Avatar - The Most Successful Failure Ever

[@TheCriticalDrinker]

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[@technofeeliak]

It's Avatarded then?

[@TheNocturnal1]

How bout I give ya a shot glass made up by the tempered tears of those who would cry "But drinker you dashing fine good sir you, foreign English accent speaking neo naz- umm... critique driven maniac!" What are we on about?

[@cartooningfanart]

James Cameron's Avatar 2009. Though it is a movie with lots of clichés and sadly unsatisfactory replies, I still feel it's a great movie, with several good sides and a classic story that we will always retell in various forms. Either way, Avatar was a passionate project, created in the love and art of Cameron to tell a good story. And I respect Avatar for this.

[@SoullessAIMusic]

dude I never even seen Avatar, I heard the general plot synopsis and I saw every plot point coming. This is what I think happened in the movie, good guy joins corporate/military exploration, good guy explores new worlds with an uptight boss telling him what to do, good guy falls in love with new world, good guys team attacks new world, good guy and friends defend new world from old boss whos now the bad guy. I have never even seen a trailer for this movie mind you.

[@roncriswell2685]

Thank you, I thought this movie was garbage for those exact same reasons but everyone called me crazy!...... well who's crazy now? LOL

[@gusdolan6046]

Yeah this episode really confused me. It didn’t really fit in the whole Avatar: the last air bender plot

[@SalandVin99956]

It's another spin off like Korra, only not as good

[@SquirtAngle]

Is that the one with Sasuke???

[@fuwaxfuwa]

Chimichanga Warrior no, that’s when they go looking for the one piece. This episode’s how Ichigo becomes hokkage

[@derekwalter4238]

I love susgay and the hoe cage!

[@Kal-el087]

Hahaha. Well played mate.

[@schwarzerritter5724]

You see, the humans made the mistake of relying on an element called "unobtainium". I am powering my robot army with commonite and already control half the continent.

[@davidmarshall7390]

*Hides the Abundantium*

[@locomotives9217]

My army eats Happy Meals and we use your robots to clean barf off the carpet.

[@timberry4709]

@@locomotives9217 Until you army dies of morbid obesity, congestive heart failure and severe autoimmune diabetes.

[@thelast344]

My army eats covid and tears.

[@bryanmartinez6600]

Teatanium The Superior British steel

[@CapnSlipp]

Missed one reason why Avatar was so successful- it was the first time CG humanoid character renderings looked fully photo-real and convincingly human-ish. It was mind-blowing for 2009.

[@sladewright5779]

looks like a ps3 game now

[@CapnSlipp]

@@sladewright5779 Uhhhhhhhhhhh… have you actually seen the movie? No, I’d say it still looks photo-real. And even PS5 and Xbox 4th-Gen characters still have a plasticy fakeness to both their rendering and animation.

[@sladewright5779]

@@CapnSlipp watched it last night stg video game cut scenes

[@alexzee8926]

Yes! I remember being obsessed with this movie when it came out. I was 10, but even now the renderings look amazing.

[@mbaxter22]

Really? Avatar has aged just fine. Just like Jurassic Park, it's effects are timeless and convincing enough to immerse you into the world.

[@theleafshandsomedevil1552]

Personally liked it. It may be a guilty pleasure because yes, the story is generic. But the worldbuilding, visuals, sound design, etc was awesome. It did a better job teleporting the watcher into the world than making them care about what happens in the story

[@HowlingWolf518]

Check out the Special Edition or the Collector's Edition: all the plot and character development missing from the story is in the deleted scenes. Would've been fine as a three-hour movie, but _no,_ gotta have the shorter runtime and all the tech demo stuff.

[@DenDodde]

Why would it be guilty pleasure though? It's a decent flick. You don't actually have to listen to the man who called pocahontas a superior movie.

[@nettewilson5926]

Exactly

[@TheJimbles]

Yep. I loved it! I don't think I've ever felt like I was transported to another world more than watching Avatar in 3D at IMAX.

[@brok56]

A guilty pleasure, much like The michael bay transformes. They are stupid, brain dead, and chalk full of pointless action and explosions. But its fun To Look at.

[@rustyrust9689]

“Way back in 2009” ...I’m getting old...

[@guilhermehank4938]

We all are, Im 23 and Im already feeling im too old...

[@jose-uu7ed]

@@guilhermehank4938 me too.

[@TheMasterGamer21]

Damn, that was 1 year after I left elementary school. Still remember how much hype surrounded this movie.

[@Knight_Kin]

Pfft I graduated high school right before 9/11. Shit, to think i'm technically a millenial. We're getting old.

[@Charmer4856]

We all are 😁😁 I’m 35

[@Joni_Tarvainen]

One thing that I love about Avatar is that Jake's actor actually did everything like an actual independent paraplegic would do. I'm only saying this since I've been over half of my life paralyzed by my own idiocy and the point where he gets into his Avatar body and runs into the sand and wiggles his toes in it is spot on. That's something I'd do immediately. Otherwise the movie is just Pocahontas in space.

[@slowmotionfear2]

you just made me appreciate my legs more man, so thank you for that. And i'm really sorry to hear about your situation, I really hope one day there's a way to completely cure it

[@SAOrules]

Hey I’m sorry to hear about your situation. I deeply hope you’re able walk again one day.

[@2HRTS1LOVE]

I'm sure you know of the famous Joni Eareckson Tada, a quadriplegic who has an incredible story. She was also paralyzed due to her own mistake, it's a unique name. Don't be so hard on yourself, we all do incredibly dumb things when we're young and stupid, and often when we're old and stupid. I wish you all the best, I hope a cure comes in your lifetime.

[@mikemorgan6685]

@Stripey Arse dont forget to mix in some Fern Gully

[@Joni_Tarvainen]

Guys, there's no need for pity :D As I said, it was my own stupidity. I'm glad you wish me the best, I truly am, but I don't need any pity (if that's the correct term to use here). I've dealt it with so long and made my amends 13 years ago, but I can't say that I wouldn't miss those soccer games etc. ;)

[@silvussol8966]

I still can’t believe they literally named it “Unobtainium”.

[@BWMagus]

What's funnier is that Unobtainium is a real, trademarked thing. It's the rubber Oakley uses on it's glasses and goggles and probably other shit.

[@MNewsTime]

What’s worse this or Star Wars’ Way finder

[@dzalva1434]

What about "Batmanium"?

[@MNewsTime]

@@dzalva1434 Damn is that a real thing

[@pezdispencer113]

To be fairz they didn't obtain it in the end :P

[@David_Bernstein]

"I'm a cheerful optimistic soul that tries to see the very best in everything" - you got me rolling with laughter there, mate

[@josephkemler4488]

😂this is a take on the 'blue peoples 💙 of ancient Scotland/Roman Empire?

[@ccayco]

"The ultimate irony with Avatar is that for all the time and money spent to make this movie in 3D, the story and the characters were still stuck in one dimension." -Mr Pinkett

Artwork by Christopher Cayco Wow, i remember Mr Pinkett’s 3D characters so well... FUCK OFF MR. Pinkshit

[@MrNickPresley]

@ Hold up, hold up! Are you mad, homie? Uh oh, aw naw, somebody mad!

[@alexthompson8977]

The plot is probably simple because it has sequels coming out. Probably in the second movie they will explore the crisis earth is facing and we will see that the military is just trying to make everyone survive

[@mrfauxxx]

Got it. So when the sequels come out a decade later, the first one will transform into a rich story with compelling characters

[@alexthompson8977]

@@mrfauxxx I hear it's coming out 2021

[@electricbayonet2]

James Cameron, 2009: "Hmm...how can a bunch of lizard-birds successfully ambush a fleet of hi-tech aircraft...I've got it! Maybe the gunships don't ever think to look up!" JJ Abrams, 2019: "Hmm...how can the Resistance fleet stand any chance against a fleet of Star Destroyers with Death Star lasers...I've got it! The Star Destroyers don't know which way is up!"

[@morelhunter3966]

Don’t forget riding space horses on the ships hull

[@KingRumar]

Do you suppose the floating rocks were originally and only purposed for the climactic fight rather than some beautiful scenery? I think so.

[@minlow7831]

Up is a hard direction

[@megalodon7916]

The difference here is that even Cameron’s failures are still visually stunning films that can still be enjoyed even if the story is stupid,, while I wouldn’t wipe my ass with the scripts of the Sequel Trilogy films.

[@viscountrainbows6452]

Billion dollar plot contrivances can kiss until spitshined, the darkest part of my black ass! Sad for the brilliant people out there that will never get published by anything more than a literary mag, and these frauds make bank having final battles be decided by villains who are scripted to be daft when the climax music comes on.

[@JChang0114]

Navi: Cheering as the space ships leave. Humans: Radio the USCM, tell them to prepare all the CN-20 for regional saturation. Jake and the Navi: Why does it suddenly smell like bitter almonds?

[@abbaszaidi8371]

“Let’s nuke the site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure”

[@juliovictormanuelschaeffer8370]

The Imperium of Man approves.

[@juliovictormanuelschaeffer8370]

@Brian Prior tell that to the Mobile Infantry!

[@besteger]

You don't even need to work that hard. Push asteroids towards the planet. Bonus: Meteor craters easily convert into initial mining sites.

[@juliovictormanuelschaeffer8370]

@@besteger I agree. The Orks from 40k (mind you, the most belittled race in that setting) are pretty much masters in plucking asteroids and using them as mines or as hand-made ships. If those guys can make it despite being "stupid", then so could the humans from Avatar!

