"Avatar" is, for all intents and purposes, hardly on the same level of visual medium as a "film". It is, it was, to me, an experience. An experience that I happened to witness in a movie theater (luckily enough in an IMAX 3D theater)...and during this experience I laughed, I cried, I got angry, I got excited, but most of all, I was entertained. Entertained, entertained, entertained.
I knew going into the theater that Avatar would be cliché. I did. And I didn't care one bit. I was too preoccupied with the mind-blowing experience before me to care about how stupid a line was or how well I could predict the plot. With Avatar, it really doesn't matter. And to say this film would be nothing without its effects is like saying orange juice would be nothing without the orange. In other words, the effects cannot be separated from the film, NOT BECAUSE the effects make the film, but because story and effects go hand in hand in hand in hand in hand in a way that is not only appealing to the eye, but for the most part, the hearts of the mass audience.
In a way, Avatar's plot not being the most original thing in the world was a good thing. Suppose it did have some wonderfully complex story - would I have enjoyed it as much? Probably not. It doesn't make Cameron lazy for not using original ideas...I mean, Pandora itself is pretty original for film-making (name a movie where a world has literally been created). This is the man who dreamed up the idea for Terminator, we know he has original plot ideas, he didn't need to prove that to us with Avatar.
Avatar is probably the greatest film experience, ever.
I knew going into the theater that Avatar would be cliché. I did. And I didn't care one bit. I was too preoccupied with the mind-blowing experience before me to care about how stupid a line was or how well I could predict the plot. With Avatar, it really doesn't matter. And to say this film would be nothing without its effects is like saying orange juice would be nothing without the orange. In other words, the effects cannot be separated from the film, NOT BECAUSE the effects make the film, but because story and effects go hand in hand in hand in hand in hand in a way that is not only appealing to the eye, but for the most part, the hearts of the mass audience.
In a way, Avatar's plot not being the most original thing in the world was a good thing. Suppose it did have some wonderfully complex story - would I have enjoyed it as much? Probably not. It doesn't make Cameron lazy for not using original ideas...I mean, Pandora itself is pretty original for film-making (name a movie where a world has literally been created). This is the man who dreamed up the idea for Terminator, we know he has original plot ideas, he didn't need to prove that to us with Avatar.
Avatar is probably the greatest film experience, ever.