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Aldramelech
12-10-2009, 09:34 AM
Whos looking forward to Avatar?

I think it looks awsome

Cryl
12-10-2009, 09:44 AM
I'd love it be awesome and I guess it will 'look' awesome but I think the story will be generic sci-fi. The "corporation" could be anything from almost any background (Weyland - Yutani I'm looking at you) and the marines are straight outta Aliens as well.

I'll still be watching it as soon as it's out though!

Is this one with a worldwide release dates or will the US board members be telling us all about months before we in the 51st state get to see it?

Lord Azaghul
12-10-2009, 10:11 AM
I think the story will be generic sci-fi.

?


Honestly I think it'll flop and it'll flop hard. The graphics don't look very good, that story seems very typcial and reeks of leftist agenda. I just don't see this movie having a mass audience appeal; I just don't see it doing well. Apperently it was danged expensive to make to...

energongoodie
12-10-2009, 10:20 AM
I fear it will be bobbins.

Jar Jar Binks x10

Cryl
12-11-2009, 02:22 AM
Apperently it was danged expensive to make to...

I read something along those lines, I also read something saying that the video game conversion is being made entirely in 3D despite the fact that only 5 people on the planet will own the hardware to actually play it like that and 2 of them will be James Cameron!

Faultie
12-11-2009, 08:48 AM
I'm just afraid it's a live-action Battle of Terra. Seems the exact same storyline and everything.

Asymmetrical Xeno
12-12-2009, 11:56 AM
I'm not a "hater", but simply put...it doesnt look like my thing at all. I understand the aliens are meant to epitomise everything good about "humans" and their meant to represent that, but I personally like my aliens to be as alien as possible - both visually and mentally (if they have brains!). Also, CGI no matter how great it looks just never impresses me, I prefer organic FX like blade runner, forbidden planet or 2001 ect. Plot doesnt look appealing to me, so ill probably give this one a miss. But as I said, im not a hater, so if you want to enjoy it then more power to you.

jcroxford
12-12-2009, 12:33 PM
I can't wait. James Cameron's movies are amongst my favorites. He is a great story teller and Brings great rich characters to the screen -Vasquez, Pvt. Hudson, Bishop, Kyle Reese, Jack & Rose :), From what's in the trailer we get a glimpse of some cool ones as well. Love the Sgt with the scars on his face, and the Alien chick looks awesome. Bring on the mech battle suits.

Aldramelech
12-12-2009, 12:43 PM
Agreed.

Aldramelech
12-21-2009, 11:31 AM
Saw it today........ WOW........... I don't go to the cinema often and this was my first 3D film since its recent ish reappearance. Impressive.

Dances with Wolves in space, but who cares? lol

And the Alien chick? I would........

Lord Azaghul
12-21-2009, 11:35 AM
.

Dances with Wolves in space, but who cares? lol

........
Glad you enjoyed it.
I read a few reviews and that is exactly how they phrases the movie...

However I think I'll wait for the DVD on this one.
I older I get the less stomach I have for "anti-rightwing/military" movies.

Herald of Nurgle
12-21-2009, 11:47 AM
Glad you enjoyed it.
I read a few reviews and that is exactly how they phrases the movie...

However I think I'll wait for the DVD on this one.
I older I get the less stomach I have for "anti-rightwing/military" movies.
I will agree with you there. Certainly not my thing, i'm afraid.

Aldramelech
12-21-2009, 11:48 AM
Anti big business more then anti military.

Lord Azaghul
12-21-2009, 01:21 PM
Anti big business more then anti military.