[@bananasmatter1321]

I remember going to the premier of this with my sister and some of her friends. 3D glasses, sketchy seats, because the room was full, but I was still mind-blown with the visuals. I can't remember a single detail of the story, nor even the characters for that matter. Just that it looked amazing. I think that's what made it so big. For a 2009 eye, it was the most spectacular thing ever. Kids these days will never understand.

[@JamieZero7]

And that's the only people that liked it was kids. I liked the effects and 3D glasses. But failed at paying attention to the plot. Or simply too young to understand that this movie troupe has been done to death. With B movie-level acting and characters.

[@jaredlapierre1304]

nowadays movie look better and realer with way less of a budget. go figure. but, dated graphics don't make movies or games bad it just shows whether or not it was all novelty or not

[@frododododo]

The hate for this movie blows my mind. Objectively it's a good movie. It's okay to not like it, but literally objectively it is a good movie

[@Ori385]

@@frododododo how?

[@coolbugfacts1234]

I wouldn't brag about having such a smooth brain. But it's okay, we all can be saved by Eywa metaphorically. Even if you possess very lacking critical thinking skills

[@danielkover7157]

"Box office revenue doesn't mean a film is objectively good." This reminds me of what someone else said about books. He said "best-sellers" are called best-sellers for a reason; "best-seller" does NOT mean best writing. Just look at Sparkly Vampire Story.

[@shiranuiaensland1442]

Video game sales are probably the most reliable.

[@ataketesamuel9542]

Or Harry potter

[@silashurd3597]

Kinda like how Suicide Squad (2016) was a box office success While The Suicide Squad (2021) was as box office disappointment… Somehow (Disclaimer: I don’t hate the 2016 suicide squad, but I thought it’s a good example of not too great movies getting success while great movies disappoint)

[@shiranuiaensland1442]

@@silashurd3597 Likely due to the pandemic.

[@silashurd3597]

@@shiranuiaensland1442 probably.

[@britking]

Avatar was beautiful--the best 3D IMAX experience I've ever had at the cinema. Story? Acting? I don't remember any of that. But Cameron did a great job creating that setting.

[@techman2553]

That 3D bioluminescent world absolutely blew me away. I recognized that the story was very predicable and the characters were flat, but I didn't care. That movie had such an effect on me that I almost got into a car accident on the way home. After 2.5 hours of being immersed in the 3D chaos that was rushing towards me, the sight of a pair of brake lights closing fast didn't seem that concerning. I've never had my sense of reality altered that much before, or since.

[@frankcastle9691]

Dances with aliens.

[@tinymetaltrees]

🎯 There was a guy in a big robot suit fighting a giant blue alien riding a dragon in 3D IMAX. ✅I guess🤷‍♂️ An almost fun, sometimes pretty, horribly stupid movie. I’ve never watched it flat. Why bother?

[@Germanicus-]

It was a fantastic movie.

[@Chavez_Soria]

The landscape designs were stolen off of artwork that Roger Dean made for the band yes

[@ibeamy]

I remember the year 2009. Everyone I know liked the movie purely for the special effects. Which at the time were great.

[@Flaris]

Yeah, that's basically it. I don't remember anyone I knew loving it because the story was original or anything. The visual effects were really good. That was it.

[@nolij7765]

Yeah, the effects were awesome. Plus it had guns, ships, aliens, explosions, and epic music. Of course people liked it. I like Adam Sandler movies too. It doesn't need to be groundbreaking or objectively "great" to be a fun movie.

[@rafamize7068]

Me who loved the movie for the story .,.

[@noxturne16]

Yeah i remember feeling really let down when i watched it because it looks amazing, but it’s so fucking boring story wise

[@randomly_random_0]

even still today no movie comes close to Avatar's CGI. most movies today (even those popular big budget like MCU) has a cartoonish CGI.

[@brandonbriggs8098]

I appreciated the district 9 call out. I recently watched that movie and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like sci-fi alien movies I recommend you watch it.

[@artnull13]

Don’t forget the fact that it was the “first 3D” movie that kicked off the 3D fad in the 2000’s, and the Ultra-realistic CGI world was a major selling point for people to see the film.

[@gustavotriqui]

This is the right answer. At the time, it looked like it was going to be the "first" of the "new way to do cinema". Missing this would be like missing "The Jazz Singer." Then reality came, and it happens to be that 3D isn't really that cool.

[@artnull13]

L6915 - undoubtedly - The Last Jedi is the ultimate example

[@dtkedtyjrtyj]

I remember thinking: "Eh, looks like game graphics." I didn't watch it in 3d movies though, but a tv screen once it was avalable. Might have been impressive in a theatre.

[@artnull13]

@@dtkedtyjrtyj - I remember watching in 3D in the theatre, wasn’t too impressed - looked like pop out characters in a box, did think the CGI was pretty good though.

[@docdamnij]

I don't know anyone who went to watch this movie expecting an interresting story. It was a 3D visual spectacle, nothing more. When me and my friends left the cinema afterwards we were all like: "Yeah, ok. Looked nice." We weren't disappointed, but there was just nothing really to talk about. As expected.

[@darthhodges]

I like the way my wife describes Neyteri's relationship arc with Sully: "I hate you, you're stupid and your people are hurting my world." "Actually you're pretty attractive so I think I love you now." "Your people destroyed my home and killed my father! I hate you!" "Oh you caught a really big bird. I love you again."

[@SixSioux]

If I were a psychologist, I would give some serious toxic relationship red alerts :V

[@redpillnibbler4423]

So the moral of the story is ; Catch a bird to lay a chick 👍

[@LørneBlaq]

@@redpillnibbler4423now that deserves a like

[@bosspoke]

Actually to me it makes a lot of sense. At first she is deeply scarred by having lost her sister to the humans and so have developed a distrust as well as disdain for them which she projects unto Jake. Eywa starts planting the seeds of doubt into her, and she starts seeing his willingness to learn and his bravery which is indeed attractive. Then she loses her home and her father, feel betrayed by Jake for obviously playing a part, and in the moment would feel strong emotions which she cannot control. Lastly when she has been given some time to calm down, and not in an emotional outburst, Jake pulls off a very ballzy move and really puts in effort to show where his allegiance lie. He proves his value and bravery once again, and wins back the trust. He's resilient, strong-willed, brave, and he develops an open-mind as well as a more compassionate heart through the cource of the film.

[@VTuber_Central]

oh you mean how the western propaganda of the ethnic girl can't resist the white man eg james bond and agent X despite bond killed her lover and red corner where a chinese girl half richard gere's age can't resist him frenching him despite asian culture is conservative and she's engaged but somehow its the chinese government accused of no justice (racist) or every fking american/western movie eg a-team movie, generals wife cheats on him and bangs white american protagonist who after winning a gun fight lets her go.....go where you have no husband now lol. Your point at the "arc" proves its MORE offensive then the plight of a native culture being destroyed

[@bool8705]

"That's the plot for Pocahontas aliens while Saving Private Ryan from 9/11." That's something I thought I'd never hear.

[@garrettperman3200]

I am an Avatar defender and that argument never made sense to me. The Dances with Ferngully or Pocahontas aliens while Saving Private Ryan from 9/11 thing states in the complaint that LOTS of movies have similar story lines. You just listed a ton. It is more about how the story is told and he says it in the first couple moments of this video. Cameron tells the story well. It isn't a great story but it is a spectacular experience.

[@JDelwynn]

@@garrettperman3200 The problem here is that all those things have been done before, just better. It's a really nothing movie, overlong, preachy, and unimaginative. One defence for Avatar I always hear is the 3D, but if that's the only real good thing about the movie it fails in my book. I don't understand why it was so popular, and never will.

[@Degrelecence]

@@JDelwynn "and never will" Then you aren't really a part of the conversation. You are stating clearly your opinion won't ever change. So you aren't worth talking to about this. By calling the movie 'preachy' you've made it religious or political or something in your head and now you have nothing but hate. Then you go on to ignore the entire point I just made by then calling it 'unimaginative.' Very safe to say you aren't judging the movie on its own merits. Ignorant hatred aside, it is actually an incredibly well presented movie. Yes, the 3D is the best ever and best since, but moreover it is engrossing, imaginative, and exciting. You are experiencing an alien world up close. And the attention to detail (naming of plants, songs they created, language, dance, how the technology works, etc) is one of the most immersive experiences of all time. It isn't the first movie to tell us to save the forests, but that isn't really the point. The point is watching them catch a giant alien hark and ride it in to battle. If you can't get past one element of the movie... Well, I am guessing you hate almost all movies. I haven't encountered a single movie that didn't have even one thing I didn't like.

[@ideal2472]

Jake is also the alien big bird riding Messiah lets not forget.

[@davidschneider9145]

@Degrelegence You may be right. But it still doesn’t deserve to be this popular since it isn’t the best in any way. If I want to watch a good movie that keeps me entertained for two and a half hours, I go watch a Tarantino movie

[@a.s.raiyan2003-4]

That joke about Rodriguez having only roles of a gun shooting Sarah Connor is actually spot on.

[@Aldini_to]

how come they never cast her as that

[@IrishBelmont]

“And that’s the plot for dances with Fern Gully Pocahontas aliens while Saving Private Ryan from 9/11” OMG 😂😂

[@tigerchillyable]

I know 😭😭😭😭😭😭🤣🤣😂🤣😅🤣😂😜😜😜

[@dylansmith5206]

Still, why would you copy off Fern Gully and Disney's Pocahontas?? Those two films suck balls!! And I really think The Drinker should rip those two films apart!!

