Avatar Breaks Even, Surprises Everyone

[EeveeElectro]

You could buy a lot of tacos with that money.

I didn't know CGI was so pricey, but I guess most of it was making it 3D.

 

[Jadak]

I think word of mouth will help this one out a lot. i was skeptical as hell about this flick but thoroughly enjoyed myself. Plot was a bit predictable but the visuals, especially in 3D, sets this film apart from anything else out there.

About a forth into the movie I actually forgot I was watching something that was completely created in a computer. Films like Beowulf and The Polar Express have tried to capture lifelike performances but there has always been something about it that reminds me I'm watching CG. Avatar was, for me, the first film to actually cross that barrier.

I get what you're saying, but films like Beowulf are intentionally done to make the CG elements visible.

Just not a great example for the quality of modern CG in terms of simulating reality.

 

[Lemon Of Life]

I loved this film. Hopefully the one that comes out in 2020 will be just as good.

 

[Jon Etheridge]

I think word of mouth will help this one out a lot. i was skeptical as hell about this flick but thoroughly enjoyed myself. Plot was a bit predictable but the visuals, especially in 3D, sets this film apart from anything else out there.

About a forth into the movie I actually forgot I was watching something that was completely created in a computer. Films like Beowulf and The Polar Express have tried to capture lifelike performances but there has always been something about it that reminds me I'm watching CG. Avatar was, for me, the first film to actually cross that barrier.

I get what you're saying, but films like Beowulf are intentionally done to make the CG elements visible.

Just not a great example for the quality of modern CG in terms of simulating reality.

Gonna have to respectfully disagree. Both films were shot in a similar manner using motion capture technology. Avatar had live action mixed in for sure and that makes it different than Beowulf, which was all CG, but the scenes with the Navi on Pandora were all done on a giant green screen with actors using similar methods.

The big difference was in the facial performances. Avatar was the first to really capture an actors every facial nuance because they used a new techni for capturing the face. Beowulf had the classic dots on a face technique that had been used in the past. Avatar, while still using some of the dot method for on set sample renders, had a camera attached to each actor that did nothing but record the face. Using new technology, WETA was able to take that image and map it directly onto the CG characters.

It was that difference that made me forget it was all done in a computer. Beowulf and Polar Express were never able to get the eyes right and it came off looking slightly inhuman. The only other CG character I've ever truly believed was real for a second was Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Can you still tell Avatar is CG? Yeah, of course (fire and smoke in particular are really noticeable). But I think we'd be wrong in thinking that it's not a GIANT leap forward in terms of technology and CG character believability.

 

[Gindil]

Although, I do see what you did there. I'm not minimizing it to its smallest denominator and saying "Oh, it's shit." I'm saying I enjoyed the movie but it could have done some things much better.

No offence but you're full of it, on a one man rampage to hate Avatar. You are looking at the end of Avatar, but ignoring T1 & T2. No where in either Terminator do they mention going to a steel works or factory to kill the Terminator but end up at them by chance. You can't ignore them yet go "Oh wait, Eywa is total bullshit". You're just being a hypocrite. Why was she going to live and yet the military, y'know, the trained guys, fail?
How would yopu have improved Avatar, considering that your previous ideas would have made the film much worse? And again, Western sci-fi is meant to be awful as you can replace ships with horses & space with the West of the US and *bam* same shit, different day.
Not to mention, you ignored my comment on execution vs orinignality. Gooodfellas & American Gangster shit films then in your opinion?

Firstly, I'm not going to go on about your tone. I'm having a conversation about what I thought Avatar did right and wrong. You can agree or disagree. But calling me a hypocrite? Uncalled for. What I feel you're ignoring in my posts is how Sarah and John had more chances to grow in the T-movies than this supposed DEM moment where they destroy the Terminator. In both, the Gods don't strike the Terminator nor do they get help from anything. Lightning didn't come to strike down the T-1000. No, they had to figure out a way to get the thing to get crushed or melt it down. The fact that they somehow go into a steel factory can be explained by Terminator Salvation more or less. John Connor got his scar from the place, so Kyle Reese gets the idea to melt it, thereby enforcing the circle of them going into a factory. Even without this idea, you can also believe that he'd know about a factory because he's a soldier. Wouldn't they go after military targets of some type? More than likely, he'd learn how to make a quick decision to take Sarah to a place where they could possibly fight back.