Good to know.:D

Sitnam
12-22-2009, 04:53 PM
Visually, it was a great movie. It looked sooooo pretty. Now to a certain extent, envirometalism has a sue in the world. But the unabashed anti-capitalism, anti-military, anti-industry nature of this movie made this movies storyline a generic hollywood plot. I did like the design of the aliens, and the link they can create with other animals. But other then the message this plot portrayed I was also bothered by three things:

1. Complete lack of military tactics for the aliens. A head on cavalry charge against the humans? No flanking manuevers, ambush warfare. Just a danm cavalry charge.
2. The mech suits were quite cool, except why make a big p-ece of armor like that with a detachable rifle and bayonet? Woulda made more sense to have integrated weapons, like Tau battlesuits.
3. Stone arrows against futuristic plexiglass? really? why the hell make those flying things so danm fragile?

I felt District 9 was a much better sci-fi movie, although this one was good. Oh, and Prawn battlesuit > human battlesuits.

BuFFo
12-25-2009, 03:13 AM
Anti big business more then anti military.

Yes, the movie has actually ZERO to do with the military as its own entity. I can't describe it without ruining some minor plot lines, so watch it :)

The movie is all about environmentalism versus corporation.

Great movie! And about this 'Dances with Wolves comparison', lol. Just barely.... You could easily say the movie is a rip off of Return of the Jedi with high technology versus primitive tech.

Compared to the recycles trash that has been on the big screen for almost a decade, Avatar is a refreshing, original movie. The plot is not deep or stellar by any means, but, for over 2 hours, you are sucked into a world and you forget about the one around you.... Which is the goal of the movie, and THAT, it pulls of perfectly.

I give it 7 1/2 blue balls out of four porn stars.


1. Complete lack of military tactics for the aliens. A head on cavalry charge against the humans? No flanking manuevers, ambush warfare. Just a danm cavalry charge.

The human forces have flying transports. The natives do not. Hence, the human pick the battle field, not the natives. It would be impossible to have any kind of flanking done against such a mobile force. Just not possible.


2. The mech suits were quite cool, except why make a big p-ece of armor like that with a detachable rifle and bayonet? Woulda made more sense to have integrated weapons, like Tau battlesuits.

Because the suits are also general workers as well. You would want a giant suit lifting food crates for the mess hall with 34 guns sticking out of every orifice. The suits in Avatar are much more believable in function than Tau suits by far. Also, by simply grasping new weapons, you can change weapons on the suits on the fly, instead of having a 'rocket' suit, 'machine gun' suit and a ;laser suit'. You have one suit that can do all three at once. Takes up less transport space when aboard a vessel in space, which in turn saves money.



3. Stone arrows against futuristic plexiglass? really? why the hell make those flying things so danm fragile?

I don't know what you mean by this.

Aldramelech
12-25-2009, 04:59 AM
Goodbye

Sitnam
12-26-2009, 04:12 PM
The human forces have flying transports. The natives do not. Hence, the human pick the battle field, not the natives. It would be impossible to have any kind of flanking done against such a mobile force. Just not possible. . The natives charged straight into a gunline. The human forces were already on the ground, looking for a fight. The natives had every chance to flank them at that point. The natives could of attempted picking them off from the trees with arrows, splitting their cavalry in two to attempt to get behind the ground forces. But they just charged straight into a gunline, and they wertent forced to do that.


Because the suits are also general workers as well. You would want a giant suit lifting food crates for the mess hall with 34 guns sticking out of every orifice. The suits in Avatar are much more believable in function than Tau suits by far. Also, by simply grasping new weapons, you can change weapons on the suits on the fly, instead of having a 'rocket' suit, 'machine gun' suit and a ;laser suit'. You have one suit that can do all three at once. Takes up less transport space when aboard a vessel in space, which in turn saves money. Are Abrams tanks used for anything other then being tanks? Are Apache helicopters used for anything other then aerial strike? No. So do these vehicles have limited functionality in comparison to, say, a vehicle like an M113 or a huey helicopter? Maybe, but they are still superior in their roles. A Tau Battlesuit is, like a Abrams or Apache, a superior weapons platform. It is not only more mobile, but since it doesn't have to hold every weapon it uses it can mount more firepower. It can carry a flamer and burst cannon, which would of been an optimal configuration against lightly armored Avatar natives. The human battlesuit maybe a little bit more versatile. But when it comes to actual combat operations, Tau Battlesuits would be far superior. They have more mobility, better fire power, and dont have a seemingly fragile plexiglass window. If the humans had afforded to making combat specific battlesuits, they could of made cheaper supply versions and uparmored and upgunned the combat suits.


