Comments on: Avatar Thanator beast built from Bionicle

By: David4

David4 — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:55:20 +0000

You don’t get the point MiPod. Avatar isn’t the number 2 movie ever, Titanic isn’t the number one movie. Those stats don’t count for inflation! So once again, the number one movie ever is “Gone With The Wind”, followed by Star Wars and Titanic is 6th.

http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm

By: Xiphos Systems

Xiphos Systems — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 01:25:39 +0000

There’s a difference between having an unoriginal story and having a bad story. Avatar’s plot may play out like Dances with Wolves in space, but that doesn’t mean it’s told poorly. In fact, I think Cameron did an excellent job with this story. I can’t remember the last time I saw a movie get pounded so hard by critics simply because it’s plot wasn’t totally original.

On the subject of the model, though, it’s an awesome recreation. This is exactly the kind of thing Bionicle was meant for.

By: MiPod

MiPod — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 22:55:54 +0000

@David4: Actually, if you look at the official statistics, it is the second-highest grossing film in history. I’m not saying it’s the second-best film of all time.
Here’s a link to said stats:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films
Ironically enough, James Cameron’s Titanic is first.

MiPod 

By: David4

David4 — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 22:00:56 +0000

It’s a fraking movie, it isn’t Jesus Christ’s second coming. Why do you think it took so long to make? Because the 3D needed to be done, James Cameron could have easily made a movie with the same topic that “humans destroying the Earth” is bad… oh…. oh wait… he did! It’s called “The Abyss”.

The message you think this movie will be remembered for is what makes the movie less than what it could have been, because it’s a rehash of “humans are bad to the planets”. So what makes this movie so much special than the hundreds before it with the same message? The 3D effects!

By: Kaitimar

Kaitimar — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 19:21:44 +0000

I guess our grandchildren will be grateful that even though we burned the rain forests, we invented the technology to make beautiful CGI versions of the real thing!
Magic!

By: David4

David4 — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:47:36 +0000

Actually the point of the movie to me is that James Cameron spent years trying to perfect a great 3D CGI world and he did that, it’s just a beautiful movie.

The message is where it rip-offed 100 other movies to date, humans are bad and are destroying another world because we destroyed our own. That has been done 1,000 times over. What makes this movie stand out is the technology used to tell the story in a different way.

By: Kaitimar

Kaitimar — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:24:21 +0000

OK, this turned out more bitter than I intended, but the TV is on and I am watching Italian police beating up the illegal African immigrants in Calabria.
No relevance? I don’t think so.

By: Kaitimar

Kaitimar — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:15:45 +0000

Lots of people are missing the point with Avatar. This isn’t about the originality of the story, the characters or the CG effects. I consider myself one of the most demanding movie viewers there are, and could spend weeks dissecting Avatar and naming all the references, homages and shameless ripoffs crammed in there, but I wont. Because, this one is all about the message.

It is a story about human greed destroying everything in its path.

It’s that simple.
“There is no green on Earth. They have killed their mother, and they will do the same here”, says Jake at the tree of souls.
We are killing our mother. Now, as you read this, the bulldozers are mowing town the forests, the oil pumps are turning, the fishing boats are emptying the seas and if the natives protest, the military is there to protect the corporate interest. Be that Sudan, Afghanistan, Somalia or Iraq, Africa or Latin America, “The strong pray on the week, and nobody does a thing”.
Even as we are cutting the very branch we all sit on.
This film is a wake-up call, it is about Earth, not some alien planet.

That is the message of Avatar, at least that’s how I see it.

We are the all cogs in the corporate machinery, and it is therefore no wonder that we fail to see the mirror that Avatar places in front of us.

So let’s just continue our discussion on what an unoriginal rehash it all is…

By: Thanel

Thanel — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:55:44 +0000

I haven’t seen Avatar (and plan to go see it soon), but the comparison that seems most apt is Pocahontas in Space.

By: David4

David4 — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 06:19:20 +0000

There is no edit button…

It is NOT the number 2 movie of all time. If I paid $6 to see it and many paid $15 then of course it will make more money than a movie from 70 years ago that cost 5 cents. The number one movie of all time is still Gone With The Wind.

By: David4

David4 — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 06:17:13 +0000

Catsy, the plot isn’t very original at all, it’s been done to death in sci-fi, and in movies and TV in general. However I never thought of Star Trek: Insurrection. The only thing similar between it and Avatar is the fact the humans want to move a group of “aliens” because the humans want something. But that dates back to the Native Americans and the Europeans hundreds of years ago, and once again isn’t new. Hell in that regard LOST is like Avatar, people want the island and what the other people to leave. lol

By: MiPod

MiPod — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:51:08 +0000

This is an awesome MOC! The only thing I have a problem with is the amount of antennae on the head. The Thanator has two sprouting from each of the lower side plates, three on each if the next ones up, and none on the top two.
Other than that, it is perfect! :D

I can’t believe you haven’t seen it, Andrew… I agree, the plot is a little thin. However, they are hopefully going to flesh it out in the sequels*.
Anyway, that aside, you still have to see the second highest-grossing film of all time (so far)!

MiPod 

*Of course, sequels could be a good or bad thing…

By: Catsy

Catsy — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:28:34 +0000

I want to see it, and I will, but from everything I’ve seen and read the plot sounds like a bit of a rehash of Star Trek: Insurrection.

The MOC is very cool. :)

By: David4

David4 — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:17:06 +0000

You need to see the movie in 3D! The green tint is so so sooooooo light that you can’t even tell. When things fall or explode you can feel the shock waves in 3D!

Why waste you money on 2D when you can just rent or buy the 2D version of the movie and watch it on an HD TV. You need to go see Avatar in 3D right now!

I hadn’t gone to a movie in 4 years because everyone talks, annoying kids, cell phones going off, but I’m probably going to see the movie again because the 3D is just that amazing.

The story is lame, and has been done before but the 3D world is what makes the movie so amazing, watching it in 2D would be boring. You need the 3D to really get into the Avatar world and you do because the movie and the animal and plant life are so beautiful.

Are you leaving for the theater yet? :-p

By: cjedwards47

cjedwards47 — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:25:43 +0000

I didn’t have any problems with the color, and after seeing how awesome it was in 3D, I wouldn’t want to see it in 2D! Different theaters probably have different glasses. I believe the one I saw used RealD-3D technology (or whatever it’s called).

As for the plot, it’s fairly predictable, but I wouldn’t call it thin. Things had to be cut out just to get it down to 2.5 hours! The special effects aren’t used to fill time, they’re all used in service of the story. The romantic sub-plot is at least as big (as a percentage of the plot) as the conflict. And the humans are not so cut-and-dry. There are multiple humans who are sympathetic to the aliens, and the aliens are not completely benevolent.

I have heard of people who didn’t like the movie (mostly from IMDB message boards), but I loved it, myself! I’m already researching 3D TVs, for when I can watch it at home.