Plot holes in "Avatar"

[literallyanythingelse]

Why was it that the most expensive film ever was unable to come up with a better name for this mysterious substance than unobtanium? WHY? That's what I want to know.

 

[Danpascooch]

Was there in actual part showing him picking up the gun and going out to keep fighting after his avatar had died?

Yes

Yeah there was, but then again, that really doesn't make any more sense then him disappearing with no explanation anyway, what the fuck was he doing? Trying to see how quickly he could get eaten by a big colorful animal?

His motives don't matter, if there's an explanation its not a plot hole.

There was an explanation for his not being there, he left, but that explanation now requires a new explanation, why did he leave?

That new question has no explanation, and is thus a plot hole.

Motives certainly do matter, if an act is stupid and illogical and has no explanation, the complete lack of motive is a plot hole.

LOGIC BOMB!

 

[MasterKirov]

You are forgetting that all of those animals are fiercely territorial... and what has the industrial-military complex been doing all this time? Invading their territory and burning down their nests/homes. At this point, they are PISSED.

True, but they haven't shown up in that kind of numbers at all. Not to mention with said deforestation, it's going to kill quite a few of them. Not to mention despite word going around the whole of Pandora, the Na'vi only gain 2,000 warriors. Allow me to emphesise that figure - 2,000?!?! In perspective, there are 6 billion human beings on Earth today, and no doubt more at the point Avatar sets us up with.

1. Pandora is a moon, and is thus smaller than the Earth.
2. The Na'vi don't have the technology or inclination to use faster modes of travel, and since communication is limited to word-of-mouth, this would take a while.
3. Even once word had reached some of the more distant tribes, they might not believe the news.
4. I seriously doubt that all 6 billion + humans would be trying to colonize Pandora. It just wouldn't be practical.
5. Back to the critters thing... think of it this way, as their territory was being encroached on and they saw members of their own species being picked off, these critters would do what any animal would do: run away. And judging from what I can remember about what was revealed about Pandora's geography, this would push these critters back to more or less the same general area as to where the Na'vi were.

1) True
2) Also true.
3) Seriously?
4) I didn't suggest that. It's simply a population comparison.
5) If that was the case, why didn't they do that before?

 

[Danpascooch]

Was there in actual part showing him picking up the gun and going out to keep fighting after his avatar had died?

Yes

Yeah there was, but then again, that really doesn't make any more sense then him disappearing with no explanation anyway, what the fuck was he doing? Trying to see how quickly he could get eaten by a big colorful animal?

His motives don't matter, if there's an explanation its not a plot hole.

There was an explanation for his not being there, he left, but that explanation now requires a new explanation, why did he leave?

That new question has no explanation, and is thus a plot hole.

Motives certainly do matter, if an act is stupid and illogical and has no explanation, the complete lack of motive is a plot hole.

LOGIC BOMB!

I see your point, but it's still not a plot hole. He was portrayed as a very Pro-Na'Vi character throughout the film and in the Battle Sequence he seemed to be showing signs of bravery. It's not completely illogical that he decided to keep on fighting.

I guess so, but DAMN was it a stupid idea.

 

[Sebass]

So I haven't seen the movie, but the way I get it, the story is basically:

So humans need unobtanium and are desperate to get it. I didn't see the movie but I'm guessing that the only way to get unobtanium was to annihilate the Na'vi or something? They fail to get it and leave. The Na'vi are all happy because they now can be left alone and keep on living, while the humans are dieing .. But doesn't this make them EXACTLY the same as humans?

Human pespective: We need to live and for that we need the unobtanium and the Na'vi can die for all we care.
Na'vi perspective: We need to live and for that, the humans can't take out unobtanium but they can die for all we care.

So how is it again that humans are the bad guys? Unless ofcourse, unobtanium was aquirable via some other method, but than the expensive slaughtering of a population would still be pretty stupid and unnecesary.

Correct me if I'm wrong here.

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

Why was it that the most expensive film ever was unable to come up with a better name for this mysterious substance than unobtanium? WHY? That's what I want to know.