It wasn't stone. If you listen someone early on says that they have a naturally occurring carbon fiber type substance from which they manufacture weapons.

If you mean the "Helicopters" being fragile, well look at US helicopter losses for the Vietnam war.........
Somalia
Iraq
Afganistan

There is a documented case during the Korean War of someone bringing down a MiG 15 with a brick! lol Ahh, I forgot about the bit about the arrows. Good memory! and I do admit helicopters are fragile, but bows and arrows? Really? I can understood if they threw rocks in the engines.


Oh, btw, was anybody thinking of Kroot when yall saw the natives?

Aldramelech
12-26-2009, 04:49 PM
Goodbye

Lindargo
12-27-2009, 05:08 PM
I've literally just finished watching this movie... its amazing. :eek:
If you see one film before you die, watch AVATAR in 3D.
Definitely my favorite film ever,
Lindargo,

entendre_entendre
12-31-2009, 08:48 PM
the main complaint i heard about this movie was that it was unoriginal.
my response is so what? does every movie have to be 100% original in every facet? of course not, and it's a silly thing to complain about imo. to me, it does not matter whether the story is completely original or not, as long as it entertains me. that's what's important. the entertainment value. the most original story ever would mean nothing if it was not entertaining and never watched outside a film class. complete originality is not a determining factor in how good something is. it is how the director/creator takes their spin on whatever source they are using that determines this, and as Warhammer fans, we know this pretty well.

there rant over, now onto my thoughts of the movie :)

in comparison to other popular Cameron Movies (i.e. Aliens and T2), Avatar was definitely below that mark, but that doesn't mean it was bad, just not as good as those two 2's imho. Avatar was certainly entertaining. amazing visuals, some good action and pacing. it was certainly not as dark as those two aforementioned films, but had a (***possible SPOILER***) feel good ending that made me feel warm inside. all in all, worth the money to see.

Stormlord Aeirling
01-02-2010, 03:14 PM
I saw it a few days ago. I have two words with which i will describe it.

TOTALLY AWESOME

Lord Azaghul
01-04-2010, 09:22 AM
Have you seen what a Longbow from the hundred years war will do to armor plate? Now take an carbon fiber arrow fired by a 10ft tall alien at some plexiglass................

Even then, if you watch it again most of the arrows bounce.

Actually, I remember watching something on a history channel special on one of those wars (some small forces decimating the heavily armour knights Agincourt - I think)
For the longest time people thought it WAS the long bow, but it was tested and proven that the bow just didn't have the energy to piece the armour - the tip actually blunted without piecring the plate armour.

It was actually the muddy terrain, and passageway being clogged with knights that couldn't move that won the day (keeping in mind that the history channel is rarely acurate these days! -but it was an interesting special)

Lerra
01-04-2010, 12:12 PM
I really enjoyed Avatar :) It was very original in some ways (the world-building was great and the science behind it is pretty solid), and not so original in others. You could say the same for a lot of classics, though. Starcraft is hardly original but still an amazing game. In the end, it was a very enjoyable movie experience, and it's been one of the few times that I've felt my $12 ticket was worth the price of admission.

Aldramelech
01-04-2010, 01:38 PM
Goodbye

RocketRollRebel
01-04-2010, 05:59 PM
I went and saw it the other day in with my roommate. It was pretty entertaining, Fern gully with more bad ***? I dont feel super strong about it either way tho. Just kept thinking things like "exodite eldar?"

chromedog
01-05-2010, 12:20 AM
The Amp suits were also general cargo handlers than full-on military battlesuits.
Sure, they probably share some aspects of hardware, but it was a corp sponsored Merc army that they had, not actual "soldiers". There's a whole lot of stuff in the James Cameron Notebook for the movie (combination of sketchbook and general background).