[@justintrotter4186]

Now that's pontificating!!!😂😂😂

[@nicolassiderakis9113]

LOL

[@iroquoispliskin5956]

Yup, Fern Gully in space🤦

[@johannaldbrecht1594]

Two things: A) Everyone knows deep down that Humankind is coming back for round two. B) You have gotten really good mileage out of Tyrion vomiting. I support this endeavor.

[@MrLolguy93]

PURGING INTENSIFIES

[@iraqifoodcart8447]

It's because he knows when to use it

[@MultiCommissar]

They're sending Astartes.

[@theenterpriselab9401]

Surprise! It's orbital bombardment time!

[@rileydunn75]

@Grenzer 23 FOR THE EMPEROR

[@wattotoydarian9376]

"Avatar is all about surface level spectacle and shallow emotion, dazzling the viewer with grand visuals but failing to deliver anything deeper that's worth reflecting on". Avatar? You just described Hollywood to a T!

[@20thcentury_toy]

Yeah I think he has some personal grudge against avatar because almost every of his critics could be applied to most movies this days, Imo the movie is not great, it has a lot of wasted potential but calling it a garbage fire is a overstatement

[@dionysus1917]

*I'm a big fan of the drinker, and have watched and agreed with ALL of his videos. But he's drastically wrong with his main gripe against Avatar,* in presuming that it's story is a Cookie-Cutter Rip-Off Version of other "White Saviour", "Dances With Wolves", and "Pocahontas movies". *Hear me out!!:* Drinker's Criticism of Avatar being an over-used metaphor for the Native-American-Indian Genocide is not unique, and was the main Gripe by most Critics when the Movie was released. But I disagree. *Instead, Avatar, more accurately depicts the much-neglected historical Genocide and Oppression of West Europe, by Roman/Catholic Imperialism. SIMILARLY TO THE NAAVI, the Gauls were Pagans (which literally translates to Country-Dwelling people), who lived in small tribes, very much in accordance with nature, and were considered to be Blonde-Haired Horse-Riding Giants by the comparatively smaller Brown-Haired Romans.* *According to Roman Historian Tacitus and Ceaser himself, they would all bath naked together in the rivers, and were generally ALL virgins until the age of 20+, after which they were completely monogomous (except sometimes the nobles who were allowed Polygamy on account of their rank). And I quote:* "The young men are slow to mate, and reach manhood with unimpaired vigour. Nor are the virgins hurried into marriage. Being as old and as tall as the men, they are equal to their mates in age and strength, and the children inherit the robustness of their parents. Life is all in hunting and military exercise. From childhood they train for labor and hardship. They have great praise among them for those who remain longest without sexual experience. Some think this makes for height, muscle, and strength. Indeed to have had knowledge of a woman before age twenty they think very shameful, and there is no hiding it." The entire religion centred around Reincarnation, The Placenta, and Trees. *SIMILARLY TO THE NAAVI,,* they believed in reincarnation and during the initiation festival of Yuletide (aka Haloween-Christmas) the young members of each tribe had the chance to regain their past Hamingja/honour, memories, and possessions. The Naavi is clearly a more magical take on this, where the trees can store human consciousness and communicate with the forest, but the parallels are clearly there. Under Ceaser & the following Roman Emperors/Popes, unknown millions of innocents were massacred. It first began with Ceaser (who against the will of the Senate, and in apparent self-defence) slaughtered his way through Gaul. *Similarly to the Human-Antagonists of "Avatar", the main purpose of these genocides were to acquire Wealth & Resources, via Taxation and the looting of all of the (relatively untapped) Gold Mines in Gaul, which could be used to pay back Ceaser's many debtors. Gaius Julius Ceaser and Octavian indeed masters of propaganda, and hence today there are very little reliable non-bias sources about their reigns (or about the great Carthaginian Empire which existed not long before them), but it's unquestionable that despite how good they may've been for Rome - the Emperors were disastrous for the Pagan populations of Western Europe. *When looking at a Character like Jake-Sully, his character aligns far, far more with the Roman General "Arminius",* than that of the Male Leads in Pocahontas or Dances with Wolves, who lead no great rebellion or are taught to worship nature quite in the same way. For example, when Arminius went to oversee the occupation of Gaul and their taxation and looting of the gold mines, he slowly began hating the Roman's for their destructive greed and ignorance. Anyway, long story short - he ended up switching sides - uniting the Gaulic tribes and delivering the Roman Empire one of it's worst ever defeats @ the massacre known as "The Battle of Teutoburg Forest". *Lastly, the most potent clarification that the movie is referring to the Oppression and Genocide of Pagan Europe (and not the Native Indians), would be the destruction of the World Tree.* From Donars Oak in Gaul, to Temple at Uppsala in Sweden, to the Irminsul in Germany - the Roman/Christian Occupiers would always attempt to destroy ALL Pagan Temples, especially the most large & monumental ones. Apart from depriving the natives of their temples, these acts of destruction also served as a symbol of disrespect, contempt, domination, and conquest over the local natives - and after destroying their Temples, they would build a Church in its place. *All this goes to say, that there is arguably no other symbolic act more representative of the 1000 year-long war against Pagan Europe, than the destruction of the World Tree.* *With the above points and Cultural Context taken into consideration, James Cameron ultimately delivered a powerful, magical, and unique retelling of an ancient, and long-forgotten conflict. Personally, I went along to the Cinema with separate family/friends on 3 different occasions, to experience the REVOLUTIONARY 3D-Hype together, and it was an epic viewing experience that I would've given a 8/10. But as with all CGI-intense movies, it doesn't look nearly as good outside of a cinema, and will likely age badly. The generically wooden acting and super-long screentime also makes it a definite when it comes to rewatching. But the first-viewings were really immersive and entertaining.*

[@aaronburton3289]

Dionysus holy shit man Dionysus makes sense you’d of had to be drinking a ton to be able to sit down and right all that. Phew! Respect.

[@riftvallance2087]

@@dionysus1917 You need to post that on the general comments. That's a Brilliant take.

[@dionysus1917]

@@riftvallance2087 Cheers mate. I'm an avid history buff, and ALL the critics were saying the same as the Drinker when this movie came out. I can understand why they would dislike it though, if you presume that it's making a HUUUGE leap in mental gymnastics, to associate Naavi with Native American Indians. But the Naavi's story is very similar to that of the ancient Gauls tbh.

[@wurutana]

At the Avatar premiere in Tokyo, they gave packs of tissues to the guests because they expected us to cry. James Cameron used the word "journey" about 20 times during his intro speech before the film started.

[@marthvader14]

Did you cry?

[@organikness]

@@marthvader14 * *crickets* * * *tumbleweeds* *

[@Crunch_Buttsteak]

@@marthvader14 he cried. And at the end credits they played "Don't Stop Believin" by Journey

[@Bvggerffpls]

Funny, I remember catching my dad tearing up after Hometree was destroyed

[@rumblebird9888]

Lame, they should've played "Who's crying now" by Journey

[@Guigley]

It became the highest-grossing film of all time because it gave us the feeling of being transported to another world like nothing since "The Lord of the Rings."

[@nagolici3206]

exactly, when i left theater i had strange feeling about this concrete jungle around me... avatar world really sucked me in

[@cinemapigeon4898]

It was possibly the most immersive visual spectacle ever put to film. Best use of 3D in a movie in my opinion. There was a thing called post Avatar depression, tons of articles written about it, news segments, etc... You the audience member wanted to live in that world. Now of course if you watched Avatar on a 14 inch MacBook, you might not feel the same, but if you saw it the way it's supposed to be seen, on the biggest and best theater you can go to, it was an incredible experience. Avatar 2 will easily do the same.

[@lumilight4242]

Studio Ghibli being there like:

[@KC_Smooth]

Yeah I agree. You weren’t supposed to think too hard. Just enjoy the world. Seeing this in 3-d blew my mind.

[@holyshit7959]

And because it was re-released a lot of times.

[@azarferrari890]

Avatar's sequel, the only thing to take longer than Brexit

[@elliotdb6535]

Here before this comment blows up

[@neoqueto]

Longer than Covid vaccine, longer than Cyberpunk 2077, longer than James Webb telescope, someone already mentioned HL3, the list goes all the way to heat death of the universe

[@addisonchow9798]

As long as Yandere similator

[@menschman1464]

And there’s still three more avatar sequels planned to come out after it lol

[@pilkers2]

Longer than the Fnaf movie

[@lastguyminn2324]

I can't begin to imagine how Cameron can get four sequels out of this concept. There should be one 10-minute sequel where the humans leave Pandora and nuke the site from orbit...it's the only way to be sure.

[@KneeoGeeo]

Bet youre a star wars fan

[@CJT02]

@@KneeoGeeo He meant Aliens my man

[@IAQMas]

@@KneeoGeeo I bet Warhammer 40K

[@ANWRocketMan]

The concept has SO MUCH DEPTH to it but they screwed it all up with the first movie. Imagine if from the start they established multiple corporations trying to vie for control and rival tribes of Na'vi with their own interests fighting each other. They literally only needed to open a history book to get an idea of how much depth there could be to this sort of story but... instead we ended up with this shit. Imagine how tense it would have been if a character (like Jake) was sent there and duringinteraction and research on the Na'vi did develop romantic inclinations towards a Na'vi and the challenges that would come from such an inter-species (inter-ecological 'relationship') would entail. Just from communication to vastly differing biology and perhaps the Na'vi romantic interest doesn;t reconcile, because, maybe their physiology doesn't even include this sort of human pair bonding. The possibilities WERE endless.

[@GreenKnight2001]

Nah, even if you nuke the site, someone will make a bad sequel. Then reboot it, years later, and call it... PROMETHEUS!

