Avatar (2009)Movie Reviews

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• Must Go! Based on 5,764 reviews
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• Must Go!
  Written January 12, 2010

  Intervention.

  by Wesley2048

  Exciting adventure in CG. I loved the jungle style culture and how nature and knowledge played out in a ballet of the two intertwined and merged in a spiritual syncopation. Great graphics and a nice love story. Unfortunately sex was labeled mating (animals mate) and the so called great kingdom of the Na-Vi was belittled by this reckless notion. This was an engaged woman by our standards. As a man I related more to the stronger character of the women , then to the weaker man who in my world overslept and then faints when he is needed most. Some segments of the film had opportunity for heroics which sadly never came. The ending was obvious. Avatar made sex O.K. and marriage suitable only after becoming one of them (The Na-Vi).

  • 18904 out of 18950 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written December 18, 2009

  You can't miss this movie!

  by dwpaulk

  I went to see the midnight showing of Avatar last night and I was completely blown away. The one thing that I truly loved about the movie is that it does a great job of building the storyline. Too many movies sacrifice storyline for action and this move provided both in a way that kept you engrossed. Critics are paid to criticize. The story is far from lame, I'd agree that it's nothing that hasn't been told before but not in this scope or with such breathtaking beauty that James Cameron has done. I think there are people out there that just have no sense of good taste or their imagination is so limited that they can't let themselves get swept away by something so creative. As far as hidden propaganda as one guy asked about...respecting nature is one of the few messages I have no problem with my kids hearing. Don't rate 'uh-no' if you haven't seen it. That's just nuts. Go see it!!!!!

  • 43 out of 50 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written December 19, 2009

  Ignore the naysayers... GO!

  by ~Charlie

  Just got home from Avatar. What an awesome film! Easily the best CG effects ever. A well written plot that really fleshes out (literally) all the characters. One of the shortest 2 1/2 hour movies I've ever been to. The film may seem to preachy about the raping of the planet but that's what the humans are doing in this film, so from that perspective the film is right on the mark.
  
  Look, I'm a conservative guy, but anybody who whines about this film being " too political" is quite simply too jaded and probably wouldn't like Disneyland either!
  
  Go see the film on the big screen as it was intended... you'll never get the same feeling at home on your big screen tv.
  
  Just GO!!
  
  ~Charlie

  • 22 out of 27 found this review helpful.
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• No
  Written January 24, 2010

  Pocohontas meets Fern Gully meets Martian Blue Cat People ?

  by a sleeper

  I lost all respect for Cameron as a director....I am an artist so I loved the special effects but it was not enough for me to forget that our military is portrayed as dumb, killers , even the quote " Shock and Awe" is used , If you have a patriotic bone in your body, you will be appalled by the climax of this film ..... NOW WE ARE KILLING MARINES ???...... I say , GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS !!!.....
  If you love senseless cinema, than make it a point to invest $12 or $14 as soon as possible, to see
  a cliche in every way .....

  • 21 out of 29 found this review helpful.
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• Oh No!
  Written January 5, 2010

  Dances with Aliens

  by wefdwefwer3

  HOW much did they spend on special effects? Well, every penny shows...in the script budget--clearly there was no money left over. Never mind, no need to hire writers, the movie had already been written anyway…many times. White man hired to fight the Indians finds himself attracted to the noble savages and takes on their way of life. At first he is a bumbler but soon becomes a better Indian than any of the Indians. He wins the hand of the Indian princess and uses his superior white man ways to lead the savages in battle against the oppressors. Search and replace ?Indian? with ?Alien,? add a butt load of special effects…move over Titanic, Cameron needs more space on his Oscar shelf.

  • 23 out of 36 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written December 22, 2009

  Avatar: An Allegory to the European Invasion of the New World

  by JayViz

  Storyline - I agree with others in that the story wasn't original, as it draws themes from Pocahontas, Dances with Wolves, and Last of the Mohicans. However, what story is every original? Bottomline is that Cameron told the story of Native Americans in a futuristic tribe called the Na'Vi in 2154. I thought it was solid.
  
  Acting- Zoe Saldana, Sigourney, and Sam Worthington were all solid. Some of the character development and lines could have been more elaborated (which is why I'm interested in seeing a director's cut in the blue ray/dvd when it comes out). However, all in all well done.
  
  Visuals - The best damn movie I've ever seen, and I watched it in regular 35 mm film format! My goodness, you feel as if you're actually within Pandora. I gotta see this on the IMAX.
  
  Overall - A fantastic experience from one of the best directors in our modern era. The movie flowed so well that it didn't feel as if you were there for 160 minutes. That's a sign of a very solid movie.

  • 17 out of 25 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written December 18, 2009

  Avatar

  by Javah

  It's 3:30 in the morning, I just returned from viewing this spectular movie. The 3-D experience is the best I have ever encountered. It is packed with adventure, a love story, and most important the need to preserve one's environment. It illusrates how man can destroy the one thing that substains them and that is the earth. The graphics and colors were so vivid. This truly amazing movie. One that everyone in the family should see, it is long but very enjoyable.

  • 13 out of 17 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written December 31, 2009

  Get Over It!

  by tekwonder

  Go ahead and get it all out of your system. Yes, the movie is long, yes James Cameron alludes to a political agenda, yes Pandora is an over the top planet with glowing trees, floating mountains and blue people..blah blah. Dig up all the negative aspects of the movie from friends and reviews then THROW THEM OUT.. WHO CARES? THIS MOVIE IS ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING AND YOU WOULD BE A FOOL TO MISS OUT. I sincerely believe it is on par with how it felt in the 60's when color film was introduced. Amazing.
  
  Nuff said.