The Na'vi had naturally occurring carbon fibre reinforced skeletons. Their bows were made of wood (particular trees) as were the arrows, and the heads were definitely chipped stone of some kind (more than likely, mineral ore unobtanium) - You do get to see the arrowheads close up when Neytiri is going to skewer jake in the early bit.

I thought the na'vi were a cross between exodite eldar and kroot.

Interestingly, the na'vi were meant to share the same morphology as the other native life on Pandora.
4 fore-limbs, 2 rear (and look like a larger 'lemur' creature), but it was decided that in order that us humans could identify with them better, they follow 'more human' morphology (except for the tail/ponytail dealio).

Lord Azaghul
01-05-2010, 07:55 AM
I saw the same programme, it was crap.........

There is no one alive on the planet with the strength or skill to shoot an English medieval longbow. The guy doing the test was shooting a bow with a quater of the draw weight of a real longbow.

Like I said, (keeping in mind I have my degree in history- not that that means I know everything!) The history channel isn't really accurate these days, about well...anything! :D

OT: I"m still debating on the movie, it looks like a good 'theater' movie...but I just haven't been in the mood for something like that lately.

Aldramelech
01-05-2010, 09:12 AM
goodbye

Wolfen
01-07-2010, 06:54 AM
Honestly I think it'll flop and it'll flop hard. The graphics don't look very good, that story seems very typcial and reeks of leftist agenda. I just don't see this movie having a mass audience appeal; I just don't see it doing well. Apperently it was danged expensive to make to...


Well.... I vae seen the movie and LOVED it!

I want to remain a-politic, so i will not mix any ideas about the movie... the graphics are supberb... while i saw the movie in 3D it was fantastic... some people have told me the story is similar to pocahontas but i cannot say as i have no idea about her story...

On the other hand, for me it seems like a mirror of what Europeans did with Africa and America in terms of colonialism mixed with Todays environmentalist issues... overall is a good mix with a lot of Sci-Fi, and a hint of semi-fantasy...

Cheers!
Wolfen

Aldramelech
01-07-2010, 07:17 AM
Goodbye

Wolfen
01-07-2010, 07:47 AM
That 3D blew my mind. Never seen anything like it.


The glasses were unconfortable, but the §D blew my mind as well... and while not a fan, they showed a trailer of Alice in wonderland in 3D..... man... cannot wait for it

Stormlord Aeirling
01-07-2010, 10:55 AM
To survive in this world, one must be as mad as a hatter...thankfully, i am.


I'll go and see it just for that line.


say, that kind of applies to this forum as well...

DarkLink
01-07-2010, 09:33 PM
I loved Avatar.

The visuals were fantastic, as was the world building and imagination. Sure, the plot was straightforward, but it was well done, and every other aspect of the movie was pretty much amazing.

The only real complaint I would have is that they made the bad guys really really bad guys, and the good guys really really good guys. And it's not much of a complaint. I'd just have liked to see a few more sympathetic characters in the mercenary forces. The head of security guy was perfect, though.

A mercenary force made up of a bunch of guys just trying to get by, getting pushed into the fighting by the sociopathic Colonel would have been a little more realistic, and all they're have really needed to do was add in a couple comments from Marines in the background and similar, subtle things.



I saw the same programme, it was crap.........

There is no one alive on the planet with the strength or skill to shoot an English medieval longbow. The guy doing the test was shooting a bow with a quater of the draw weight of a real longbow.

Sure there are people alive who could draw the bow. They had a draw weight of 100-120lbs, which, while very high isn't unmanageable for really strong people. I wouldn't be surprised if they did use a bow with a much lower draw weight, though, and it wouldn't get the same results.

Wolfen
01-08-2010, 01:16 AM
I loved Avatar.