[@Mrhalligan39]

This movie needed about 3 minutes more of Giovanni Ribisi explaining that “Unobtainium” was critical for human expansion and the restoration of Earth. Honestly, raising the stakes from “loot the blue people’s planet for the lulz” to “it’s literally a question of their survival or ours” would have made the movie something other than “Dances with Wolves…IN SPAAAAACE!”

[@sebastianrubin7476]

Yep. And the very specter of it is probably why they switched tracks to hunting sapient whales in a scene of torture-porn worthy of any slasher flick. No ambiguity when it's rich douchebags wanting to live forever, unlike a concerted effort to solve an energy crisis and possibly restore Gaia.

[@danielbeck9367]

Nah.... in our capitalistic world, having a stuff that does electrical magic and would be worth the price would be attractive for every mayor company. Can imagine "TSMC" and "xiaomi" battleships fighting for the mining spot way better than "the world need the new stuff because.... survival...."

[@ElectricAlien577]

In reality, we do the exact same stuff purely for profit. Profit is the only motivator the villains need. It's honestly incredibly realistic.

[@Mrhalligan39]

@@ElectricAlien577 In both movies, the motivations given for such deep evil are so threadbare that they both seem more like cheap propaganda with really good CGI instead of compelling stories with multilayered conflict. Stephen Lang May as well be twirling a Snidely Whiplash mustache.

[@ElectricAlien577]

@@Mrhalligan39 Profit is the motivation that was presented. That is the only motivation needed for an average corporation to carry out atrocities. The profit motive leads directly to horrific atrocities every day.

[@tomadam3315]

It always pissed me off that Jake never actually once asked the Navi or negotiated with them about the unobtainiam. That was literally his task and he never explained it to them. Soo poorly written.

[@chasm671]

Too busy tapping that blue ass.

[@ElessarMMA]

@@chasm671 Can you really blame him? It was obvious he had a furry fetish.

[@jessicageerligs339]

You live on a dying world with a chance to survive busting up some primative aliens. You're doing it......dont care how morally strong we think we are. Had the movie explored more of humanities desperation we would have had a better picture. And whats with the natives always being so utopian?. We know they'd of had cultural issues worth looking at.

[@chasm671]

@@jessicageerligs339 The fact that they had such a strong warrior class in their society was kind of glossed over. You know what warriors are mostly used for? Wars.

[@Thane36425]

@@chasm671 In some of the additional material it did seem that the tribes would fight each other some times. It said they had weapons other than bows as well as shields. You don't really need shields for hunting, not when you could use bows.

[@daverobson3084]

The idea of utilizing the "avatars" would have been interesting and believable if this was a " first contact" movie instead of a " let's take all the resource" movie.

[@Vaasref]

That's the point. The first contact people, the scientist faction, failed to deliver on making the navi let the corps mine. Hence why they have no more local political juice to do anything. When Jake arrived his confidence and new freedom of movement made him prone and able to not die one he strayed outside the tight leash that is the little protection the corporate paramilitary still provide. That's the reason why he singlehandedly made that much progress with the navi, because his survival instinct made him relatable to the navi. The jellyfish seed plot device not really subtle, but it sets the stage for the later animal vs corporate security showdown. The drinker is not wrong on many points. But other than plot some convenience and using plot pattern found in other work, there is not much to say. The world building is really good, even the floating islands makes sense since the room temperature superconductor means that the ground is diamagnetic and make the island that are probably big magnets float. And that would be why the electronic is jammed. Forcing the corporate security to rely on low tech armament since they are a corporate security and not have the R&D for custom built missiles guidance just for big birds. And that is also why they use un armored mechs made for earth. Because they are just of the self armament. And they did achieved to cram all that world building into a (admittedly long) movie. That's something ! The video game share the same plot, almost to the letter. But allow for choosing the side. And there you see that most of the foundation of the world-building is mentioned in the movies.

[@sharpfang]

@@Vaasref Yep. The scientists are to provide the corpos plausible deniability of "We're working with the natives, seeking peaceful solutions", an excuse and good PR.

[@fastertrackcreative]

That's generally what happens when those with power go to new places. See: origin of America, British Empire.

[@DiggitySlice]

@@fastertrackcreative you think the pilgrims were "those in power"?

[@minecraft-nq7qm]

@@DiggitySlice but should they have been the ones to rise to power? Look at israel right now same story-ish.

[@YouOnlyIiveTwice]

Avatar 2 plot: Humans find an even more valuable resource on Pandora called 'Unaffordium" and fight the natives once more. THE END

[@scottmantooth8785]

*cantouchium...one of the elusive elements in the middle of the periodic tables theoretical islands of stability*

[@jonathanwells223]

Contrivium

[@Khristos13]

Avatar 7: Blue Lives Matter

[@mansn3150]

Plotdeviceium

[@markwilliams8369]

No! You’ve given away the plot, I’ll be disappointed when I go to see it, if I’m still alive when it premieres

[@Droid3455]

When I was 8 years old I watched this movie on the big screen, and the visuals, sound design, and epic action scenes left me utterly amazed. It was one of my earliest movie experiences, so those aspects of the film are the only things I vividly remember.

[@TheFilthyCringer]

Avatar 2. Yes that film that's been coming out for like 10 years and whenever you forget it is a thing yet another article, comment or story pops up about how it's coming. I for one don't really want it and would find it much funnier if Avatar 2 just became the film that was perpetually "Coming soon" until the end of time.

[@handsomebrick]

Every single year since 2009 it's supposedly been only two years away.

[@LordofSadFac]

The Duke Nukem Forever of cinema

[@geoffrobinson]

Like Chinese Democracy GnR album

[@primexon]

@@LordofSadFac More like Half-Life 3

[@thejamesbondshowwithkrazyk4581]

Well I've got news for You!! There's 3 coming !!

[@davidconway6874]

Glad you brought up District 9 as a comparison. Almost the same story but told in a vastly more compelling way.

[@OBtheamazing]

exactly, and instead of mining their world for resources. they were literally mining their species for biotechnology. that shit is fucked up

[@wrongthinkgeek1702]

Drinker: *Shows Andy Dufresne and Red* "And really good films don't make any." I felt that in my soul! It's a tragedy that Shawshank Redemption never got the money and recognition it actually deserved when it was released.

[@williamnoll7935]

Family Guy had a pretty good parody of it

[@gc3k]

The theater run was horribly marketed. It still was a big hit on cable TV and home video

[@marcwilding4804]

But it stands the test of time and that also matters...

[@extrasalt9053]

I only saw the film 1 time about 10 years ago and I still remember most of what happened in the movie, that's how good it was.

[@NightMotorcyclist]

Hopefully this woke bullcr-p will up and vanish like a fart in the wind.

[@mouseshadow-f5k]

They can grow an alien body, set up wifi for it, and create an easy interface. Then the VA was unable to toss a few splice cells in his spine?

[@modaljazz59]

James Cameron is staring at you, SEEing you, and telling you, I'm sorry, the next 156 minutes of your life are going to be.........so-so

[@manpreetnehra5320]

Watching this movie was like watching a Indian (Bollywood) romantic movie its exactly the standard plot of all of them. 1. Hero meets Heroine 2. He has change of heart 3. He betrays his own people for love and etc.. etc.. 4. And always a happy ending.

[@KirbyLinkACW]

Only thing missing is the music.

[@infinitespace2520]

@@KirbyLinkACW The goddamn flute and sitar music

[@infinitespace2520]

@@luxinvictus9018 Yes, that is true. But I was just making a joke about how bad Bollywood music sometimes is.

[@zemo5218]

@@infinitespace2520 you are absolutely correct the bollywood music music is cingey as fucked and the love stories make no sense the fight have no phisyics hell hollywood has a reason for their action movies but bollywood is like boom this guy has the power of god himself

[@John_on_the_mountain]

@@infinitespace2520 bollywood music from the 70s and 80s is really dope

[@Hayne64]

Damn, this made me imagine how awesome it would have been to have the final battle be between Jake and a sympathetic villain who is truly trying to save humanity. We could have had some awesome lines between the two, with the villain trying to remind Jake that by killing his own military, he is essentially killing humanity's only chance of survival. That would have been some seriously powerful stuff, but then I guess the audience would have sided with the human military and god knows we can't have that, right Hollywood?

[@asurmenhandofasuryan4610]

We can't have people siding with natives defending themselves either apparently

[@volrag]

Every time I hear Navi, a little voice in my head says "hey, listen!"

[@ruthiehenshallfan99]

"Hello!" "Watch out!"

[@victorbruant389]

Hey! Hey! Hey! Listen! Hey!

[@ruthiehenshallfan99]

Look!

[@dr.calibrations7984]

"THERE!" Ah good ol' Navi... PLEASE SHUT THE FUCK UP!!

[@joekerr2348]

Oh it's true....everytime.

[@SirFlukealot]

The jellyfish saying 'nah, it'll be fine' fucking broke me 🤣

[@christmas_eve.]

It was the greatest visual IMAX 3D movie in history. James concentrated on the technology not on the story.

[@dfo990]

i also got this, he really gather other movies already effective plot resources and mixed it to ensure the movie will have an average happy plot, then focus all the work time on the visuals of the movie. the release of an technological masterpiece were clearly the main objetive of this movie in particular and at this field it really is an absolute success, this movie is 12 years old and it's cgi and effects is equal or superior to avengers last movies..

[@officialpennsyjoe]

Like the Michael Bay Transformers films.

