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[llien]

I mean it was a well done but pretty cliche story elevated by great special effects.

If I may ask OP how old were you when you saw Avatar?

Rich, well thought through world.
Charismatic characters.
Sci-fi that actually makes sense, with a lot of details. This is EXTREMELY rare. The only other movie I can remember is the "I Robot", but then, it's Asimov.
(people complaining about "unobtanium" name, Dear God)
Beautiful visuals.

Oh well, the happy end. yeah, cliche. Customers prefer it that way.

 

[HStallion]

I don't hear anyone call Avatar anything because you never hear people talk about Avatar unless you mean the Air Bender.

 

[Wafflecakes]

I really enjoyed the film. It had a few cliche elements, but imo it was the best version of the story it was telling. That counts for something.

 

[SJRB]

Unobtainium. They're fighting over a resource called Unobtainium.

It doesn't get much lower than that.

 

[Harmen]

Fucking how?

I mean, how many classic worthy blockbusters are there each year?

I think Avatar is at least on par with a lot of the MCU films, and a lot better than stuff like Transformers, Pirates, the DCEU films that are not WW etc.

If I compare it to 2017 blockbusters I have seen: In terms of quality, Avatar destroys King Arthur, Ghost in the Shell, XxX 2, Alien Covenant, Valarian, The Mummy. It is also better than Fate of the Furious and Beauty and the Beast. It is also not (much) worse than Kong, Guardian 2, Wonder Woman, Spidey, and Life (I count Avatar roughly amongst this category in terms of quality). Dunkirk, Logan, and Apes are the ones this year that are (significantly) better than Avatar.

I am not saying Avatar is in the upper tier of best blockbusters of all time, but I think it is a very competent and enjoyable film. I really enjoyed the visual aspects (not many cgi-heavy films pull this off nearly as well, not even today), thought the worldbuilding itself was great, and the actors did good, despite portraying clichéd characters.

Unobtainium. They're fighting over a resource called Unobtainium.

It doesn't get much lower than that.

It is a term used by scientists and science media in the real world, given the context in the film it is not out of the question for us humans to actually call it that. I agree it doesn't really sound good, but it is not nearly as dumb as people are making it out to be.

 

[Seesaw15]

Rich, well thought through world.
Charismatic characters.
Sci-fi that actually makes sense, with a lot of details. This is EXTREMELY rare. The only other movie I can remember is the "I Robot", but then, it's Asimov.
(people complaining about "unobtanium" name, Dear God)
Beautiful visuals.

Oh well, the happy end. yeah, cliche. Customers prefer it that way.

Hmmm, I haven't watched the movie in almost a decade but I remember Sam Worthington being kind of a wooden lead and most of the secondary characters( Stephen Lang,Michelle Rodriguez,Joel David Moore and Giovanni Ribisi) just playing archetypes( Bigoted army guy,tough girl,funny science nerd, amoral business man who only likes money.) From what i remember Zoe Saldana was pretty good though.

 

[llien]

Unobtainium. They're fighting over a resource called Unobtainium.

It doesn't get....

It sure does:

"Since the late 1950s,[a][1] aerospace engineers have used the term "unobtainium" when referring to unusual or costly materials, or when theoretically considering a material perfect for their needs in all respects, except that it does not exist."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unobtainium#Engineering_origin


That is what room temperature superconductor is.

 

[daviyoung]

It sure does:

"Since the late 1950s,[a][1] aerospace engineers have used the term "unobtainium" when referring to unusual or costly materials, or when theoretically considering a material perfect for their needs in all respects, except that it does not exist."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unobtainium#Engineering_origin


That is what room temperature superconductor is.

yes, it is an engineering in-joke that has no right being the straight-faced name of a mineral in a movie that takes itself seriously

 

[llien]

yes, it is an engineering in-joke that has no right being the straight-faced name of a mineral in a movie that takes itself seriously

So we went from "what a ridiculous name, how did Cameron come up with it" to "oh, it but it (something that engineers actually came up with when referring to exactly THIS kind of materials) is not appropriate here".

Well, I don't see what's there to argue about the second part, it's just an opinion, everyone is entitled to have one.

 

[daviyoung]

So we went from "what a ridiculous name, how did Cameron came up with it" to "oh, it but it's not appropriate here".

