Whats the deal with the Avatar movie?

[Wicky_42]

I thought it was a decent movie, but there were a lot of plot holes. Some the size of Mars, some the size of the last drop of soda in the can that just won't come out. Like why the hell is Unobtanium so damn valuable?

Because it's a high temperature superconductor that generates a magnetic field, a property unique to all known superconductors. It floats because as it moves through the planet's magnetic field, current is induced in it and that in turn produces a magnetic field counter to its motion.

Naturally, this becomes immensely useful in mag-lev trains, and has a knock-on bonus in creating fusion power plants and space ship drives. This is particularly useful when the entire surface of your planet is one big industrial yard criss-crossed by mag-lev trains and space is the lucrative frontier.

Yeah, that sounds all geeky n all, but seriously, one glance through Cameron's official site for the film has all the info needed to fill the majority of plot holes. Just because you didn't look doesn't mean the answer wasn't there...

1) Why is it called Avatar? On the planet of Pandora, occupied by humanoid species called the Na'vi, whose home is now under threat by humans. Seems like a more fitting name would've been "Humans vs. Thundercats" (as all the Na'vi look like distant cousins of Panthera of the thundercats).
2) In the first 15 mins it becomes pretty obvious who the good and the bad humans are, seeing as all the Na'vi are good ... you can practically predict what happens next in the movie.
3) Am I the only one who thinks the the colonel (yes, the big bad guy) was in the right?
4) The movie creates a distinct impression that the humans and Thundercats are somewhat evenly matched ... that is until the fighting actually begins ... and the humans PWN the thundercats. This really got me thinking that if the humans were all that militarily superior to the Thundercats anyway, why in the world did the colonel employ Jake Sully to find weaknesses in the tribe? You don't need weaknesses to bomb em...
5) The movie has Sigourney Weaver in it ... as a scientist! I can't believe I watched a 2.5 hour movie with Sigourney Weaver in it and there wasn't a single scene of her machine-gunning someone or hammering someone with Mecha-armor (and this movie had guns and Mecha-armor too). To make matters worse, she dies .... and she doesn't even come back, as a thundercat or as a cyborg. (You'd think that after 4 Alien movies this was a given...)
6) The colonel offers Jake Sully legs.... LEGS dammit. Who doesn't want legs!!! I can't help but feel that between LEGS and joining team thundercats .... LEGS was the right choice.
7) "The Humans were sent back to their dying world..." Really? So Jake Sully chooses to live on a lush planet teaming with life, while condemning his fellow humans to die off with their world... I dunno about you but I think this looks as bad as genocide to me...
8) The humans lost 1 battle and its all over ?!?!? Why wasn't the colonel succeeded by a 2nd in command or something? Where are the nukes, dammit?

1) Guess what they call the artificial bodies?
2) I get that with most films.
3) Matter of opinion. He wasn't particularly evil, but he was hell-bent on hating the Na vi, intolerant and dismissive of their different culture, and, like most of the Avatar-haters out there, would much rather burn a forest than live in one, especially if it meant he got to do some killin'
4) Bullets kill, even if you 11 ft tall or something. Then again, if an 11 ft tall athletic bipedal cat person gets within arm's reach, you're a bit fucked (Jake goes hand-to-hand with a MECH, remember), plus until the stand-up show-down the Na vi were just ghosts in the forest, guerilla style. And their arrows are like a meter and a half long. And can punch through helicopter canopies.
5) Bet you didn't see that coming!
6) Jake came to realise that there were more important things afoot than one man's legs (he he) - plus, in the avatar body he was FAR more awesome than he could ever be as a human, even with legs. Also, remember that Earth is a bit of an industrial shit-hole and the life and vibrancy of Pandora had seduced him.
7)Yeah, that bit struck a discord with me - I figured that there was still the possibility of a diplomatic option, but my mates were all very much of the opinion that kicking the humans out to die was almost too good for them.
8) That was what you might call a 'pitched battle' - the Colonel went all-in on that attack, and was beaten. With no military assets remaining, the compound was doomed - surrender or heath was all that remained.

As to nukes, as I mentioned to LightOfDarkness above, a quick visit to the site would tell you that part of the corporation's contract to use the spaceships was that their military tech was limited. What they were using on Pandora wasn't the highest tech stuff available, and there were strict limits on the use of superweapons - ie nukes.

 

[Xonlic]

Grumble Grumble Grumble
We all dislike this movie for its hippie views
Grumble Grumble Grumble
Stroke my ego

Just saying that everything in here was been done before. Weee sarcasm that has been done before!

 

[Instant K4rma]

It's 'bout time someone said something about Avatar that wasn't, "ITS THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER!"

About time? You obviously weren't here during the first month of it's release. Love and hate threads alike left and right. Yikes.

 

[Kwatsu]

My big question?

Aside from being amazingly valuable... what's Unobtainium for? Is it some special fuel that enables space travel, like melange? Is it an important uber-strong metal? Gives you a pleasant high? Cures cancer? Or is a substance that could somehow save Earth from "dying"?

