# I just saw Avatar for the first time... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226 "2011-10-29T21:05:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/21 "2011-10-29T23:40:49Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I don’t think Avatar is going to hold up all that well over time as a work of art. As a technical achievement it’s pretty heavy duty. It will undoubtedly be eclipsed by a newer fx-heavy SF film with more weighty themes. Wait what am I saying? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/22 "2011-10-30T00:13:49Z")
Yes, _Good Night and Good **News** _ is very memorable. 😉 _Avatar_ is fun escapist entertainment. I love _Terminator_, _T2_, and _Aliens_ as well. And those movies are pretty much of a kind with _Avatar_. I mean, _T2_ has some laughably bad dialogue and acting but it also has some very cool action sequences and special effects. That’s why people love it, not for a well-crafted plot or thought-provoking ideas. It’s about a killer robot chasing after a kid who’s protected by another robot. It was so predictable, right down to the final battle between the good robot and the bad robot. At least _Avatar_ makes an attempt to be more than just 'splosions and chases. Yes, the environmentalism is very heavy-handed and the villain is one-dimensional and I wish those aspects of the movie were different. But I like the love story and the whole concept of the entire ecosystem having a kind of group consciousness is, while not original, still interesting. The visual effects are really amazing and they are an integral part of the experience, but they don’t feel like a gimmick. Contrast with other special-effects-heavy movies like the _Transformers_ movies. I haven’t seen the latest one, but the first two are absolute crap. I’d rather watch \*Avatar \*another hundred times rather than have to sit through either of those again. All that having been said, there are many, many movies I like a lot more than _Avatar_. You are certainly not obligated to like it yourself. There are plenty of previous threads with people expressing opinions that are the same as yours. You watched it, you didn’t like it, move on. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/23 "2011-10-30T00:39:36Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Contrast with other special-effects-heavy movies like the _Transformers_ movies. I haven’t seen the latest one, but the first two are absolute crap. I’d rather watch \*Avatar \*another hundred times rather than have to sit through either of those again. With a bit of luck, I’ll never see either film property again. The movie just completely failed to engage me. Acting, plot, general goofiness, etc. Even the 3D didn’t work well for me, be it because of the technical limitations of the film/theater or because of some physiological issue with myself. But I’ve been more impressed with the “Journey to the Sea!” movies at amusement parks and museums from a 3D perspective. Other big effect summer movies have kept me amused (Iron Man & Dark Knight for example) so it’s not impossible to make a blockbuster that I enjoy. Nor unreasonable for me to want to enjoy my movies beyond “But it was mindless pretty-world!”. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/24 "2011-10-30T00:44:28Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > A movie that isn’t any good unless you watch it in 3D, isn’t any good regardless of how you watch it. any movie you watch because of the special effects isnt any good either. Avatar is the only movie I have ever in my life told people to go see because of the effects…at an Imax…in 3d. but yeah the movie kinda sucked. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/25 "2011-10-30T01:05:18Z")
I liked the movie a lot. I thought it was pretty and fun and different. Special effects were cool. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/26 "2011-10-30T01:51:35Z")
It was a beautiful movie for the effects, but the plot was lame and it slowly sucked itself into a black hole of suckitude. The “locked the protagonist in a refrigerator and threw it over a shark” moment for me was the montage of ‘raising the other tribes’, when he actually says “for your children, and your children’s children” and then stands there bobbing his head and grinning like a moron while they all go nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/27 "2011-10-30T02:25:27Z")
Ever been out with a girl so stunningly gorgeous, while you’re with her you don’t notice that everything she says is boring, shallow, and trite? _Avatar_ in 3-D is like that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/28 "2011-10-30T02:31:25Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > Ever been out with a girl so stunningly gorgeous, while you’re with her you don’t notice that everything she says is boring, shallow, and trite? _Avatar_ in 3-D is like that. Never cared, sure. Never noticed, not really. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/29 "2011-10-30T02:35:23Z")
I watched the whole thing last week for the first time, and it was evident to me that I’d missed out on something by not seeing it in 3D. If it ever re-runs in theaters in 3D I’d probably go check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/30 "2011-10-30T02:35:26Z")
> [@Number](#): > > Good Luck on finding that one at the video store. What’s a video store? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/31 "2011-10-30T02:40:13Z")
> [@Number](#): > > Good Luck on finding that one at the video store. Netflix has it. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/32 "2011-10-30T02:41:06Z")
We liked it okay but thought it good just to see once. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/33 "2011-10-30T03:37:59Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Netflix has it. whooosh ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/34 "2011-10-30T04:18:33Z")
yet another thread bashing Avatar? is this going to be a seasonal affair? the show has become more than just the technology showpiece it was supposed to be. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/35 "2011-10-30T12:08:14Z")
I enjoyed watching it in the cinema, but I haven’t bothered to re-watch it since. It isn’t a subtle film. Plot, character and acting wise, I felt it was pretty average, but good enough to hold it together (I’ve seen far, far worse in action movies). I completely understand the negative comments it gets. I’ve said it before, movie enjoyment is almost a binary. Either you get immersed in the experience, or something breaks suspension of disbelief, and that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/36 "2011-10-30T12:19:40Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > Ever been out with a girl so stunningly gorgeous, while you’re with her you don’t notice that everything she says is boring, shallow, and trite? _Avatar_ in 3-D is like that. Most stuff anyone says is never as exciting, profound and insightfull as they think it will be. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/37 "2011-10-30T13:25:43Z")
I didn’t like it, but what I’m hearing is that it’s really more of a Disney ride than a movie. Is that it? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/38 "2011-10-30T15:26:54Z")
As a monoc I can’t see 3-D. Having said this it was still an impressively rendered virtual world, the movie was full of precisely rendered beautiful elements . It could have been much more if there was some subtlety and intelligence in the story, but the plot was as ham handed and one dimensional as anything George Lucas could have cooked up, which was a shame as there were a lot of interesting and different directions he could have gone. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/39 "2011-10-30T16:15:23Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I didn’t like it, but what I’m hearing is that it’s really more of a Disney ride than a movie. Is that it? That’s the defense of it after you give up on defending the acting, plot, characters, etc. I personally don’t buy the idea that Cameron only wanted to make a pretty high tech picture and didn’t _attempt_ to make a good movie in its own right if only because I’d like to respect him more than I do Michael Bay. Seems easier to just admit that he failed in the one regard despite his efforts and the result was the “Disney ride” that has to be seen in giant 3D to be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226/40 "2011-10-30T16:22:19Z")
Oh yeah. It sucks heavily. If I needed to understand the “Trail of Tears” or how we friggin’ “'Murcans” ripped the world out from under the natives to whom it belonged to then yeah, I guess I’d watch it. But I \* know\* that shit, so I don’t need to _watch_ that shit, pretty little flying blues or not. Thanks Q [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-avatar-for-the-first-time/601226.md?page=3)