I’m satisfied with the actors chosen, such as the person for Jake Sully. I read that the director was specifically looking for a fresh face that wasn’t all that well known…and I’m glad he did. Sam Worthington did a great job for someone who had never done any major movies. And the chick that played Trudy, Michelle Rodriguez? Completely fit the personality of the character.
My eyes were glistening for the entire last hour of the movie.
@Lithy: Zomg. That part I had chills. I’m getting chills remember it too 😮 When Jake rides in on the Toruk, all the Na’vi are like “HOLY SHIT” and all the audience in the theater were like “HOLY SHIT”
And yuh. Avatar was supposed to have been released in 1999, but Cameron wanted technology to catch up. And when it did 10 years later..SHABLAMF KICK-ASS MOVIE!!!~
Good thing he waited too, because I’d have been 3 years old and the graphics would be little stick people colored blue.
The subject matter of Imperialism is almost its own genre at this point. There’s been so much stuff about it (Things Fall Apart, Heart of Darkness, Pocahontas, Dances with Wolves, etc.). While the story is pretty predictable and the message simple, that’s not what it’s about. You guys have heard me say it before: every story has been done before. It’s not the story you tell; it’s how you tell it. I thought this one was told phenomenally well. Normally what happens with these movies/books is they’ll try to get you to understand the culture and use something else with it to make the point about Imperialism. With Heart of Darkness, it’s the incredible symbolism and parallels. With Speaker for the Dead (part of the Ender’s Game series), it’s a family’s trauma that’s connected with the fate of a world and its natives. However, Avatar focuses entirely on bringing the world and its people to life, and because of the combination of a well flushed-out world and the revolutionary new technology used (seriously, go watch some “Making Of” videos, it’s amazing) it works completely. Everyone who watches the movie feels like Pandora really exists and they were just there. The other stroke of genius for me was the whole network system. You see the idea of a circle of life and interconnectedness in a lot of native cultures (and books/movies within this genre as a result), but it’s always just a system of beliefs. It’s never any more than some religious outlook. However, with Avatar, that connection is real. I think it really helps the audience see the value of the world and its “circle of life.” I’m not sure if I’ve ever read or watched something that allowed the audience to understand this message quite as clearly as Avatar did.
@Dustin: What you’re referring to is an effect called “strobing.” While 24 frames per second is exactly what you want for most films (since that’s speed our eye views things at), it doesn’t work for 3D. When things move, particularly when they’re close to the lens, it looks jittery to our eyes because the depth can’t adjust quick enough at that speed. Unfortunately, the technology isn’t there yet for 60FPS 3D, but hopefully it will be by the time the next movie in the trilogy is created.