[@alistairbolden6340]

Beowolf was released around the same time and was a much better movie. Both visuals and story.

[@mayoite160]

at least he wasn't actively 'subverting expectations' unlike a few others i could name, and that was good enough to hit the billion mark

[@francisabellana445]

Hopefully the story gets better in Avatar 2

[@crimefightinghamster]

"Dances with Fern gully Pocahontas aliens while saving private Ryan from 9/11" Perfect description!

[@ciaranearlie]

The greatest sentence Ive ever heard..!

[@eunoiavision7567]

I was looking in the comments for someone to have quoted this line so I wouldn't have to. Thanks.

[@dickbaum9137]

That’s way fucking funnier than it should be

[@jacopoabbruscato9271]

I dream of an Avatar 2 where humans show up again with more serious firepower and start clapping alien cheeks left and right because they are out of options back on Earth and it turned into a legit struggle for survival.

[@MichaelWhitworth_DxD]

Literally bomb them from orbit, done...If Humanity was on verge of extinction then you know we'd destroy the natives in a heartbeat. Jake only had to take down two big ships and a bunch of smaller one. Imagine what our militaries have back on earth.

[@boodtwo4342]

Ya like the Navi would last five minutes against a full on honest to goodness air strike

[@ColoradoStreaming]

Yeah, you know its going to end up with some cheesy White bad guy who wants to take all the resources but a Black protagonist is going to save the day and have the whole thing turn into some kind of White Guilt circle jerk.

[@itzmrinyy7484]

wouldn't that be a War of The Planet of The Apes knockoff?

[@deazl666]

@@boodtwo4342 Which is exactly what the Viet Cong did.

[@justadude-2275]

The reason why Avatar is so loved is because of how incredibly unique and amazing the world of Pandora was. Now yes the story was simple, but the visuals of the movie help tell the story in the most cinematic way possible. The unique landscapes of Pandora in such awe. A movie can have a great and unique story, but you need the visuals of the movie needs to tell that story and that is what James Cameron is able to do.

[@jeremybeavon4476]

I'm guessing you're not one of the people who wanted to go to New Zealand where Avatar was filmed and produced to find the literal locations where it was shot. 😀 Someone actually needed to tell some people that nowhere in New Zealand looks like Pandora.

[@adbylsh2756]

Exactly this is one of these rare movies where the simple plot is actually enjoyable

[@800Ms-k6n]

Idk why people complain the story being so simple. Since when a James Cameron movie is extremely complex with an Albert Einstein IQ story on the page?? People seemed to forgot about Titanic huh and how simple the story was, a sinking ship with a Romeo and Juliet tone to it, yeah weird how simple is now a bad thing when it's not

[@klh768]

It's a horrible movie. I just watched it after about 10 years. Good lord it's bad.

[@captainhowlerwilson508]

@@800Ms-k6nThe problem is the story was generic and not original in anyway. Even simple stories can still be original and compelling and Avatar just wasn’t that.

[@MisterMonsterMan]

Its amazing how small of an impact Avatar has on pop culture despite the fact it has one of the highest box office totals ever.

[@thefilthyrhombus3856]

I respectfully disagree. Avatar has had a huge impact on pop culture, just not in a direct way like Star Wars or Back to the Future. No, Avatar 's impact is actually fairly seditious. As it is the financial success comes as no surprise when looking through a macro-lens. Pretty much every major movie studio had a vested interest in not just the film being a success but a monumental success, in fact I'd wager that shenanigans ensued that pretty much garaunteed it would be the top grossing movie. You see thanks to Avatar and its, "revolutionary 3D technology," studios could now increase ticket prices anywhere from 3 to 6 dollars. All a studio had to do if it wanted an extra 200 to 400 million at the box office is just slap a cheap 3D conversion on their finished movie and bam! ticket prices are now 30% higher. All that was left was to gradually increase regular ticket prices as well and within three years of artificial inflation the average ticket price jumped from 8$ to 12$. Unfortunately for the studios their greed (combined with a lack of foresight) would eventually catch up with them as more and more people would abandon the theaters for streaming services. In conclusion you are absolutely correct about Avatar's direct influence on pop culture, I can't think of anyone who can quote that movie or would ever watch it all the way through on TV, however when the dust finally settles on the streaming wars I genuinely believe that we'll look back at Avatar as the precursor to it all. Sorry for the long reply, I greatly appreciate it if you read the whole thing. Have a good'n!

[@redharrison894]

@@thefilthyrhombus3856 James Cameron is a bigger franchise than Star Wars and Lord of the Rings combined James Cameron is the only director that could direct an original movie instead of sequels and earn billions at box office!

[@thefilthyrhombus3856]

@@redharrison894 Yeah, there's no way that's true. Star Wars as a brand sold for 4 billion for George Lucas it's original creator, and even after Disney's/Kathleen Kennedy's bungling of the property it would still sell for at least 2 1/2 billion. The Terminator franchise on the other hand can't be given away at this point. Also some of the main reasons Cameron can direct original movies is because of his success with sequels such as Aliens and Terminator 2. I suppose you could technically say Titanic is original, but you can't deny that it being a significant (or at the very least popularized) historical event as well as having pg-13 boobies didn't contribute to it's success. Another thing to consider is what would the overall take had been for Avatar had the studio not jacked up the ticket prices? I'm not knocking Cameron's overall talent, he's done amazing things and displayed incredible filmmaking and story telling abilities. Nor really am I even disagreeing on his ability to make a billion dollar original movie that isn't a sequel, however we'll unfortunately never know now because it's very likely the only movies Cameron directs from here on out are going to be Avatar sequels.

[@theblackflame4002]

It was the hype, people flocked to see what the noise was about. Just because they spent didn't mean they liked it. 50 shades of grey is another example sold millions because the lemmings were told they should read it. You'll never find a more poorly written mainstream published book.

[@deathsheadknight2137]

@@theblackflame4002 not even twilight?

[@EveryFairyDies]

This movie was so huge because of its visuals, which the studio hyped up HUGELY. There was constant discussion of how James Cameron was pioneering this new way of filming in 3D, which is where the misunderstanding happened. The studio heard "he's filming in 3D", latched onto this idea, and advertised it as a 3D movie, which it wasn't. When it was first released, audiences were pissed because it wasn't 3D so Cameron had to reprocess the film to be 3D and require special glasses to watch. This was the first 3D film in decades, so it felt like a new-ish format. Previous 3D movies were obvious gimmicks which never really looked good or real. When Cameron said he was filming in 3D, he was referring to how he used the cameras. It was a TECHNICAL 3D. And this was the first motion-capture movie. Computer graphics and computer animation up until this point had been pretty piss-poor in its creation of human-like creatures. Dinosaurs, sure, easy. Something humanoid? So obviously fake and terrible. This was the first movie which showed how computer animation mixed with human movement could create all kinds of believable worlds that didn't look fake. That's what made it so huge. Audiences now are so overfed with motion capture films now that they've forgotten or weren't around before this was available. Otherwise, no one said the story was super-original or interesting. They watched it for the prettiness, not the story. Not that anyone's gonna read all this.

[@ultraken]

I did! 😁

[@kayka5090]

I did. Nicely put. Thx.

[@qaphelanizuma2441]

I read it all

[@Kevin-vl9bo]

was looking for this because I remember the big craze was it was 3d, that's what I remember what the hype was

[@gabrielcastaneda9700]

Wasn’t this the movie that took three d from the blue red paper glasses to the new black real d

[@TheFlackbaume]

You are right about everything, but credit where credit is due: The technology involved (and partially developed for this movie) like the Fusion Camera System and facial expression capturing were amazing back then. If Hollywood had decided to use this technology and built upon it instead of cheaply stuffing 3D as an after-effect into every movie that had nothing to gain from it the moviegoers would not be fed up with it by now.

[@innercynic2784]

3D was always the gimmick it was.

[@robertcunningham1695]

@@innercynic2784 It will remain a gimmick until it doesn't need a personal device, e.g. glasses, to work. When you can go and just sit down and the screen actually projects a 3D image it'll be pretty fucking amazing though.

[@JAnx01]

@@robertcunningham1695 It will need to do a lot more than "project a 3D image without sunglasses". I don't even understand what your problem with sunglasses is. The real problem with 3D is that it was absolute garbage. Usually less than 5 minutes out of a 2 hour film was usually done right, which means the scenes that had actual 3D content in them were very labour intense and expensive to make. For the rest of the film, enjoy your 3D subtitles. It was also misunderstood by the filmmakers, otherwise they wouldn't have been shoving as much nausea-inducing motion blur and depth of field blur down our throats.

[@robertcunningham1695]

@@JAnx01 I wear glasses for one thing, and don't want to have to put in my contacts just to comfortably see a movie. Otherwise I don't disagree with anything you said.

[@TheFlackbaume]

@@JAnx01 Yeah, the problem is (was) the perception of 3D being just another selling point for distributors instead of the tool it could have been. Of course, it is a gimmick, but so is computer-assisted effects work. Good effects do not make a bad movie good but a good movie better. And for our glasses-wearing friends: There should definitely be some device you could just plug to your glasses (you only need these two foils after all) instead of the clunky sunglasses. It looks like 3D is dead for now, but it will come back again in a decade or two. Maybe they don't fuck it up again then.

[@MachiriReviews]

Avatar is a great movie. Yeah the story and characters are super simple but it's all very well put together for what it is. Plus the visuals are super detailed and incredible. Also at 8:00 Grace kinda explains what's going on beforehand, that the planet has a neurological network that connects everything to it. Jake and Neytiri also visit a forest of trees where natives "upload" their memories to the network. So it isn't like this ritual comes from nowhere, there's a significant amount of context as to how this is happening.