That is the reason I spent most of the movie giggling quietly to myself, "Unobtanium? Really? I can come up with a better name off the top of my head: Zalek crystals."

 

[DicyDax]

1) Just pointing out a thing about the orange bird. That's a Toruc ( as far as i remember). The things you can only bond with once is an ikran. Completely different species.

2) Regarding the whole aspect of unobtanium: (I agree, stupid name, but it doesn't matter that much) While it is required to save the human race, as well as travel through space the way they do it in Avatar (according to this http://james-camerons-avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Unobtanium), it does not justify genocide, which I think is the reason I sympathized with the Na'vi.

 

[TheDoctor455]

You are forgetting that all of those animals are fiercely territorial... and what has the industrial-military complex been doing all this time? Invading their territory and burning down their nests/homes. At this point, they are PISSED.

True, but they haven't shown up in that kind of numbers at all. Not to mention with said deforestation, it's going to kill quite a few of them. Not to mention despite word going around the whole of Pandora, the Na'vi only gain 2,000 warriors. Allow me to emphesise that figure - 2,000?!?! In perspective, there are 6 billion human beings on Earth today, and no doubt more at the point Avatar sets us up with.

1. Pandora is a moon, and is thus smaller than the Earth.
2. The Na'vi don't have the technology or inclination to use faster modes of travel, and since communication is limited to word-of-mouth, this would take a while.
3. Even once word had reached some of the more distant tribes, they might not believe the news.
4. I seriously doubt that all 6 billion + humans would be trying to colonize Pandora. It just wouldn't be practical.
5. Back to the critters thing... think of it this way, as their territory was being encroached on and they saw members of their own species being picked off, these critters would do what any animal would do: run away. And judging from what I can remember about what was revealed about Pandora's geography, this would push these critters back to more or less the same general area as to where the Na'vi were.

1) True
2) Also true.
3) Seriously?
4) I didn't suggest that. It's simply a population comparison.
5) If that was the case, why didn't they do that before?

3. Okay, maybe there was something a bit iffy about that one.
5. They may have tried to defend themselves before... and while this isn't actually mentioned in the film, I rather got the impression that the industrial-military complex had equipment to deal with them efficiently... i.e. weapons/grenades/devices designed to scare these animals off first and kill them if necessary. And since the critters wouldn't have had much warning, once the military came in, they would be completely taken by surprise. Also, much of what the company had been doing before was sending in large hill-sized remote-controlled bulldozers through the jungle, and to my memory none of the animals were nearly big enough to take those things on. And I know for a fact that animals usually avoid attacking things larger than themselves. The reason that they do this later on is partly because the military is paying more attention to the Na'vi, and so is unprepared for the various critters rushing them, and its also because they (geographically speaking... from my memory) don't have anywhere else to go... hell, those bird-things already live in that area.

 

[Flagcapper2k9]

I can say this, unobtanium, if it was key to humanity's survival, wouldn't be mined almost exclusively by corporate interests, governments would take part in the procurement, which we clearly didn't see. Capitalism was just taking place, especially with all the references to stockholders.

Am I the only one to infer that Pandora was 100% populated by plant evolved lifeforms? The Na'vi and all the animals had root structures that they used to communicate telepathically, or was I the only one to notice that their ponytails were in the ground during the ceremonies?

Another easy means is the fact that the Na'vi had carbon fiber skeletal structures, very plant like. Also there is the similarity between this race and the Delvians from Farscape.

 

[Viking Incognito]

#1 is rather puzzling.

 

[Ryan-Phoenixan]

I actually came to think that some of the other avatars weren't really avatars but just Na'vi who were just remnants from the school that got shut down or something (that was my first thought when I first saw them all outside), though I could be horribly wrong.

Oh, and edit here:
lol unobtanium. I had a good laugh with that myself. There are games with corny stories out there that come up with better names for rare undiscovered minerals and materials.

 

[Ignignokt]

What I don't understand is the whole deal with the big flying things. Supposedly, you "connect for life" with a certain one, but halfway through Jake ditches his for the big orange one.