Well, I don't see what's there to argue about the second part, it's just an opinion, everyone is entitled to have one.

the post you replied to was the second part, not the first part

in the context of Avatar, it is a ridiculous name that Cameron should be ashamed for using...its existence as a real term is irrelevant

 

[____]

Found it excruciating to sit through once and never stained my eyes with it again.

This. I couldn’t finish it even once though.

 

[Herr Schwarz]

Unobtaniun exists as a thought process of a material that doesn't exist that would serve the solution to the engineering scenario.

So its weird to name a material Unobtaniun because, it does exist, they're mining it.

It can't be Unobtaniun because its now a tangible thing.

 

[Supast4r]

I actually really enjoyed the world building that the movie had. My biggest gripe wad that the Jake sully is such a forgettable main character. I still enjoyed the movie and I'm excited for the sequels that will never come out.

 

[Manzoon]

There's a wow factor? what?

A shock and awe factor!

 

[RustyNails]

I hope Avatar 2 has hot human on alien action. Arnt the blue aliens like 10 ft tall?

 

[JB1981]

People mistake the achievement in cinematography and visual storytelling (let alone production design, and visual effects) as technical rather than artistic and somehow product of just dumping money on CGI.

Yea it's quite something. People literally talking straight from their ass

 

[MisterAnderson]

ITT: Ignorant people don't realize that unobtanium is actually a scientific term.

 

[Wolfgunblood Garopa]

I don't think I've ever successfully put into words how much I loathe Avatar, maybe because the movie is so boring that it just doesn't inspire enough to make coherent points. It just sucks.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Cuz Avatar the last airbender is better

 

[NHarmonic.]

No mention of 'un-obtain-ium'? Because when I saw it in theatres that was the moment I knew what I was in for.

Wait for the unobtanium defense force that'll argue it's a real concept and blablabla.

Still sounds dumb as fuck.

 

[Xe4]

Avatar is one of those films with absolutely nuts CGI and a greatly thought out world, but with a dollar store script and characters. It's something I'd expect more out of a visual effects tech demo than a movie that I'd go see to the theater, really. Great the first time, but doesn't really have anything to make me want to go back.

Also, I have a particular problem with lazily written environmental epics. It's such a tired damn cliche, especially since Miazaki figured out how to make one correctly in the damn 80's.

 

[Chococat]

First off, if you like Avatar, there is nothing wrong with you. It is a simple hero's journey story that done well enough. There is nothing wrong with liking simple stories, even as adults. We all have our favorites.

The thing with Avatar, it is a story that told a million times before. There is nothing novel in Avatar's take on the Hero's journey. There are the bad humans, the good savior humans, and the noble savages. The guy gets the girl, defeats the bad guys, and saves the day. There is no mystery or nuance. Yet, on a technical level, it hits all the points it needs to be a competent story. Avatar in no way is a bad movie. So that leaves:

Visuals/world- Pandora is a decently thought out world/setting. It is logically consistent for what the story demands. I'll argue, when people say they like Avatar, what they really mean first and foremost is they like Pandora. Can't argue there- it pretty cool, as long as you don't think to deep about how different the Na'vi are to the rest of the Pandora species. Or how the mountains float. It's not hard sci-fi, so it get a pass- they went for cool looking over realistic- that is perfectly fine. Visually, it is very cool.

Characters- For me this fall flat. Jake has a bit of set up, enough to make him compiling, but falls flat IMO. Signorine scientist character is the best. "I should get some samples" always gets me. Everyone else is puppet in service of the story. Neytiri is the worst- she is just exist to move Jake point to point- she has no personality or will of her own. Being the living embodiment of the Navi for the viewer leaves her nothing unique.

I would argue Avatar is its generation's Star Wars "A New Hope". It is a basic story, told decently, that captured the imagination of millions because of its stand out visuals. And yet, there are millions of others that are bored/turned off by the entire Star Wars Universe.

Neither side is wrong. Hero journey story only work when the resonate with the individual viewers. What makes blue luminescent forest resonate more dry sands of Tatooine is up to the individual. If you like it, don't let other people's dislike of Avatar get to you.