The entire movie revolves around this stuff being so important, and yet we never know why. Although, I can see why not. If the humans had been gathering it to save themselves from extinction, they might have... been... *gasp!* sympathetic! Then the movie might have had... actual moral quandaries! And depth!

Clearly we can't be having any of that. Not when we've got to show endless footage of the bloody Na'vi.

Y'know, I'd have enjoyed Avatar a lot more if it just came out and admitted what it really is: a science fiction nature documentary. But no, they had to try and put a plot in there.

 

[PHOENIXRIDER57]

The movie was whatever. Just saw it a few days ago.

Did anyone see the SNL Digital Short where they spoof all of Cameron's movies. Weaver is in it too. I couldn't stop laughing at it!

 

[Nico III]

And saying that the story is bad and predictable is like saying that Star Wars is bad (and in my opinion, it is rather over-rated) because it's obvious that the dudes in menacing uniforms are evil and that's stated like 1 minute into the first movie.

Star Wars is also about their struggle against the Empire. It's not supposed to be a sudden plot twist or anything...

 

[Decabo]

Oh. My. Christ. WE GET IT. It's popular to hate on Avatar. We don't need ever human being to mention it. Seriously, enough.

 

[Kiju]

I think, bottom line, you're just looking too deeply into it.

A movie is created for the entertainment value, not it's solidity. So whether or not it made sense to you isn't exactly in question. The question you should be asking yourself is: Did I enjoy the movie?

If not, then perhaps it wasn't a good movie for your tastes. I, personally, loved every minute of it. It was an excellent way to spend an evening with some popcorn and a soda.

 

[Kwaren]

Thundercats HO!

 

[ultrachicken]

The reason they sent Jake in was not to find weakness, but to negotiate with the Na'vi.

 

[The Austin]

Come on people, the movie was good, OK? That's why people liked it.
Sure, it was over-hyped and slightly over-rated, but it didn't suck.

Besides, blue kitty people are cool.

 

[theSovietConnection]

It's 'bout time someone said something about Avatar that wasn't, "ITS THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER!"

It's about time someone actually said something besides praise for the damn thing. Als owe can't forget all of the stereotypes in the movie and how it doesn't really do anything original.

Come on? Really? You two have both been around since it's first month of release and you didn't notice the near non-stop stream of threads about how it was actually "ZoMG teh wurst moviez evar"?

I went in to that movie with one hope, and one hope from it alone, to be entertained. It more then delivered.

 

[Teddy Roosevelt]

So I've just watched Avatar. Yes I know I'm a couple of months too late, but anyways...

The movie definitely did not live up to all the expectations drawn up for it by ppl who've already seen it. Sure, it wasn't a 'bad' movie, but other than the CGI, which I admit was amazing, I really found the movie to be somwhat disappointing.

1) Why is it called Avatar? On the planet of Pandora, occupied by humanoid species called the Na'vi, whose home is now under threat by humans. Seems like a more fitting name would've been "Humans vs. Thundercats" (as all the Na'vi look like distant cousins of Panthera of the thundercats).
2) In the first 15 mins it becomes pretty obvious who the good and the bad humans are, seeing as all the Na'vi are good ... you can practically predict what happens next in the movie.
3) Am I the only one who thinks the the colonel (yes, the big bad guy) was in the right?
4) The movie creates a distinct impression that the humans and Thundercats are somewhat evenly matched ... that is until the fighting actually begins ... and the humans PWN the thundercats. This really got me thinking that if the humans were all that militarily superior to the Thundercats anyway, why in the world did the colonel employ Jake Sully to find weaknesses in the tribe? You don't need weaknesses to bomb em...
5) The movie has Sigourney Weaver in it ... as a scientist! I can't believe I watched a 2.5 hour movie with Sigourney Weaver in it and there wasn't a single scene of her machine-gunning someone or hammering someone with Mecha-armor (and this movie had guns and Mecha-armor too). To make matters worse, she dies .... and she doesn't even come back, as a thundercat or as a cyborg. (You'd think that after 4 Alien movies this was a given...)
6) The colonel offers Jake Sully legs.... LEGS dammit. Who doesn't want legs!!! I can't help but feel that between LEGS and joining team thundercats .... LEGS was the right choice.
7) "The Humans were sent back to their dying world..." Really? So Jake Sully chooses to live on a lush planet teaming with life, while condemning his fellow humans to die off with their world... I dunno about you but I think this looks as bad as genocide to me...
8) The humans lost 1 battle and its all over ?!?!? Why wasn't the colonel succeeded by a 2nd in command or something? Where are the nukes, dammit?

All in all, its not that I didn't like this movie, but frankly I hate it when a movies story has too many holes in it. I suppose most of you guys will disagree with me, but I'd like to know your thoughts on the topic anyway. Note: I still think Avatar is a good movie (much better than most of the stuff coming out these days) but I could have been better.