Again, Avatar was a good movie, but you're asking it to be something I don't think it'll be. It's not something that's genre defining. It's a movie to be enjoyed.

Never saw gangster films. Not much interest after The Godfather because I sure as certain don't want to see anything exemplify the "gangster" or "gangsta" lifestyle.

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aaand snip

If I may chime in, you're both kind of right.

It is true that Avatar is guilty of setting up plot devices in scenes meant only to set up plot devices. That is crappy storytelling and it does happen quite a few times in the movie.

That doesn't mean the movie sucks, though. It does a pretty good job of handling its themes, even if it's not as cleverly plotted as some other classics.

Likewise, it is also guilty of shifting gears at a very specific moment from "alegorical tale about natural explotiation" to "hollywoody feel good action movie where the good guys win"... which isn't necessarily bad, since both things are done pretty well.

Overall, I think there's been quite a bit of hyperbole around the movie. It's not a genre-defining film, and it's not Cameron's best, by any means. It is, however, a pretty good movie that happens to be the most expensive film ever, which is more than you could say of Titanic and of most action movies in its budget range released in the past few years.

Meaning that if whoever is charged with deciding if Transformers 3 moves ahead might decide that a good script, believable characters and decent storytelling could increase their chances of making money on the box office, and that'd be good for everybody.

This is more or less what I was alluding to. Thanks for putting it in words for me.

 

[VanityGirl]

I'm not surprised.
This is a fun movie. I think had it been released in the summer, it would have made more money. Never the less, it was an awesome movie. I'm glad it broke even.

 

[crobulator]

this film was awesome in 3d.
also in an interview james cameron said he is doing two more to make it a trilogy

 

[teutonicman]

I'm really looking forward to seeing it in 3D as a buddy told me that you can then really see where the money went.

 

[Pendragon9]

I have mixed feelings about this movie. Good effects, but HORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIBLE story. Screw you James Cameron and your Peta/Dances with Smurfs hippie propaganda.

 

[Apackof12Ninjas]

This comes as no surprise to me, I for one did not want to go see this movie namely because of James Camerons involvement in it. Though I was dragged in by some family members, the result?
I was blown away by its glorious visuals (in 3D) yes the story was bland and recycled but the visuals made up for everything. If nothing else this movie gets mad props for it. Every filmmakers needs to make movies that look this good.


But seeing how good it looked made me wonder if James Cameron was involved at all. I think that they would have him make a pretend movie that didnt exist while they worked on teh real one and put his name on it.

Or something. This movie is too good for him to be involved.

 

[kannibus]

Now someone please tell me this WILL NOT be a trilogy. I've suffered from tri-itis for far too long.

 

[you rolled a one]

I loved this movie. In my not-so-humble opinion it was best movie of 09

 

[Zedzero]

I think word of mouth will help this one out a lot. i was skeptical as hell about this flick but thoroughly enjoyed myself. Plot was a bit predictable but the visuals, especially in 3D, sets this film apart from anything else out there.

About a forth into the movie I actually forgot I was watching something that was completely created in a computer. Films like Beowulf and The Polar Express have tried to capture lifelike performances but there has always been something about it that reminds me I'm watching CG. Avatar was, for me, the first film to actually cross that barrier.

Agreed. It completely crossed the Uncanny Valley - at least, for me personally.

Yea, it felt all so real in a sense, the immersion into the movie is fantastic when coupled with 3D glasses. But I'm gunna have to say District 9 aliens felt very real too, can't wait for D10!

 

[Erana]

For the technology they developed that can be used for future moviemaking alone, I think its worth supporting.
I'm happy to see it did well.

Lets just hope they use some of that money to save some real forests...

 

[Shadow999909]

Good, that was an amazing movie and deserves an award for it.

 

[Spiner909]

Hopefully he keeps his movie magic going. Cameron doesn't do sequels

 

[Ocelot GT]

I have a serious question.

Why was this movie so expensive to make?

It was mostly CG.