I'll say the latter overshadow the former. Maybe I'll have a better reading next week.