James Cameron's Sequel to "AVATAR"

[Maximus One]

Avatar is VASTLY overrated. That's kinda just a fact at this point

 

[Kane52630]

^laughable statement.

 

[dark_b]

Avatar is loved by most people...if not it wouldn't make all that money. Its a good movie but it could have been a GREAT movie easily. Just look at District 9, the essentially have the same basic story yet that came across as far more original than avatar.

Despite so I still love the hell out of this movie because it was one of the most fun experiences I've had at a movie in a long time and I think most people feel this way too. I cannot wait for the sequel and will be there opening day. After The Dark Knight Rises this is my most anticipated movie

but if Avatar was not cliche it would not make that much money.

thats why D9 was under 50 millions and Avatar over 200. both directors made a choice how they would writte the story.

 

[JAK®]

^laughable statement.

Indeed. An overrated movie wouldn't have it's thread filled with people who didn't like it.

 

[Spider-Fan]

It's not overrated, if anything, I think it is underrated. People seem to hate it because it is popular to do, and while I think it is a just okay film, I don't think it is bad. It is good in some areas, it's just not original at all. That is probably my biggest gripe. It pulls from stories without really doing anything different.

 

[redhawk23]

Avatar is VASTLY overrated. That's kinda just a fact at this point

A lot of people hate it.
A lot of people love it.

Most people I know recognize it for its awesome visuals but have small problems with the story being so cliched.

That seems like a perfect rating.

It was seen by a lot of people because a lot of people wanted to experience the visuals, which for a great many people it more than delivered.

How is it over rated?

 

[JAK®]

Most of the hate is pure hype backlash. It it wasn't hailed as this amazing film beforehand about 90% of the hate wouldn't exist, unoriginal story or not.

 

[JAK®]

A lot of people hate it.
A lot of people love it.

Most people I know recognize it for its awesome visuals but have small problems with the story being so cliched.

That seems like a perfect rating.

It was seen by a lot of people because a lot of people wanted to experience the visuals, which for a great many people it more than delivered.

How is it over rated?

People say things are overrated because they can't handle that people like things they don't like, so they need to pretend that all of the praise is unwarranted,

 

[redhawk23]

What i didn't like about Avatar was all that love for a movie that just copyed a story done to death and receiving aclaim just because of the special effects, i wouldn't see Michael Bay receiving so many good reviews if he himself did the film and revolutionized the 3D, it's just because of James Cameron that critic liked it.
Now i think the sequel will be more promising, Cameron always makes exelent sequels, but will he be able to do a good 3rd movie? It's his first time so we'll se in the next 10 years.

It may be an overdone story but that doesn't mean it was devoid of story. Michael Bays films get criticized because of the lack of story, or the story is crap, not because they are using a story thats been seen before. I mean seriously if youre going to use that argument against Avatar you have to admit that a great many well liked and respected films are utter crap.

And there were some pretty sweet concepts it explored, which have been touched on to varying degrees in other media but I thought were particularly well implemented in Avatar. Like the trees acting as a giant system of nerves and the whole planet being basically a brain in that way. Reminded me of an episode of Star Trek TNG where the same concept was played with but instead of trees it was a layer of salt water underneath the crust. Avatar just explored it so much more though, with it being basically a sentient nature system, a "Mother Pandora" that wasn't just figurative. Also the concept of the Na'vi uploading memories into the system is like biological version of Ray Kurzweil's wet dreams.

What Avatar does well it does very well, and the things it does badly its really not that bad on. People dug it. You didn't. This is fine, but get over it.

 

[redhawk23]

Most of the hate is pure hype backlash. It it wasn't hailed as this amazing film beforehand about 90% of the hate wouldn't exist, unoriginal story or not.

What I thought was hilarious was number of magazine critics and such had the opposite reaction. EW just had a small blurb out it right before it came out, not even a full reveiw, but then in January devoted half and issue to it. Rolling Stone gave it a meh review but then after it hit 1 Beeelion dollars at the box office, they put out a new review giving it a perfect score.

It was kind of stupid actually.

 

[Matt]

Avatar is loved by most people...if not it wouldn't make all that money. Its a good movie but it could have been a GREAT movie easily. Just look at District 9, the essentially have the same basic story yet that came across as far more original than avatar.

Despite so I still love the hell out of this movie because it was one of the most fun experiences I've had at a movie in a long time and I think most people feel this way too. I cannot wait for the sequel and will be there opening day. After The Dark Knight Rises this is my most anticipated movie

Most people will see a movie that is not universally loved if it is an event. Avatar was an event due to the breakthroughs in digital effects. Do not let yourself be confused between box office reciepts and universal praise.

Most of the hate is pure hype backlash. It it wasn't hailed as this amazing film beforehand about 90% of the hate wouldn't exist, unoriginal story or not.