Personally, I don't care for the first Avatar movie. But a like Pandora enough to want to see where it goes next. Similarly, I don't care for "A New Hope" (Luke's journey in ANH is boring), but I like Han, Leia, and Vader enough to want to see Empire Strikes Back. I love ESB to death.

 

[Goo]

Loved the look of the film and James Cameron's action scenes always satisfy. Zoe Saldana had some great acting and this has tons of potential to be a great sci if series.

The ticket sales speak volumes about good story telling and relatable characters. Star Wars achieved record sales for the same reasons decades before, Avatar just never got the cult following after its success.

 

[jett]

People just love to shit on the big dawg, OP.

Avatar is a fantastic example of cinema escapism.

Because Cameron took one of cinema's biggest cliche's and threw a metric-ton of CGI against it in hopes of elevating it somewhat. There's not a single hint of creativity or original thought in that entire thing.

What an idiotic statement.

 

[Rockandrollclown]

I mean its a cliche story. They are literally going after a material called unobtanium. You know what, nothing wrong with lowest common denominator film making. Marvel is lowest common denominator film making imo. To me lowest common denominator just means super broad appeal to even the dumbest among us. It doesn't mean its bad. Like what you like.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

I mean it was a well done but pretty cliche story elevated by great special effects.

If I may ask OP how old were you when you saw Avatar?

This is why I didn't like it. The plot was boring and by the numbers, and none of the humans were particularly interesting. The only fun part of the movie was the special effects. I can't even say I remember any of the lore of the alien cat people either.

 

[HStallion]

Rich, well thought through world.
Charismatic characters.
Sci-fi that actually makes sense, with a lot of details. This is EXTREMELY rare. The only other movie I can remember is the "I Robot", but then, it's Asimov.
(people complaining about "unobtanium" name, Dear God)
Beautiful visuals.

Oh well, the happy end. yeah, cliche. Customers prefer it that way.

What exactly was realistic about the SciFi? There were floating fucking islands! Even the more plausible of the SciFi stuff in there is of the really tropey nature. Lets not even get into everything involving uploading a human into the Bark Net of a Spirit Tree.

 

[Random Painted HIghway]

Ultimately it's a fairly banal unmemorable movie. If you like it great for you but the time for sequals to hit has long passed.

Unobtainium is just a terrible word to use in this movie, to lay people it sounds extremely lazy, to people who are familiar with the term it doesn't make sense. Just completely unnecessary and a way of dumbing down things for the masses. Of course these guys also named the planet Pandora...

 

[biggersmaller]

Let's leave the Pocahontas, Dancing with Wolves, Ferngully comparisons aside. Even if the plot was not a clone of those films - the characters who populate the world are not entertaining at all. Like at all. It's a typically dry Cameron script without the charming actors to make it pop like his other movies.

He's a great director, but this is his worst movie by a large margin.

People mistake the achievement in cinematography and visual storytelling (let alone production design, and visual effects) as technical rather than artistic and somehow product of just dumping money on CGI.

I agree that people too often rip CG as something that just "happens" without giving credit where due, but artistically I'm bored by this movie. It's just too cartoonish and fails horribly at trying to be photorealistic.

 

[zeemumu]

Eh, a lot of people have the same opinion as you about the movie's scenery. The story isn't anything special but it's definitely a beautiful movie that makes excellent use of its 3D. Plus when you put it up against Cameron's other work it's not that great.

 

[Seesaw15]

People mistake the achievement in cinematography and visual storytelling (let alone production design, and visual effects) as technical rather than artistic and somehow product of just dumping money on CGI.

I don't know how big of mistake it was when the director and marketing pushed the movie as a ground breaking technical achievement. All the interviews leading up to the release always had James Cameron talking about how it took them years to develop the 3-D camera and motion capture technology for the film. Same way to a lesser extent Cameron hyped up the technical aspects involved in filming the Abyss and Titanic.

So while the artistry is important the research and development of the technical aspects of the film is what people remember.

 

[Xe4]

Let's leave the Pocahontas, Dancing with Wolves, Ferngully comparisons aside. Even if the plot was not a clone of those films - the characters who populate the world are not entertaining at all. Like at all. It's a typically dry Cameron script without the charming actors to make it pop like his other movies.

He's a great director, but this is his worst movie by a large margin.