I noticed that too. I personally attach to things too much to just throw my old one away.

Also, what's with the huge jungle cat that evolved to be too big to easily navigate the dense jungle it inhabits? It has to crash through trees constantly while chasing prey.

And those little firefly-like bugs with the umbrella wings must get real sick always spinning around like that when they fly.

And why did all the Na'vi arrows bounce harmlessly off the jets at first, and then at the end they are blasting straight through the cockpit windows?

And you know the main reason Jake likes the Na'vi life better is because his legs work in his avatar.

 

[Sebass]

And you know the main reason Jake likes the Na'vi life better is because his legs work in his avatar.

Among other things ..

 

[HollywoodH17]

Why was it that the most expensive film ever was unable to come up with a better name for this mysterious substance than unobtanium? WHY? That's what I want to know.

That is the reason I spent most of the movie giggling quietly to myself, "Unobtanium? Really? I can come up with a better name off the top of my head: Zalek crystals."

"Unobtainium" was not a name made up for this movie; it's long been a term used for a wonder-substance that meets all scientific needs, with the only stipulation being the fact that it doesn't exist.

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

Why was it that the most expensive film ever was unable to come up with a better name for this mysterious substance than unobtanium? WHY? That's what I want to know.

That is the reason I spent most of the movie giggling quietly to myself, "Unobtanium? Really? I can come up with a better name off the top of my head: Zalek crystals."

"Unobtainium" was not a name made up for this movie; it's long been a term used for a wonder-substance that meets all scientific needs, with the only stipulation being the fact that it doesn't exist.

Yes, I too am familiar with [link]tvtropes.org[/link]. I was just saying it was utterly stupid to leave that as the name for the substance. The writer/creator can have it do anything they want, but at least call it something better.

 

[HollywoodH17]

Why was it that the most expensive film ever was unable to come up with a better name for this mysterious substance than unobtanium? WHY? That's what I want to know.

That is the reason I spent most of the movie giggling quietly to myself, "Unobtanium? Really? I can come up with a better name off the top of my head: Zalek crystals."

"Unobtainium" was not a name made up for this movie; it's long been a term used for a wonder-substance that meets all scientific needs, with the only stipulation being the fact that it doesn't exist.

Yes, I too am familiar with [link]tvtropes.org[/link]. I was just saying it was utterly stupid to leave that as the name for the substance. The writer/creator can have it do anything they want, but at least call it something better.

I dunno. We may have to agree to disagree here; I don't see any point in calling it THE ZORGLAXX CRYSTALS when the name of the crystal is an unimportant part of the movie. If you cal it something flashy, you have to explain why it's called that, and that's a pain. If you go with a trope some people are familiar with - or can look up later - problem solved. You don't need an extra two minutes of pointless exposition about a plot point that's irrelevant.

 

[HyenaThePirate]

The biggest plot hole I saw in the movie was the ending..

So they just ship the corporate bad guys off? And assumably, those greedy corporate types will go "oh, well that didnt turn out so well, lets just leave it. We've lost tons of money and scores of human lives in this endeavor. We know when we are beaten, time to give up!"

When the more likely outcome is "we underestimated the resiliency of these natives and used an inadequate amount of force. Lets send three times the number of troops with actual WARFARE technology, not just the bargain bin weaponry, and a competent commander to lead them."

In essence, they could just send the bulk of their military forces BACK to pandora to take that unobtainium with extreme prejudice. Honestly, the Navi won this single BATTLE by and large with LUCK.. the humans simply did not expect the amount of resistance and underestimated their enemy. Next time, the planet of Pandora won't have the luxury of the element of surprise, will return with overwhelming numbers and advanced weaponry, and simply decimate the native populations..

Pretty much what happened to the American Natives in the end... since this movie wanted to make a parallel to imperial/colonial history, it should at least complete the lesson and show that in the end the entire planet of Pandora was brought to heel and left as a pile of ash and ruin.

 

[imc440]

I thought I saw him go back into the jungle in his human form. A lot of people have been asking that, though, so maybe I only thought I saw it.