[@pepitoculazo665]

yess i just feel this guy didnt catch the essential ideas of the movie. This movie was and is art.

[@electroninja7419]

It’s too simple. That’s why the Visuals carried it. The story is practically non existent with zero nuance.

[@electroninja7419]

@@pepitoculazo665 The CGI is the art. Not the story

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

No. You haven't seen a real movie yet.

[@rashidabegum9206]

"tHe pLoT iS tOo siMpLe" yeah I fucking get it that the plot is simple, but I still love it. Just because a bunch of KZbinrs said the plot is simple doesn't mean you have to shove it to everyone's faces. Just let people have their own fucking opinions.

[@VirtualVernon]

His name is James, James Cameron The bravest pioneer No budget too steep, no sea too deep Who's that? It's him, James Cameron... James, James Cameron explorer of the sea With a dying thirst to be the first Could it be? That's him! James Cameron

[@osets2117]

Has he found the bar yet and raised it?

[@rickandrygel913]

@@osets2117 when a movie with a female lead gave free movie tickets to impoverished young girls, James Cameron for his female lead movie pr stunt gave robot hands to a girl born without hands. So yes, he has raised the bar.

[@osets2117]

@@rickandrygel913 I'm referencing a South Park episode. Didn't know that though, that's really cool

[@midgetydeath]

I sang that to the Spider-Man animated series theme.

[@daboss640]

Didn't he almost drown while filming that underwater movie?

[@taylormelton3088]

The thing is....there’s already a movie that puts an original spin on all the tropes you mentioned....it’s called Princess Mononoke! The settlers/colonizers in Iron Town were sympathetic and likable, and made some valid points. The “peaceful” forest gods protecting the environment could very stubborn, angry, war-like and vengeful. The main savior boy also could be angry, vengeful and even kinda dumb at times. Hell, his own reason for even getting involved was selfishness...he wanted his curse lifted (and just happened to care eventually). But yeah no curse on him? No involvement from Ashitaka lol And the romance between him and San? Well....he actually chooses to stay with the settlers and help rebuild Iron Town, instead of staying with her in the forest (promising just to visit lol). Hell, even San’s wolf brothers and Ashitaka’s reindeer-thing all survive...that’s different...they’re not just useless “sacrifices” like the Rodríguez character in Avatar or even like Hedwig in HP that the writers lost interest in and just killed them off. So yeah there’s more but these are the ones I thought of that took the Avatar-Dances w/ Wolves-Ferngully-Pocahontas tropes and already put more original spins on them. No one in Princess Mononoke was truly evil...every single character could be selfish, greedy, angry, vengeful, mean and misled. There is no savior or devil. Just people (and forest gods lol).

[@7shinta7]

Thanks for mentioning that. The difference in character motivations in these two movies is really outstanding. Only thing is, I don't really think Drinker is into anime that much... ...which is a shame, cause I'd love him to assess the good ones and rip the bad, clicheed ones a new asshole. :D

[@kosmas173]

Prinsces Mononoke is a very nice film, even though I didn't like the conclusion in the end, it felt a little rushed.

[@lepmuhangpa]

@@kosmas173 I thought it was alright, although I kind of get you. It's more of not a conclusion at all and just showing that things go on.

[@lordfrostwind3151]

Princess Mononoke is a great movie. Not gonna lie the little forest spirits creeped me out when I was a kid.

[@szeltovivarsydroxan9944]

"It's as if we all switched off our brains for 2 1/2 hours." Because that's exactly what happened. It's the best 3D film I've ever watched, and we all watched it for that reason. It was a rollercoaster ride. When I tried to rewatch it, I only made it halfway through, before being bored out of my mind and turned the Blu-ray off.

[@nomfundomdluli1544]

I also fell asleep😅😂 halfway thru. I really loved it when it 1st came but i culdnt finish now

[@sidhartha5047]

Exactly its a run of the mill action/special effects movie , it was'nt that horrible and certainly worth watching one time , sometimes i wonder what these uberdorks expect when they see a movie, prolly 90 percent of movies are not going to have epic acting and storytelling

[@paavobergmann4920]

@@sidhartha5047 The political submessage is absolutely horrible. it´s "noble savage"-white supremacy at it´s very finest.

[@sidhartha5047]

@@paavobergmann4920 I agree but everything that comes out of Hollywood since probably the 60's has that same political submessage so i just watch it for the entertainment of an action/3d movie

[@fleebertreatise1063]

@@paavobergmann4920 The political message is that 9/11 happens often to people who resist a big resource rich empire (or just happen to be in their sights). That might be why the tree falling down was kind of close in visual reference to 9/11. And then it follows that there need to be people inside that empire who will resist as well to at least temporarily halt the cycle.

[@juangal7569]

Certainly a guilty pleasure, the visuals, music and atmosphere is a very mesmerizing spectacle to witness you'd get through the characters pretty quickly. What I'm very much hoping The Way of Water is Cameron making the characters more complex, adding their motivations, what makes them, problems that ties in characters, a lot more. Just wish there was more in the first.

[@julius43461]

I don't see how the story can be salvaged, when the entire idea of aliens looking like that is just bonkers. They look like they evolved in Australia, and not on another planet. We have stranger creatures in our oceans on Earth. I wouldn't mind if he just made them giant octopuses on land, and pretended that the first movie didn't exist. Hell, I experience greater culture shock when traveling to Montenegro, than if I were to meet the Navi. Seeing actual aliens on another planet would be an improvement.

[@Flugs0]

@@julius43461 what?

[@julius43461]

@@Flugs0 Apart from the funny part where I typed "Navy" to describe the Navi, what else did I get wrong? You can't go to another planet, and meet human/cat hybrids there. Life is way more imaginative than that. The fact they were lazy and just created them in order to have something resembling a sex scene tells me they really wanted to get the mainstream dummy to like it. I guess the story could be salvaged, if it turns out that long ago humans actually created the Navi, and did so by mixing human with cat DNA. Perhaps a lonely cat lady scientist did that without approval of others. Would be odd, but a decent explanation for aliens looking so similar to us.

[@anteveic327]

@@Flugs0 He says that those blue aliens are too similar to humans, considering the fact that they evolved on another planet and have nothing in common with humans, and l think that's the biggest problem with this movie

[@Flugs0]

@@anteveic327 of course they're too similar too humans, but these are the creatures that the audience is supposed to relate to and feel sympathy for, so obviously using giant tentacle monsters would be a very bad move. but saying that this is the biggest problem with the movie is nothing short of ridiculous.

[@calexander7495]

My favorite part of the movie is that he never even tries to negotiate a way for the company to mine the substance Earth desperately needs before deciding to mount an armed conflict and essentially damn mankind, despite that being the whole reason he's there. You had one job. One job.

[@iamu2247]

Well when you look at it THAT way. 🤔

[@staffakartherma]

Even worse, all his interactions with the Navi are transmitted back to the base camp and no one tells him, "Hey dummy, how about opening up some negotiations?"

[@leandersearle5094]

@@staffakartherma And does this stuff need to be strip-mined, without any effort given to do soil remediation and replant the mined out areas?

[@MegaInTheSky]

The whole idea was that Jake was supposed to build trust with the Navi so that he could negotiate them leaving their home base. That's the whole idea behind the avatar bodies. It is also implied that it was tried before by others and failed. Is it so difficult to pay attention during a movie?

[@six2make4]

If you look at old writings by Cortez, even he tried to establish peaceful negotiations at first... So yeah...

[@darkwoods1954]

It's funny how massive the film was at the time yet I never see or hear anyone talk about it now. It's a franchise no one seems to really care about. It will be interesting to see if the sequel draws an audience.

[@PatrickOMulligan]

I think the massive delay in sequels led to this. Any sequel should have come out in three years, four tops.

[@Himmel6811]

Exactly. This film is never mention in peoples top 10 even. I think the 3-d was the only thing it had going for it.

[@ValdoMorais]

Are you doubting James Cameron ability to make a sequel to a huge movie?

[@markborishnikoff5485]

I thought it sucked even back then.

[@poonoo87]

People literally saw it for the 3D. That's it. It started that shitty fad that died once The Avengers came out and changed the trend to capeshit.

[@marquitohartman]

What always boggled me about this movie is that human civilization is advanced enough to transfer consciousness to an avatar but not enough to fix a guy in a wheelchair.

[@soulbrother5435]

thats some valid criticism

[@yertxy6145]

They do though, when Jake was talking with the colonel, the colonel promised Jake new legs when he gets back to earth if he works for the colonel and give him information

[@Kataroku]

That boggled you? Ever heard of the U.S. healthcare system? Richest nation on the planet, but too bad if you need affordable insulin to stay alive.

[@bubblehead4270]

@@Kataroku yeah well we decided to let the government throw a ton of money and red tape at the health care system which is only a part of the reason why it’s so shitty.

[@CThyran]

To be fair in the deleted intro he mentioned that it's completely possible but the economy is in shambles so he can't afford it.

[@gastonporte5799]

Years later, no lesson learned. He killed it again at the box office.

