We watched a couple of weeks ago at the home of some friends (so not in 3-D).
If it was the special effects, then I can’t comment on them, except that the dragons (I love dragons) looked real, and I liked the part about how to bond with one’s own (dragon).
But the storyline itself?
Just a re-telling of what happened to Native Americans, only the skins were blue instead of red?
Have I got that right, or am I missing something?
Not being critical, Avatar fans. I really wanna know, and if I am missing the point, then set me straight.
Most movies don’t have significant messages. The most common is, hey, there are bad people in the world (or universe) and you gotta beat them if you can. Avatar is typical in that regard.
Where it isn’t typical is that it’s visually stunning. Not just the special effects, but the whole film. It’s the best looking film in history, although that might not come through watching a DVD in your den.
Yeah, it’s strictly a moronically heavy-handed retelling of a thousand earlier pictures, with all the complexity stripped away so that Cameron could concentrate on visuals.
For many people, visuals alone are enough to make a movie. I can’t comprehend that, but it’s said often enough that I believe it.
Imaginary ecology! Bioluminescence! Gaia hypothesis! Antigravity minerals! Three-lobed brains!!! Sure, it was pretty, but my favourite thing about it was the world-building aspect. The story was minimal and functional, and really existed only to make it a movie rather than a fictional documentary. I would totally have watched it if it were a fictional documentary. And what you were meant to take home from it?
Ok. Seriously:
*Hey, that’s actually a sea fan, just big and on land! And that’s a gargoyle gecko mixed with a chameleon, with helicopter wing things! Oh look, all the cool stuff here is stuff that actually exists on earth, just mixed up so it looks new and cool! I guess sea fans and gargoyle geckos and New Zealand cave glowworms and stuff ought to be preserved, then, too! *
And what I was thinking: Hey, can helicopter wings work on a living creature? Does it twist the wing around first and then let it spin back? Or is it really free-spinning? How would that work? What if they developed from two zygotes, and one became the animal and the other the wing, and they fused? It could secrete oils to lubricate the joint… but how would the wing get enough nutrients and oxygen? How would something like that evolve?
I didn’t see the receptacle in which to deposit the 3-D glasses upon exiting, so I took those home. I also walked out with my unfinished box of Sour Patch Kids, and a nifty piece of neon green chewing gum affixed to the bottom of my shoe. All in all, a decent night.
You can also do some nifty home experiments with them, especially if you have two or more pairs. They’re a lot more complicated than just simple polarizers.
