# Avatar: Now that you've actually seen it. No spoilers in OP **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2009, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626 "2009-12-17T11:32:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/181 "2009-12-21T20:49:53Z")
A [bit of news](http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a192310/cameron-avatar-follow-up-not-prequel.html) on the sequel. > [@](#): > > James Cameron has claimed that his Avatar follow-up will not be a prequel to the first movie. > > The director said that the second of his two planned sequels will follow on directly from the events of the original. > > “We’ll follow [lead characters] Jake and Neytiri,” Cameron told MTV News. > > “I have a trilogy-scaled arc of story right now, but I haven’t really put any serious work into writing a script.” [QUOTE=HorseloverFat] Word of mouth certainly has economic value and all the astroturfing and viral advertising doesnt help if the movie is poorly received by critics and hard core fans [/QUOTE] The critics love it. The regular cinema-goers love it. Hard core SF fans are the only ones bitching about niggling details, and no one’s listening to them. If y’all had so much power, why didn’t you make the brilliant **Moon** a massive hit this past year? ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/182 "2009-12-21T21:10:44Z")
> [@HorseloverFat](#): > > Sure, but at the same time, they are the early adopters who tell their friends to see the movie. A lot of movies fail because sci-fi fans dislike it and dont recommend it. Word of mouth certainly has economic value and all the astroturfing and viral advertising doesnt help if the movie is poorly received by critics and hard core fans. Wolverine comes to mind. That should have been an easy blockbuster considering the popularity of the character and all the money tossed at it, but turned out to be a flop. That’s because the movie sucked and they didn’t stay true to the characters. I was kind of pissed off at their treatment of Deadpool. Corniest…villain…ever. I am so tired of the, “Lets create a villain that is more or less the same as our hero but better and our hero will defeat him because of his goodness.” > [@](#): > > You can take this attitude on that audiences are stupid and will do whatever advertisers tell them but historically its wrong. I don’t take that attitude. But I recognize the limits of Sci Fi. Even most Sci Fi fans wouldn’t be into true Sci Fi. If we were going to go really hardcore Sci Fi then the story would have been about Eywa vs the Orbital AI and his robot minions. No humans would have been involved. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/183 "2009-12-21T21:17:22Z")
> [@HorseloverFat](#): > > Sure, but at the same time, they are the early adopters who tell their friends to see the movie. A lot of movies fail because sci-fi fans dislike it and dont recommend it. Word of mouth certainly has economic value and all the astroturfing and viral advertising doesnt help if the movie is poorly received by critics and hard core fans. Word od mouth is very good for this movie from what I can see IRL, on the web, on tv and radio. The queues are just getting longer here following the weekend. My cousin couldn’t get a ticket for a show after 17:00 today and it was showing in 4 screens in his local cinema. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/184 "2009-12-21T21:29:38Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > If y’all had so much power, why didn’t you make the brilliant **Moon** a massive hit this past year? 'Cause I never got the chance. It never hit a theater anywhere near me. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/185 "2009-12-21T21:56:06Z")
First off - saw it in 3D IMAX and it was a hell of a visual and audio experience. I would urge anyone within hailing distance of an IMAX screen to see this movie in 3D IMAX. Regarding “unobtainium,” I only recall it being mentioned once by Ribisi’s character, and when he said it it sounded like he was using it in the “this is a joke word for something that’s otherwise impossible to obtain” sense. If the word was used elsewhere I missed it. I left the movie feeling like they never actually named the actual element. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/186 "2009-12-21T22:19:35Z")
Saw it Friday in a 2D theatre. Could’ve seen the 3D but didn’t want to wait the 2ish hours until its showing. Yep, very pretty movie. Very trite plot. I was annoyed by the “unobtainium” - they never told you what they wanted it for, which I thought was an oversight. For some in the audience, it’s probably enough to say that it’s very valuable back on Earth. For me, it’s not enough - they should also tell me why they want it. I shouldn’t need to go to a website to find that information out. It doesn’t need to be a long, involved description; it can be short and sweet. But it wasn’t ever given. **The Core** , for all its faults, did this part better (and should be paid for use of the term, IMO). Didn’t like the deus ex machina ending. I don’t mind a collective memory, I guess, but I do kind of mind that collective then defending itself with the otherwise mostly autonomous creatures that make it up. Seems weird. I understand it’s for the environmental message and all, but such blatant deus ex machinas are lazy storytelling and rather insulting to audiences. I also noticed that these were the only quadrupedal creatures in a landscape where everything else had six legs. Noticed, and wondered why. This could’ve been better. Visually outstanding and entertaining enough, but the story could’ve been better and more than just recycled plot points from other movies, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/187 "2009-12-21T22:43:29Z")
> [@HorseloverFat](#): > > That said, I loved this movie. I imagine its what people in the 1970s thought of Star Wars, but its appeal has more to do with technical achievement than anything else. The storyline in _Star Wars_ seemed original to most of the audience, based as it was on 1930s action serials that most of the audience hadn’t seen. The premise of _Avatar_, though, hasn’t been dormant nearly as long, so it’s not nearly as fresh-seeming. Afterthought: well, at least not as fresh to those of us who remember the 1990s. I suppose to the under-25 crowd… Now I made myself feel sad. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/188 "2009-12-21T22:47:53Z")
\*delete this please ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/189 "2009-12-21T22:50:33Z")