Or it could be for the fact that the movie was basically plagarized.

 

[JAK®]

Or it could be for the fact that the movie was basically plagarized.

Yawn.

Yeah, I mentioned the unoriginal story. Which wasn't a badly told story, mind you, a lot of people forget to make that distinction.

 

[redhawk23]

Most people will see a movie that is not universally loved if it is an event. Avatar was an event due to the breakthroughs in digital effects. Do not let yourself be confused between box office reciepts and universal praise.



Or it could be for the fact that the movie was basically plagarized.

So was Star Wars

Also basically everything from every single Tarantino film;

Both get criticized for this on occasion, yet both are still respected and not written off.

 

[JAK®]

Let me set something straight: Avatar isn't the best movie ever.

Stop blaming it for not being so.

 

[Matt]

Yawn.

Yeah, I mentioned the unoriginal story. Which wasn't a badly told story, mind you, a lot of people forget to make that distinction.

I found it to be very poorly told. It relied on cliches and hollow characters. The only character with any real development who went even a little bit beyond the cliched cardboard cut out was Jake.

So was Star Wars

Also basically everything from every single Tarantino film;

Both get criticized for this on occasion, yet both are still respected and not written off.

Star Wars took basic premises and expanded on them to create its own story based around a generalized tale. Avatar just stole its story and brought nothing new to the table aside from special effects.

As for Tarantino, I don't respect him all that much. He plagarizes the work of others and hides behind the word "homage," so that is moot.

 

[Matt]

Let me set something straight: Avatar isn't the best movie ever.

Stop blaming it for not being so.

Or you can stop making baseless assumptions about people who didn't like the movie.

 

[Kane52630]

Avatar just stole its story and brought nothing new to the table aside from special effects.

I wholly disagree with that statement.

 

[Matt]

I wholly disagree with that statement.

I wholly disagree with your face!

 

[Scarlet Spider]

Most of the hate is pure hype backlash. It it wasn't hailed as this amazing film beforehand about 90% of the hate wouldn't exist, unoriginal story or not.

True. The same thing happened with Titanic, in regards to hype backlash.

If anything, Tron Legacy (a movie I greatly enjoyed) proved that impressive visuals and breakthrough effects are not enough to connect to an audience, especially on a massive scale the way Avatar was able to do.

Steve Lisberger actually had an interesting quote in regards to Tron & Avatar:

Spoiler

ASSIGNMENT X: I still maybe think LEGACY has proven to be a bit ahead of its time, just like TRON was.

STEVEN LISBERGER: I think we’re looking at a situation, and I was just talking to Joe about it, and I think James Cameron has found a formula that works. The more cutting edge Cameron makes the cinema, the more he counter-balances it with a traditional emotional story. He did that with TITANIC and he did it with AVATAR. I think the general audience feels safer if you say you’re going to have the most radical technology behind the making of this movie, they want to know you’re going to have babies and puppies and kisses in the rain. I think TRON challenges that in a way, because it’s really radical. I felt we really had a powerful father/son story, it still feels like we’re letting the computers get away with murder. They’re not being asked to slavishly render wars or conventional things that we’re used to seeing. It’s almost like a certain part of the audience out there worries “why are you letting the computers run away with this kind of imagery and story, when we should keep them contained with things that are more traditional.”

http://www.assignmentx.com/2011/exclusive-interview-where-will-tron-3-go-original-tron-director-steven-lisberger-reveals-his-thoughts-on-a-third-film-part-2/

When it comes to constructing blockbusters, that'll connect with audiences on a massive scale, Cameron is the best. His commercial sensibilities are unmatched.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Star Wars took basic premises and expanded on them to create its own story based around a generalized tale. Avatar just stole its story and brought nothing new to the table aside from special effects.

I agree with you on Star Wars being little like Avatar in regard to structure cause, like you said, Star Wars did something different and more originally. Yes, it is a basic movie in structure, but it added more spice and small things than Avatar does.

Like I said before, I thought Avatar was decent, but nothing to brag about. When you lose the 3D appeal, it doesn't offer nearly as much. It doesn't take many risks, and the fact the element is named "unobtanium" shows how little originality the story and such have. That said, the film does have a very entertaining villain and some good dialogue, and that helps it out a bit. I LIKE the movie, but I don't LOVE it. I am hoping the sequel expands on the fairly basic first film. We've seen that it can be done.

 

[redhawk23]

In a very Tarantinoesq way, though not really since it did it 15 years earlier than QT Star Wars steals specific shots from different movies, along with its generic plot devices.

Also, you may not personally respect Tarantino's work and there has been some backlash to him over the past few years, but especially inthe mid-nineties and such there was a lot of talk about his new influence on films and a lot of praise thrown his way when personally, while I enjoy his movies immensely, he is far more guilty than Cameron in the whole "plagiarism" debate.