[@saskk2290]

The second one was much worse. Basically a re-hash of of the first

[@kalashnikovdevil]

""Spare us your pity, alien. You gush about your connection with nature, your primal wisdom, but what has it brought you? Where are your marvels of engineering? Your voyages of discovery? Your great insight into the nature of the universe? Even at our basest, when we dressed as you do, dwelt as you do, hunted as you do, lived as you do, we did more than merely survive. We built wonders. We made great journeys. We forged epics. You have not. You speak so proudly of the plugs dangling from your skulls, little realizing that they are but strings and you puppets. What little you have accomplished you attribute to the wisdom of your goddess, who is nothing but the voices of your dead echoing for all eternity. She moors you to the past, serving as a leash that keeps you as little better than apes, sad parodies of civilization that lack that special spark to become something more. We have come to your world in search of resources. Whether your actions drive us back or we take what we want and move on, the outcome is the same. We will depart from your wretched planet, leaving you behind. And in a thousand years, you will not have changed from this contact with another world. You will remain in your trees, hunting your prey, communing with your goddess, until your sun burns out and your world dies. And above your tomb, the stars will belong to us."" - Colonel Miles Quatrich, in a way better version of this movie

[@TheHalogen131]

I've seen a screenshot with this long quote. Where is it from? A director's version?

[@kaisatron5358]

Holy shit, that sounds awesome.

[@sarasunshinemt4444]

They totally had to take that out of the movie, otherwise the audience would realize that they were rooting for retards.

[@Hoganply]

Sound like something the Romulans would say to stone-age man... I like it.

[@Alondro77]

Awesome. That is some Omega-Level Flexing. Lord Nuxanor would be proud.

[@Vonatar74]

"Dances with Fern Gully Pocahontas Aliens While Saving Private Ryan from 9/11" Classic line from Drinker there!

[@robzilla730]

He left out Return of the Jedi.

[@Thetreetroll]

Nice

[@delilahspriggs7986]

True!! 😂😂😂

[@GhostRydr1172]

I'm so stealing this...

[@mcw280]

Avatar's plot summed up "A simp choses to doom entire humanity just because he wants to clap some alien ass" XDDD

[@arbiterskiss6692]

Blue alien ass too. Did we learn nothing from Mass Effect, blue aliens are among the worst.

[@rayreddington5894]

😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Predator20357]

@@arbiterskiss6692 Of course if the sequel would be releastic, we would have the USA/USSR/China equivalent world sending a mass scale assault using drones and such to bomb the shit out of these tall smurfs because it’s a desperate act of saving your species

[@m1sz3lpl24]

@@arbiterskiss6692 All I learned form Mass Effect is that alien cheeks are the best cheeks

[@phpeon9282]

To be fair he was a crippled lab-rat with no friends, I'd betray my species too if i were like him

[@leileijoker8465]

They spent most of the budget on CGI and world building. Hell, they even hired a linguistic professor to create the Navi language, a si-fi writer to design all the animals. And they created the CGI that still shits on 90% of the movies in 2022. So I guess that's how they ended up the most cliché plot possible.

[@BigBoss15310]

Take a drink for every “What does THIS remind me of?” or “Where have I seen THIS before?”, and before you know it you’re as slurring and suave as The Critical Drinker himself.

[@chicostephenson]

sounds like you just invented a cool new drinking game I'm gonna have to try out.

[@greatestscott6599]

*Rise, Sir Osis of Liver!*

[@davidharrison7014]

Reminds me of the drinking game that the Drinker mentioned in his review of "The Rise of Skywalker", where a clip from a 1940's-era movie is used, where this guy is being dared to drink an entire beer at once in front of his friends at a bar.

[@xilon56]

You can expedite this process by just drinking every time you hear a drinkerism

[@John-doe955]

If they wanted to explain away how dumb it was to name an element “Unobtanium” all they would have had to do was include one line about how a scientist named it that because he theorized about its existence but his peers thought that there was no way it could exist and on discovering he decided to be cheeky and name it unobtanium.

[@JadeEyes1]

In the original script, "Unobtanium" was just the nickname that the military had given it, because the actual name was too wordy.

[@VolcanoQueen]

Unobtanium is a actual word for a ore you can rarely get, don't get why people are crapping on it

[@shakplay3992]

do you know what is periodic table????

[@John-doe955]

@@shakplay3992 why?

[@Freedmoon44]

@@shakplay3992 i seriously dont think it would matter much in the 22nd century after galactic travel exist ^^' the table would be expanded monthly due to all discovery operation

[@MoreDakka545]

It’s easy to be at one with nature when your physically strong and fast enough that you don’t need to compensate with tools, have biological USBs built into your hair to connect with everything around you and get them to do what you want and your planet is somehow a biological magical entity that is on your side.

[@jkincaid582]

I maintain that they had sex with the trees.

[@yeetthebeatout6906]

@@jkincaid582 Poison Ivy would like to know the location of this planet

[@Nomilh]

@John Alejandro Let's get them alien babes

[@PistonAvatarGuy]

It's not like we can't be technologically advanced AND (mostly) at one with nature, we just over-consume on an absolutely extreme scale.

[@jean-marccloutier4309]

thats a good definition of Sasquatch, he needs nothing, except the odd branch or tree

[@framebyframes323]

I think you make some good points about Avatar's weak story and lack of originality but I have to disagree about the villain, when watching it recently I was surprised about how much I liked Quaritch. He seems like a strong capable leader, who cares about the people under his command and tries to help out Jake as much as possible. He has a fairly straightforward motivation, wanting to help mine unobtanium (to save earth obvs) but also a disdain for the na'vi due to receiving a scar in battle and witnessing their brutality. I think if the movie first introduced the Na'vi in an intimidating/scary way we would've understood his perspective a lot better. I think in future films (Spoilers ahead for Avatar Way of Water) It would be cool to see a Na'vi tribe that teams up with the RDA, maybe Quarritch now in Avatar form gets other Na'vi tribes on his side by convincing them that Jake is a curse on their world and that he betrayed the humans, ran from the Omaticaya and that he isn't the 'chosen one' the Na'vi think he is. They adapt their native tactics with special training by Quaritch and the other Mercenaries. I think this would make the conflict much more morally grey forcing the characters into a tough situation. This while also alludes to the way in which the conquistadors and other colonial regimes conquered different nations, by turning them against each other.

[@coolbeanstu]

Loved your take on this

[@wancelemuel6633]

Quaritch would be the one you'd follow through hell, klednathu, helms deep, holy Terray to fight heretics, demons, or what have you if he was your commander. The tragedy for him is that he's fighting natives to drive them from their homes all so they could mine the shit under it. Sure Earth needs Unobtanium but Earth seems too far of a concept if you're in Pandora just trying to do your job and not get killed.

[@Skysthelimit212]

But that would make him a hypocrite because he is representing the very thing he would try to convince the Navi to attack. And why would they want to fight his battle? I think casting out what I know about the way of water, the other Navi tribes don't want to be involved with their problems unless it affects them. Even if they team up with another human, or human avatar hybrid, eliminate jake etc. eventually the problems will end up on that tribes doorstep. It would still be a never ending cycle to remove the outsider with too much power you know?

[@ryanelliott71698]

2 words I’d describe this film is “lost potential.” Keeping the base premise, what if the villain actually had genuine reason to relocate the natives? What if instead the debate is “is relocating/ eliminating another species justified to continue your survival?” That could have been a really interesting turn the colonization thing on its head to give a more neuonced aspect than colonization of natives is bad

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

Well I mean... They had that. They needed unobtainium given the whole "earth is in crisis and starving" thing going on. But did they explore that? Nook

[@ryanelliott71698]

Thomas takes a toll for the dark yeah it was pretty hand waved

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

@@ryanelliott71698 the fact that concept exists in it's universe kinda goes against itself too. Like, it clearly wants to be another explotation movie, and treats the humans as such, with the crisis on earth being completely out of the story. Which I get, Europe wasn't in a crisis during colonial times, they where just greedy. But why even think of it, if you're not gonna use it, right?

[@6ixlxrd]

​@@ryanelliott71698 I feel like humans being automatically considered "villains" in this scenario is one of the movie's greatest downfalls. We know Earth is dying, but even then, that alone isn't enough to just make us magically root for the humans (because this is a movie; we need a properly developed reason to root for a side): I can't think of one person in the theater who was ACTUALLY rooting for the humans. No one wanted them to win. But in better handled movies or shows, you might have people who legitimately root for the villain. Everyone loves a morally-grey cause or character. Look at Game of Thrones; people LOVED Tywin, myself included. Dany did questionable things here and there yet people loved her too (lol, imagine Dany trying to conquer Pandora; people would've supported her 100%). Stannis did the same things Dany did but people hated him. Bottom line, the Na'vi could do no wrong in this movie. Why not make the humans more relatable? Why isn't there a father or a mother fighting on the front lines because they don't want their family to die on Earth? Why isn't there people so overruled by their fear of dying, all rationality (morality) has left them and they're willing to do whatever it takes to win? Why are literally all the humans (except the main cast) unlikable scumbags? Darth Vader is the genocidal Hitler of space who's killed countless children and even he's likeable.

[@countercurrents8585]

I wish 90%+ of movies were like this. Where you don't have a "good" vs "evil" but different perspectives. It could be eliminating another species to save your own, or to save the environment or whatever. Sometimes you actually can have really good reasons to do something seemingly bad. Let's say you would need to have children working to have enough food for everyone. If you don't allow child labor, people will starve. Something like that. Tough decisions that aren't easy.

[@voivodadracula1936]

Avatar is like the movie equivalent of those modern videogames that market themselves as movies. All looks, no substance or story quality, but at least they help the visual side of an audio visual medium like movies to progress

[@thefilmwatcher1302]

ReneJade Madrid Or Injustice 2?

[@6ixlxrd]

@@nationvapor For a moment I thought you were talking about Senua's Sacrifice lol (had to delete my rant). But Death Stranding is the biggest example of this I can think of; game got HYPED to death, offered very little, and now everyone who hyped it up is hiding in a quiet little corner hoping people forget it ever existed.

