What is so original about the film Avatar?

[joseph grech]

The fim Avatar has been cited as the biggest-grossing film ever; but what is so original about the film anyhow? The following are some of the innovative and ingenious ideas behind the film; please add to this list:

1. The protagonist is wheelchair-bound
2. The intimate way the natives of Pandora interact with nature
3. The totally convincing love affair between a human and an alien
4. The way the huge prehistoric bird is domesticated....

:nuts: (my avatar)

 

[DeadBattery]

I think the idea of having avatars was original and also the controversy between money and natives.

 

[xav0989]

I was more excited at going to see it for the graphics than the actual story. The first time I saw it, I recall thinking half the time "The graphics are literally awesome".

 

[cybercool]

If you ask me , The Only Interest which attracted me was its Visuals and all the Innovation those folks put into the Filming of the Movie.

Apart from Visuals the story was just ok.

 

[farscapeone]

The general idea behind the movie is not that original. There's a book by a Serbian author called "Tihana from Ergo" (sr. "Tihana iz Erga") written in 1984. with the same idea. I suppose there are many more book like that all over the world.

The only think new is an excellent combination of CGI and 3D. Just my opinion.

 

[stevenazari]

last of mohekans in space.
Case closed.

was a nice film to pass the time though. 3D and all that but that's it.

 

[phazzedout]

No one mentioned those floating island things. Not plausible in physics but still awesome. The story was good, it wasn't the best story ever but it was nothing to complain about. This is not one of the movies that you spend 10-12$ to go see and come out complaining on how you spent your hard earned money. You will come out satisfied and probably recommend it to your peers.

Apart from all that, the graphics were awesome hands down. Anyone who disagrees is just a critic of everything.

I especially loved the part were he domesticated the largest bird.

 

[iluvme]

3d
and also the message that all people in the world are interconnected and we as humans are connected to nature/earth so we should take care of it or something like that......... didn't see that message yet in any movie.... so for me that's the original thing about it

 

[joseph grech]

Well definitely the bridging between real acting and CGI was an innovative technique at the frontier of modern film-making... And yes the scenery was stunning. However I think the story consolidates everything... if you were to ask me.

 

[ramsankar]

I don't think there was anything very original it apart from the 3d technology. The story has been told a hundred times, just the settings and characters change; anybody has played some major MMORPG can feel a strong connection between the night elves and the design of the Naavi. It's more like a bigger, better version of what we have already seen. Just my opinion of course, and I do not mean to say that the movie was bad, just that it's not original.

 

[racked_nation]

in my opinion the story has nothing of value without the technology...if you want to see avatar without the millions spent on it, just watch pocahontis or however you spell it.

 

[ramsankar]

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to say too.

 

[Livewire]

Gotta laugh, no one's missed the obvious comparison I've seen get plastered just about everywhere except here.

Forget Pocahontas (thanks spellcheck, hope you got it right), forget Last of the Mohicans. Without seeing the movie but with reading the plots from everywhere, there's 1 movie that comes to mind.


Dances with Wolves.

 

[cybercool10]

^^ LOL That Pocahontas Comparison was too good

 

[kylelemaster]

When people were talking about this Pandora Depression and ****, I had to stop and think how this has to be a lot of the same people that would scoff if they saw someone playing World of Warcraft. Perhaps if you have never enjoyed a fantasy of any medium, this movie would deserve its hype, for those of us that have, I don't see how it's all that special. Sure looks cool, but the technique they were most proud of (filming in 360 and allowing Cameron to film in this 3D VR environment) has been used before (see Mines of Moria in Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring).

 

[whitmantech]

the fact that it is a well done 3D movie thats visually spectacular?

 

[phazzedout]

I showed the film to my yesterday and she left extremely happy, and she is not easily impressed with movies. The visual is very important because when she say the floating mountains all she could say was "Wow". In any case I still stand by with what I said, "You will not complain if you saw this film in theaters."

 

[priyaa161]

Nothing so special about that film, except its graphics. In my view Titanic is far better than Avatar.

 

[gonzana]

I don't think it's an original story. The topic has been treated widely in lots of films, but with different characters and different technology. Humans arrive on another world and want to take control of it, to "domesticate" those who are different from us and who are treated like savages... unfortunately that's what we actually do always... a human discovers that the "new" world and its habitants are more "human" than we think and tries to help them as hard as he can, even with his own life... I liked graphics, but the story is not quite original from my point of view.

 

[phazzedout]

The story is not original, and it will be rare to find an original story from here on out. Most stories have been said, picked at, dissected, examined, cloned and reproduced. The most original story I have seen last year is One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. This movie was released decades ago in any case. The film Avatar in any case is still a pretty good movie, nothing bad about this movie. It keeps you on the edge of your seat while you still know who will triumph at first.

One thing that caught me off guard was the giant tree scene, didn't see that happening.

This film though is a good reflection of how humans are.

We should send scientists to different planets and leave it at that, not send politicians or company executives. Scientists are happy leaving things in tact while studying the psychology, sociology, geology, etc. of the natives. Which is what I enjoyed of the film.