The story of Avatar was fairly generic, but it wasn't "stolen" from any specific film because none of those films was particularly original in that regard either, its the same old "sorry about colonialism" story thats been around as long as colonialism has.

Tarantino though apropriates very specific scenes and shots from very specific movies.

 

[Maximus One]

I like Avatar. Watched it almost a dozen times. That doesn't mean I can't think it's overrated. The story is so contrived and cliched it's utterly ridiculous. The visuals make the film worth watching and yes if there actually are gonna be sequels I'll see them but that still doesn't mean that because I think it's overrated that I'm on some type of Avatar hate bandwagon. That ain't me, I watch movies regardless of what critics and reviews say of them and form my own opinion about them. I don't follow what other people do or say or think. I think for myself and that's what I think about Avatar. I actually own it btw but that doesn't mean that it even approaches my top 20 hell probably top 50 of my fav movies of all time, no where close

 

[Passdom]

Most people will see a movie that is not universally loved if it is an event. Avatar was an event due to the breakthroughs in digital effects. Do not let yourself be confused between box office reciepts and universal praise.

Guess that explains the incredible DVD/Blu-Ray sales

And the high audience ratings it has received on virtually every movie database on the internet

I mean, 92% on RT, 8.2 on IMDB, "A" on Yahoo.

Do I need to go on?

Or are you going to note how it is useless to poll such sites as these which have received hundreds of thousands of votes (well over a million combined) in order to guage what audiences thought?

Because then, its easy as hell to pull out of thin air pure fantasies like "oh well it made a lot of money but it wasn't well liked at all"

Or it could be for the fact that the movie was basically plagarized.

Uh no.

Avatar is culled from a great many inspirations. Any person with even a tiny amount of literary knowledge would know what are the major inspirations.

Saying the film is plagiarized is the sign of laziness

The lazy point to the film as pocahontas in space.

The informed point to the film as a celebration of fiction such as the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs and the influence of genre entertainment such as Heavy Metal. The informed can see the respect that Cameron has for the works that inspired him seep out of every pore.

After all, that is what Cameron billed Avatar as, MANY months before it ever came out. A celebration of all the things that he loved growing up.

 

[redhawk23]

Guess that explains the incredible DVD/Blu-Ray sales

And the high audience ratings it has received on virtually every movie database on the internet

I mean, 92% on RT, 8.2 on IMDB, "A" on Yahoo.

Do I need to go on?

Or are you going to note how it is useless to poll such sites as these which have received hundreds of thousands of votes (well over a million combined) in order to guage what audiences thought?

Because then, its easy as hell to pull out of thin air pure fantasies like "oh well it made a lot of money but it wasn't well liked at all"


Uh no.

Avatar is culled from a great many inspirations. Any person with even a tiny amount of literary knowledge would know what are the major inspirations.

Saying the film is plagiarized is the sign of laziness

The lazy point to the film as pocahontas in space.

The informed point to the film as a celebration of fiction such as the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs and the influence of genre entertainment such as Heavy Metal. The informed can see the respect that Cameron has for the works that inspired him seep out of every pore.

After all, that is what Cameron billed Avatar as, MANY months before it ever came out. A celebration of all the things that he loved growing up.

While I agree with you on some points, theres no reason to be so condescending. No reason to imply that you are some how more "informed"

 

[Spider-Fan]

Guess that explains the incredible DVD/Blu-Ray sales

And the high audience ratings it has received on virtually every movie database on the internet

I mean, 92% on RT, 8.2 on IMDB, "A" on Yahoo.

Do I need to go on?

Or are you going to note how it is useless to poll such sites as these which have received hundreds of thousands of votes (well over a million combined) in order to guage what audiences thought?

Because then, its easy as hell to pull out of thin air pure fantasies like "oh well it made a lot of money but it wasn't well liked at all"


Uh no.

Avatar is culled from a great many inspirations. Any person with even a tiny amount of literary knowledge would know what are the major inspirations.

Saying the film is plagiarized is the sign of laziness

The lazy point to the film as pocahontas in space.

The informed point to the film as a celebration of fiction such as the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs and the influence of genre entertainment such as Heavy Metal. The informed can see the respect that Cameron has for the works that inspired him seep out of every pore.

After all, that is what Cameron billed Avatar as, MANY months before it ever came out. A celebration of all the things that he loved growing up.

The informed call this post trolling. You can disagree, but to act like you somehow know better because you agree with critics is stupid, and guess what...LAZY!

Practice what you preach and be respectful. Otherwise, you contribute nothing of merit to your argument.

And read the story of Pochahontas. Same story. It's not lazy to point that out.