I am also considering the economics of the whole thing. The suit claimed that unobtainium is worth $20 million a kilo. I would think the corporatrion would want to keep the supply of it limited so as not to deflate it’s price. If they were really smart they would have negotiated an interstellar accord with the Na’vi and the backing of the DOOP to protect the Tree, denying anybody else from accesseing the store of unobtainium and keeping its value ludicrously high. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/190 "2009-12-21T22:55:21Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I am also considering the economics of the whole thing. The suit claimed that unobtainium is worth $20 million a kilo. Nah, $20 million an _ounce_. That makes it 35.3 times as MacGuffiny! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/191 "2009-12-21T23:14:18Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Nah, $20 million an _ounce_. That makes it 35.3 times as MacGuffiny! Hmm, the trailer says “kilo”…now I don’t know what to think, because if it’s “kilo”, I’d let the N’avi live, but if it’s “ounce”, I’d wipe them out. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/192 "2009-12-21T23:46:07Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I am also considering the economics of the whole thing. The suit claimed that unobtainium is worth $20 million a kilo. I would think the corporatrion would want to keep the supply of it limited so as not to deflate it’s price. If they were really smart they would have negotiated an interstellar accord with the Na’vi and the backing of the DOOP to protect the Tree, denying anybody else from accesseing the store of unobtainium and keeping its value ludicrously high. Nobody else can access the store of unobtainium _already_, because you’re the only ones that know where in the galaxy you get the stuff. Letting the government in on the secret would only hurt your chances of keeping your monopoly. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/193 "2009-12-21T23:53:22Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Nobody else can access the store of unobtainium _already_, because you’re the only ones that know where in the galaxy you get the stuff. Letting the government in on the secret would only hurt your chances of keeping your monopoly. Still doesn’t explain why they feel the need to get at it RIGHT NOW. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/194 "2009-12-21T23:57:31Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Still doesn’t explain why they feel the need to get at it RIGHT NOW. Because every day they’re not getting it costs money? Did you see how many people they had stationed there?! ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/195 "2009-12-22T00:05:02Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Because every day they’re not getting it costs money? Did you see how many people they had stationed there?! Maybe I misunderstood then, because I assumed they had already been mining the stuff in other parts of the planet. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/196 "2009-12-22T00:06:18Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Maybe I misunderstood then, because I assumed they had already been mining the stuff in other parts of the planet. Maybe? I honestly don’t recall. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/197 "2009-12-22T00:25:34Z")
One thing that bothered me, not so much about the plot as the way the characters behaved, was that beneath the hometree they had the biggest store of unobtanium “for a hundred clicks”. Now, as far as I know, a “click” is military slang for a kilometre. They just travelled 4 light years - can’t they travel another 150km? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/198 "2009-12-22T00:26:06Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Maybe I misunderstood then, because I assumed they had already been mining the stuff in other parts of the planet. They had, but this was the biggest deposit they’d found. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/199 "2009-12-22T00:28:42Z")
Geeky fun fact from [this pre-release BBC article](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8414223.stm): > [@](#): > > The creation of Pandora required over a petabyte (1m gigabytes) of digital storage. > > By comparison, it took 2,000 gigabytes to create and sink the Titanic - about 1/500th of the amount used for Avatar. [QUOTE=Lightnin’] [QUOTE=Equipoise] If y’all had so much power, why didn’t you make the brilliant **Moon** a massive hit this past year? [/QUOTE] 'Cause I never got the chance. It never hit a theater anywhere near me [/QUOTE] That’s a shame, and a problem with smaller films that don’t have the big bucks for distribution. It’s another reason why I love living in Chicago, it played for several weeks at one theater here. It’ll be on DVD in January. Visually it won’t lose much by being scaled down, since it’s mainly psychological. Viewers do have to pay attention though, and that’s hard with the distractions of viewing at home. > [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Maybe I misunderstood then, because I assumed they had already been mining the stuff in other parts of the planet. There was a scene of a mining operation going on on another part of Pandora. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626/200 "2009-12-22T00:32:21Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > The storyline in _Star Wars_ seemed original to most of the audience, based as it was on 1930s action serials that most of the audience hadn’t seen. The premise of _Avatar_, though, hasn’t been dormant nearly as long, so it’s not nearly as fresh-seeming. > > Afterthought: well, at least not as fresh to those of us who remember the 1990s. I suppose to the under-25 crowd… > Now I made myself feel sad. Hey now, I was only seven years old when _Star Wars_ came out, and although I hadn’t seen _many_ of the Republic serials that directly inspired _Star Wars_, Universal’s _Flash Gordon_ serial was regular Saturday morning fare for us kids. It certainly wasn’t a secret that _Star Wars_ was a jazzed up homage to older entertainment, and even for us kids, it was clear that it was “Like Flash Gordon, only _WICKED_!” The analogy with _Star Wars_ is apt. A great ride - visually stunning, emotionally engaging without any pretense of intellectual entertainment – and something that people will remember seeing in the theatre decades from now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-now-that-youve-actually-seen-it-no-spoilers-in-op/521626.md?page=11)