The visuals were fantastic, as was the world building and imagination. Sure, the plot was straightforward, but it was well done, and every other aspect of the movie was pretty much amazing.

The only real complaint I would have is that they made the bad guys really really bad guys, and the good guys really really good guys. And it's not much of a complaint. I'd just have liked to see a few more sympathetic characters in the mercenary forces. The head of security guy was perfect, though.

A mercenary force made up of a bunch of guys just trying to get by, getting pushed into the fighting by the sociopathic Colonel would have been a little more realistic, and all they're have really needed to do was add in a couple comments from Marines in the background and similar, subtle things.




Sure there are people alive who could draw the bow. They had a draw weight of 100-120lbs, which, while very high isn't unmanageable for really strong people. I wouldn't be surprised if they did use a bow with a much lower draw weight, though, and it wouldn't get the same results.

I have to say im not sure about the good guys being 100% good and bad guys being 100% bad... the main character WAS technically bad at the beginning.... and the only soldier other than the colonel that was "shown" was the pilot girl (sexy hotty...yummy) which was technically good...

Aldramelech
01-08-2010, 04:09 AM
Goodbye

Wolfen
01-08-2010, 05:19 AM
I did say "Skill" and strength. Ive seen footage of "lesser" bows with bodkin arrows defeat plate armour brestplates.


Maybe i am wrong annd I am not bow expert either... but the blue guys (forgot the name) are twice as big as a human so their bows and Arrows would be significantly bigger than a long bow... and IIRC they said in the beginning of the movie that the muscles are like carbon fibers or such and such that makes them very strong---

Asymmetrical Xeno
01-08-2010, 08:02 AM
I got pulled into seeing it by a friend (it was her bday, dammit) and it was pretty much what I expected it to be. Since the entire point of the film is to be eye-candy and I cannot stand CGI-fests I didnt enjoy it at all and the designs of the aliens and the world looked too Space Fantasy/Warcraft for my taste and so I just found it incredibly dull and boring myself, reminds me of why I dont really bother with films or TV these days - allthough last years "Moon" was pretty decent to be fair.

Aldramelech
01-08-2010, 08:51 AM
Goodbye

DarkLink
01-26-2010, 03:26 PM
Maybe i am wrong annd I am not bow expert either... but the blue guys (forgot the name) are twice as big as a human so their bows and Arrows would be significantly bigger than a long bow... and IIRC they said in the beginning of the movie that the muscles are like carbon fibers or such and such that makes them very strong---

The Navi are3 meters tall, with bones reinforced by naturally occuring carbon fiber. The important thing to note, though, is the sheer size of the arrows. Roughly 5-6 feet (just under 2 meters) long, and about an inch thick (2.5 cms). Combined with a bow that's roughly 8 feet tall. That's a lot of kinetic energy deposited in a very small area of impact. I'd have to do some math and research to see if it could penetrate military aircraft grade canopy glass, but it wouldn't be unreasonable.

I'll just add that drawing a bow is a pretty straightforward matter. All it takes is strength and a minimum of competence, really. It's hitting the target that's (really) tough. And avoiding whiplash from the bowstring. It takes a lot of training to be able to put arrows on target at long ranges, and to do so quickly.


I got pulled into seeing it by a friend (it was her bday, dammit) and it was pretty much what I expected it to be. Since the entire point of the film is to be eye-candy and I cannot stand CGI-fests I didnt enjoy it at all and the designs of the aliens and the world looked too Space Fantasy/Warcraft for my taste and so I just found it incredibly dull and boring myself, reminds me of why I dont really bother with films or TV these days - allthough last years "Moon" was pretty decent to be fair.

Man, no suspension of disbelief. I feel sorry for you :p

Lerra
01-26-2010, 04:21 PM
Keep in mind that the human organization was corporate, not military. It's possible that they were using subpar materials compared to what the military uses.

lalaforu
07-25-2010, 11:31 PM
Avatar is the prognosticator of the future