Spoiler Alert: If you haven't seen Avatar and you've read the above, be happy. You don't need to see the movie anymore ^_^

An Avatar is a proxy to you. For instance, in Hindu mythology, Krishna was one of the many avatars of the god Vishnu. Jake's Na'vi was his avatar.

 

[The AI]

Everyone seems to be complaining about why they hated it, yet I went in not really knowing what to expect (I mean, I wanted to see it because I heard it was this big spectacle, but the trailers weren't exactly well cut) and came out thoroughly blown away. It wasn't the greatest movie I've ever seen, and the story was definitely derivative, but I actually felt emotionally connected to the characters. I honestly think it's my favorite James Cameron movie (and I absolutely love both Terminators, Aliens, and True Lies, and I think I'll like The Abyss when I finally see it). I'll definitely buy the extended DVD.

By the way, it was the best blockbuster that Hollywood has churned out since Iron Man in my opinion. Yes, better than The Dark Knight: Revenge of the Plot Hole. Suck it.

And for all those who are bashing Avatar, go and bash Star Wars too because you obviously don't like derivative, predictable, but well executed plots with some questionable dialogue (only difference is that Cameron is an INFINITELY better director than Lucas).

 

[FlameUnquenchable]

A few spoilers. You have been warned.

2)Indeed. The characters were extremely sterotypical. They really overplaced the greed in the humans.

8) That...that's an extremely good point. What I want to know is why they even bothered meeting the army. They just wanted the metal deposit under the tree, they destroyed the tree and drove the Na'vi away. Why bother fighting them over defending your new mine?

@ 2 - Everyone knows Humans are always bad when its an ecological, naturey film. /sarcasm No way is there any diversity between different cultures, and socities, all humans are greedy and bad. /sarcasm off

It's one thing that really disturbs me in every movie, and that as technology advances, people don't learn to make the technology more adaptable to nature...they're not mutually exclusive.

@ 8 - Did anyone else happen to think it was dumb that the Humans didn't seem to realize that all of the mineral they wanted was in the greatest concentration under the F'n massive tree....connection...maybe...2+2=7... /sigh. You'd think with scientists there that they'd see hey...could there be some reason why the biggest deposit of the mineral is under the biggest damn tree on the planet?????? Nah only, humanz greedy, humanz must haz mineral!!!

 

[WorldCritic]

It's 'bout time someone said something about Avatar that wasn't, "ITS THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER!"

It's about time someone actually said something besides praise for the damn thing. Als owe can't forget all of the stereotypes in the movie and how it doesn't really do anything original.

Come on? Really? You two have both been around since it's first month of release and you didn't notice the near non-stop stream of threads about how it was actually "ZoMG teh wurst moviez evar"?

I went in to that movie with one hope, and one hope from it alone, to be entertained. It more then delivered.

It's the problem with quantity. When it came out I ended up seeing a lot more of the "Best movie ever" things than I did with negative comments about it. I also made sure to avoid anything involving a new movie until the hype dies down, this one included.

 

[stiborge]

It's 'bout time someone said something about Avatar that wasn't, "ITS THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER!"

I really haven't seen that many people saying that. It was all about the CGI, really. I didn't particularly care for the movie, not for the reasons the OP did. I found the plot extremely predictable.

I will however answer some of your questions. It was called Avatar because that is what the Na'vi things that the humans controlled were called. Things that I didn't really get Thundercats from but whatever. Also, about the thing about him condemning his fellow humans to there dying world. Ummm... They never wanted to live there in the first place. They just wanted to rape them of their resources.

 

[MagicMouse]

1)An avatar is a being controlled by a separate entity. Quite obvious why the movie was named that.
2) This type of movie is supposed to be predictable, that way everyone clearly knows whats going on and is focused on character empathy and not puzzling out the plot.
3) You are not the only one, but c'mon really?
4) Guerrilla warfare. The humans didn't want to destroy hometree because, yes, the "thundercats" own them in this fighting style.
5) God forbid an actress acts a part you were not suspecting?
6) hmmm...legs or a an 8 ft tall hyper physical body that can ride pterodactyls.....hmmm....
7) the humans blew their chance to co-exist.
8) The humans were scientists and a small group of mercenaries, separated from earth by countless miles, one battle is all they had.

You make mountains out of mole hills, and mole hills out of nothing. The movie was entertaining, that was what it was made for.

 

[TheBatman0808]

Thank you!, I saw this movie for the first time this weekend and i couldn't believe what a big deal everyone was making.
first they won only one battle....thats it, now the real army is going to show up and kill them.
why did the blue guys trust jake so quick?, like in a couple of months

if they mate for life, why did the blue chick bang jake like the second time he saw her.

They knew what jake was....the whole time.... and nobody objected to him becoming a member of the tribe...i mean when he was awake because when he was sleeping he was basicly dead

everybody is talking about the animation, i remember a movie called frengully
if you don't remember it don't worry james camron does because it is the same frigging MOVIE
at least frengully had Robin willams

all i can say is i'm glad i saw it, i will never see it again and the colonel was the best character

P.S. there is nothing hot about blue chicks.