This is also why I can't agree with the ANH comparisons either. A cliché plot can be improved by a decent screenplay and likable characters, both of which Star Wars had, and both of which Avatar failed at horrendously, surprising given Cameron's usual brilliance in those areas.

Everyone can quote A New Hope. I can't think of a single person that can give a single quote from Avatar without googling it first, and it's not just because Star Wars is more well known.

 

[Steejee]

I had forgotten how fucking dumb the name UNOBTANIUM was. Holy shit.

I thought it was hilarious as it's basically a physics joke/trope played straight.

I saw Avatar in IMAX 3D and was pretty floored by the experience. Is it a good movie? No, but it's a perfectly fine action/adventure flick that keeps up a good pace and is an enjoyable watch overall. AKA a popcorn flick, but a solid one.

 

[Slaythe]

I don't know, as a video game player, I certainly wasn't impressed by avatar at all.

The human interactions with cgi were poor, the majority of the picture is fake so it's more an animated movie at times.

The designs weren't compelling at all for me ( again, saw much better with some square, blizzard etc... games ) safe for a few things here and there.

With the bland story and awful navi faces, i just couldn't enjoy this thing at all.

 

[Santerestil]

ITT: Ignorant people don't realize that unobtanium is actually a scientific term.

As already stated is a joke term used by engineers, who has no place in the super serious storytelling of Avatar.

The only movie who has used well the term was The Core - and even there it got a sensible chuckle from the protagonists.

 

[Kayhan]

Dances with Pocahontas.

 

[Phu]

This is why I didn't like it. The plot was boring and by the numbers, and none of the humans were particularly interesting. The only fun part of the movie was the special effects. I can't even say I remember any of the lore of the alien cat people either.

All I remember is that they did it with their hair.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

It was worth it just for Pandora and Flight of Passage at Disneyworld

 

[Hashmal_Bringer_of_Order]

The biggest movie ever is gonna have quite a few haters. JC don't care.

 

[Skellig Gra]

OP you answered your own question. You know what it is, you just liked indulging. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Bill R Boggess]

I try not to waste much time bashing things others like but in regards to Avatar I can tell you my dislike for the film stems from the fact that the story is about the most uninspired and generic cliché-filled narrative imaginable.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Cameron’s work and I literally like or love everything else he’s made but Avatar left me bored.

It also doesn’t help that two vastly superior sci-fi films were released that same year, Moon and District 9, the former of which was almost entirely ignored despite being far more cerebral and original than anything found in Avatar.

But clearly, plenty of people loved Avatar so to each their own.

 

[vio]

Story is told before but Cameron still made something special with it. It was movie magic, for a lot of people. If it wasnt for you, well that is your loss then.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Lowest Common Denominator isn't necessarily an insult. Like Hollywood just pointed out; it seems like you get this, you just don't care that it is lowest common denominator. And you probably shouldn't, because it was intended to be as such.

Cameron didn't hide that he was trying to make something as LCD and widely appealing as he could. He copped to it early and often, and made it a point of pride that he did so.

Avatar is lowest common as fuck and he absolutely wanted it to be that way.

It's a good movie partially because he hit that target as hard and flamboyantly as he did

 

[daveo42]

One James Cameron film I refuse to watch because it's nothing more than a technical showcase for 3D movie tech, something that I'm perfectly fine with letting die on the side of an abandoned road.

Also OP, there are like a million examples in fiction where humanity is the bad guy. Hell, non-fiction too. We're a shitty species.

 

[entremet]

I'm surprised how much hate this movie gets. It was basically a special effect popcorn flick. Seems to have hit the mark there. Did people expect Oscar bait or something lol.

 

[sans_pants]

my weed wore off after the first hour so the rest was a damn slog to get through

 

[Brinbe]

There's cliches and stereotypical tropes flowing out of every orifice of that shit, which was what helped it be wildly successful

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I'm surprised how much hate this movie gets. It was basically a special effect popcorn flick. Seems to have hit the mark there. Did people expect Oscar bait or something lol.

It was Oscar bait.

 

[entremet]

It was Oscar bait.

You know what I mean haha.

Best Picture.

But you’re right for the technical stuff.

 

[Sectorseven]

I'm surprised how much hate this movie gets. It was basically a special effect popcorn flick. Seems to have hit the mark there. Did people expect Oscar bait or something lol.