  • 11 out of 16 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written December 28, 2009

  Great sci-fi movie

  by DoesThisCoatMakeMeLookFat

  It's an amazing example of what technology can do today. Just the visuals alone are stunning and beautiful. It is really hard to tell (or believe) that most of this was done via computer. Overall this is a great, entertaining movie to see and I would definitely recommend it. Lots of great action and fun. Definitely a must for sci-fi fans. Filtering for kids, there are some swear words, and a bit of gore (knives and arrows) at the end but for the most part it's ok. I think young children probably won't get it and might get scared. No sexually explicit content either. For today's standards I would say this is a clean movie overall.
  
  I'm by no means an artistically focused movie goer (I even liked Transformers 2 for the most part) but I think they did a good job with telling a story, building character, and having a good plot. Sometimes those get lost. It's nothing revolutionary, but I do like how they didn't just focus on visuals and special effects. A must-see in the theater!

  • 9 out of 13 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written December 19, 2009

  What's up with the Oh No's?

  by genkidesu

  I am completely upset with the number of Oh No comments that have dragged down the ratings of this movie.
  
  Regardless of your feelings about tree hugger movies. This is a "Must Go" and see movie. Yes, I often get upset myself at movies that portray man as entirely thoughtless "who cares about the environment"; "rape and pillage it and get our share". I give the movie "Fern Gully" as an example. But this is an entirely engaging film that will keep you spellbound from start to finish.
  
  Forget about Hollywood trying to preach to you about the evils of mankind. Let yourself be immersed in the world of Pandora and believe that it truly is REAL for 2.5 hrs. You won't regret it.

  • 11 out of 17 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written December 22, 2009

  Avatar - A Great Movie!

  by davkins2

  I was very much impressed with the visual affects and reality of this "new world" that was created. The story lines were absolutely wonderful and the realistic, heart wrenching issues that relocated the Na'vi, forcefully, hits all too close to home for me. As a Native American, I heard stories from relatives about relocation and have seen it in other movies, but the intensity brought to the cinema for this movie, gives credit to what a race will do to save it's heritage and how people can only be human and get caught up in the struggle. I felt like I was in this new world with all of the new creatures flying around and the "bonding" that must happen. To be "One" with the world and to maintain harmony is so absolute. There are so many messages in this movie and thoughtfully told, I think kids will love this movies and teens will enjoy not only the special affects, but understanding the underlying storyline.

  • 14 out of 23 found this review helpful.
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• Oh No!
  Written December 22, 2011

  Completely boring and predictable.

  by Arzus

  Ever seen Pocahontas? Then you've seen Avatar. James Cameron takes cliche to the extreme. He steals his whole movie from countless other movies such as Pocahontas, adds a few machines obviously inspired by various science-fiction like Halo, and probably (I have no doubt) even steals a couple lines from said movies. The plot is generic. There are only a few things that are different than Pocahontas. 1. It's on another planet, so obviously it's a science-fiction movie. 2. The native americans are now giant, smurf-cat people. 3. The white hero is in a wheelchair. Other than that, it's pretty much the same. Even then, it doesn't make any difference whatsoever. Jake Sully proudly plays the part of John Smith. Neytiri proudly plays the role of Pocahontas. Tsu'tey proudly plays the part of Kocoum. Eytukan proudly plays the part of Chief Powhatan. The Tree of Souls proudly plays the part of Grandmother Willow (except for the fact she doesn't talk). You get the point. It's pretty cliche.

  • 7 out of 10 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written January 18, 2010

  Dances with Banshees

  by shekyla

  As I sat watching this and being amazed by it's beauty and creativity I found myself thinking of our history, of boldly going into lands that we found valuable for it's resources and just taking them over from their inhabitants. This movie is ripped from our own history and put into a future setting. The sad reality is that we haven't learned from our mistakes. We continue to make them. I was surprised to see that a person of science, in this future world, was a chain smoker! What? But it was the obvious correlation of the Na'vi (native?) to our indigenous native americans that reminded me of Dances with Wolves, where the soldier befriends the Indians to learn how to negotiate with them, but ends up realizing their way of life was so much more real and sacred, that he joins their tribe and becomes one of "The People", what the Indians call themselves ( and what the Na'vi call themselves).The real fantasy of this story is that the "Indians" win! This time at least,but sequels will come!

  • 8 out of 12 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written December 31, 2009

  Best movie ever made =]

  by Rev174

  This movie is hands down one of my favs of all time. Not just because of the rich elaborate world that Cameron has created but the message this movie sends. This movie shows exactly why our world is becoming more and more ruined everyday due to greed and lust for power and how people are blinded by their want for more money, makes you think maybe we need to wake up here and see reality. On another note the movie itself if is wonderful, story wise very traditional but visually and message wise it ranks my #1.

  • 7 out of 10 found this review helpful.
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• So-so
  Written December 19, 2009

  disappointingly unoriginal

  by januaryam

  this movie has been hyped beyond belief by EVERYONE ... so of course i expected it to blow me away. make no mistake, it LOOKS awesome, the acting is great, and it really is pretty mind-blowing as a spectacle. however ... this is an ORIGINAL script?? the opening line of narration made me GROAN ... and it just got worse. in fact, the story played it unbelievably safe.
  
  that said, the beautiful world may make it seem as though the concepts are creative and new. but the "bonding" between "human" and "steed" has been done to death, and it is HARDLY at this point original. the book "eragon" was BLASTED critically for being entirely derivative of older, fresher works like star wars and mccaffrey's pern series ... why is it that people are praising this film in spite of its similar banal unoriginality? the spirituality and "nativeness" of the na'vi are also shockingly unoriginal. what remains is the beautiful CGI and actors. but the colonel is a bad cartoon villain in the wrong universe.

  • 10 out of 16 found this review helpful.
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