02-08-2010, 03:02 PM
SPOLIER ALERT:
I saw this on Saturday. The visuals were good though it's easier to invent convincing fictitious animals than humanoids. The Na'vi were believable, not convincing. The facial mapping tech developed for this film was astonishing though and the rendering can only get better.
When this technology becomes <i>convincing</i>, watch out for 60 year-old Meryl Streeps playing 30 year-old Meryl Streeps. Gonna happen.
By the way, if all the other mammals on Pandora had six limbs, why didn't the Na'vi?
There were a couple of interesting plot devices (such as how do you introduce a jarhead into a world of diplomatic scientists when the avatars require specific DNA) that were handled cleverly.
Mainly the story is pretty tried and true stuff...predictable and/or telegraphed (did anyone NOT know Sully would fly the big bird or that merging him with his avatar would work when that time inevitably came?
Characters were cinematic cliches. Giovanni Ribisi has been playing Paul Reiser since John Ford was making westerns in Monument Valley. Cliche applies to Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang's characters too.
I can get people with hundreds or thousands of hours logged with their Avatars being used to being 10 feet tall and blue...but Sully? Come on...were was the struggle with inner revulsion/disconnect at being an odd new species...imagine waking up some other primate or just another race. There are some interesting existential struggles they just pretended aren't inevitable.
Ok, so Sully is just so happy have working legs...fine...I guess...but he's instantly got radar for 10-foot Blue hot chicks?
The 3D was amazing at times and less so at others. Sometimes it was just about exactly like looking through a Viewmaster. You know...2D objects on different planes. I suspect that the difference was in whether what was being seen was optically shot or digitally rendered.
I think without the visual wow factor this story is 2 of 5 stars and with it...2.5....maybe 3.
Not worth seeing at all if you don't see it in 3D on a theatre screen.
I saw this on Saturday. The visuals were good though it's easier to invent convincing fictitious animals than humanoids. The Na'vi were believable, not convincing. The facial mapping tech developed for this film was astonishing though and the rendering can only get better.
When this technology becomes <i>convincing</i>, watch out for 60 year-old Meryl Streeps playing 30 year-old Meryl Streeps. Gonna happen.
By the way, if all the other mammals on Pandora had six limbs, why didn't the Na'vi?
There were a couple of interesting plot devices (such as how do you introduce a jarhead into a world of diplomatic scientists when the avatars require specific DNA) that were handled cleverly.
Mainly the story is pretty tried and true stuff...predictable and/or telegraphed (did anyone NOT know Sully would fly the big bird or that merging him with his avatar would work when that time inevitably came?
Characters were cinematic cliches. Giovanni Ribisi has been playing Paul Reiser since John Ford was making westerns in Monument Valley. Cliche applies to Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang's characters too.
I can get people with hundreds or thousands of hours logged with their Avatars being used to being 10 feet tall and blue...but Sully? Come on...were was the struggle with inner revulsion/disconnect at being an odd new species...imagine waking up some other primate or just another race. There are some interesting existential struggles they just pretended aren't inevitable.
Ok, so Sully is just so happy have working legs...fine...I guess...but he's instantly got radar for 10-foot Blue hot chicks?
The 3D was amazing at times and less so at others. Sometimes it was just about exactly like looking through a Viewmaster. You know...2D objects on different planes. I suspect that the difference was in whether what was being seen was optically shot or digitally rendered.
I think without the visual wow factor this story is 2 of 5 stars and with it...2.5....maybe 3.
Not worth seeing at all if you don't see it in 3D on a theatre screen.