[@jamlym4974]

Even while listening to him describe the movie's flaws, I'm still captivated by the visuals.

[@laurenelizabeth2505]

@@bradthompson5383 FUCK NO.

[@dannyboy5493]

@@bradthompson5383 i hope your trolling

[@dannyboy5493]

@@bradthompson5383 okay its a different thing to say that a movie is not that good for someone. But because someone likes the movie they’re “lame”? Clearly someone is entitled. Enjoy your day

[@tasya_nabila]

True. The environment is incredible

[@jomo9207]

It has great music too.

[@pmtoner9852]

Instead of unobtainium, they should have had to mine for Maguffium

[@jahellen]

I'm surprised you didn't have anything to say about the USB-enabled wildlife....

[@tjfrye11]

that they technically have to rape to connect with

[@silverletter4551]

That's part of the fantasy elements that can be glossed over. It's the more troubling elements like the logistics of space warfare that need to be dealt with.

[@chanchalnishanth8117]

Haha... what crap was that!!

[@Waccoon]

"Nah, just serve up a cartoon bad guy..." On that note, am I the only one amazed that the colonel looks like he's rendered exclusively in CGI, even though he's a real actor?

[@cleanerben9636]

There's an unused scene floating around on KZbin. The lack of post production affects is really eerie.

[@niahoad]

He is real🤯

[@OptimisticCynic715]

Yeah, they made the CGI more 'realistic'.......by making reality look more fake. Everything looks like glossy plastic.

[@eliaspeter7689]

@@OptimisticCynic715 But that works. Since almost everything is CGI nothing pops out for the eye.

[@NoodleDukeMoto]

You’re not the only one. Feels like watching a video game.

[@herbsuperb6034]

True Lies is among my favorite Cameron films. Nobody seems to remember that one. Gets overshadowed by things like Titanic, Terminator 2, Aliens, and the like. It's such a fun, funny, and action-packed flick. Never seen anything quite like it. Moves seamlessly between action and comedy so swiftly.

[@cenzgullo3097]

Yes, one of my favourite films.

[@dee.f88]

I believe at that time it was the most expensive film ever made! Great movie indeed

[@stonedog9643]

if only for jamie lee curtis

[@herbsuperb6034]

@@josephm5461 Not really. The premise was largely the same. But the characters were completely different. The plot was radically different in a number of ways. True GRIT was a remake (and a darn good one :-)). Same characters, same plot, just imagined a bit differently, with a new cast and some more modern filmmaking techniques. True Lies built a completely different film, on a similar premise. That's not a remake. That's like saying Star Wars was a REMAKE of The Hidden Fortress (great flick) by Kurosawa. Borrowing very basic elements as the foundation of your film does not consign it to the status of 'remake'.

[@osets2117]

True lies is overshadowed by two of the best movies ever made, it's a great movie but against those two monsters it never stood a chance, also Jamie Lee Curtis... Oh yeah

[@kerinskuriosities]

Mate, I couldn't agree more! I never understood the Avatar craze! It was basically Dances with Wolves in Space. I can't help but wonder if the real reason it's taken this long for a sequel is because deep down Cameron knows it was bad.

[@---jt5wg]

Nah, I think the real reason its taken so long to make the sequel is because Disney kidnapped and turned all the CGI animators into slaves and are holding them hostage in basements to make sure their mediocre Marvel TV shows and Star Wars movies can be produced.

[@randomly_random_0]

_It was basically Dances with Wolves in Space_ That's the most derivative criticism for Avatar. It makes Avatar's plot more original, honestly.

[@dunkyking6310]

​@@randomly_random_0yeah no

[@death-king1834]

I think the main selling point for Avatar and what led to its huge success all came down to the visuals and it was built up as this huge massive event, when both its story was something you've already seen played out in nearly a dozen or so other films and it's characters had as much depth as a shallow puddle.

[@mrman5517]

the success of Avatar was proof that the furry market had been tremendously underestimated!

[@Russocass]

That's what Cats producers thought

[@Sunkcostfallecy]

@@Russocass I believe the term is called "Too kinky for their own good!"

[@censorduck]

As a casual furry, not sure I can think of much good to say about avatar.

[@Sorakeyblademaster37]

The furries have become way to vocal and open in the past decade. They need to be shamed back into the kennel and going back to having pop culture portraying them all as depraved coomers.

[@censorduck]

@@Sorakeyblademaster37 Just hope you expect the same mercy in return when we fight back.

[@AlexSvanArt]

"That's it for Dances with Ferngully Pocahontas Aliens while trying to Save Private Ryan from 9/11" - OMG this is gold!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@huhmunguns6664]

Bruh thank you for the comment I was about to spend like twenty mins typing it all out

[@jcece5270]

“And that’s the plot for ‘Dances With Fern Gully Pocahontas Aliens While Saving Private Ryan From 911’ “ lmao

[@TheGuruStud]

@BTIsaac So...what you're saying is that new Cameron is a complete hack... Yep.

[@OptimisticCynic715]

Search: delgo avatar

[@PatrickOMulligan]

Do not forget Dune and Princess Mononoke. Almost like it is a archetypal plot or something.

[@silverletter4551]

Missed "The word for world is forest". It's a novel where the aliens are little green monkeys instead of giant blue cats. Mostly the same story but better. No hamfisted sappy trope of the evil colonizer. The natives use firearms because bows and arrows are stupid and nobody who uses them would win a war. Basically novels are better than flashy pretty toys suitable for children and man/woman children.

[@ch111er]

I fuckin cackled at the jellyfish "nah it'll be fine" you have a knack for placement, sir

[@calahoon22]

Just goes to show how powerful worldbuilding can be in story telling, it was a very basic plot but the music and worldbuilding that came with it completely sucked me in so much I wanted more!

[@hue.main1]

I loved the way they showed the Navi’s life and the designs of the creatures. When I was young, it was the starter of my love for sci-fi.

[@hue.main1]

@@brainderp808 but it’s an alien world? A lot of it has to do with fictional science. Wouldn’t soft fantasy be like fairies and magic?

[@tarantolopictures481]

How is that magic? It’s literally natural fiber optic cables that link the consciousness of the creatures connecting together. It is far fetched but definitely possible

[@MrSuperalan99]

@AtheJbaka You have to be stupid to think that. The whole movie was worldbuilding for the sequels.

[@GFE.]

@AtheJbaka your test is crap

[@Balthizar101]

"Avatar is like a 2.5-hour tech demo." Because that's exactly what it was originally intended to be. The tech that Cameron used for Avatar was a trial run for the CG character effects that would eventually be used for Alita, a movie that Cameron eventually lost interest in and handed over to Rodriguez because he became too obsessed over his own "original" creation.

[@TheN1ghtwalker]

Yeah, it's like Crysis of movies

[@Gogglesofkrome]

@@TheN1ghtwalker except crysis actually had a more engaging story to tell, and it wasn't about a psychopath turning traitor to humanity so that he can have a piece of blue @ss to himself.

[@windowsVD]

@regi grenski Xenophobia towards a fictional species in a movie?

[@RM10Prod.]

@regi grenski so its xenophobia for wanting humanity to survive? Because without (ugh) "unobtanium" humanity will overpopulate the solar system Way I see it this puts the humans in the right also ITS A MOVIE

[@RM10Prod.]

@regi grenski OK, you've made your point, but why are the navi any better? Isn't it counter intuitive to say that the humans are the aggressors. After all what kicked off the whole conflict was the few navi who attacked the mining op. which was not in their general area at the time. And then the military responded with some overkill. Little tip of the internet: don't call random people psychos online it just makes them more defensive and less likely to understand your point.

[@rudeasmith5098]

Thats the plot for Dances with FernGully Pocahontas aliens, while saving Private Ryan from 9/11, lol....

[@PatrickOMulligan]

Do not forget Dune and Princess Mononoke, and John Carter of Mars.

[@SpartyCubsFan]

I always called it Dances with Smurfs, but I like what the Scottish drunkard did here...

[@dionysus1917]

You're drastically wrong to refer to Avatar, as just Cookie-Cutter Rip-Off Version "The White Saviour", "Dances With Wolves", "The Last Samurai" or "Pocahontas" movies. *Hear me out!!:* Drinker's Criticism of Avatar being an over-used metaphor for the Native-American-Indian Genocide is not unique, and was the main Gripe by most Critics when the Movie was released. But I disagree. *Instead, Avatar, more accurately depicts the much-neglected historical Genocide and Oppression of West Europe, by Roman/Catholic Imperialism. SIMILARLY TO THE NAAVI, the Gauls were Pagans (which literally translates to Country-Dwelling people), who lived in small tribes, very much in accordance with nature, and were considered to be Blonde-Haired Horse-Riding Giants by the comparatively smaller Brown-Haired Romans.* *According to Roman Historian Tacitus and Ceaser himself, they would all bath naked together in the rivers, and were generally ALL virgins until the age of 20+, after which they were completely monogomous (except sometimes the nobles who were allowed Polygamy on account of their rank). And I quote:* "The young men are slow to mate, and reach manhood with unimpaired vigour. Nor are the virgins hurried into marriage. Being as old and as tall as the men, they are equal to their mates in age and strength, and the children inherit the robustness of their parents. Life is all in hunting and military exercise. From childhood they train for labor and hardship. They have great praise among them for those who remain longest without sexual experience. Some think this makes for height, muscle, and strength. Indeed to have had knowledge of a woman before age twenty they think very shameful, and there is no hiding it." The entire religion centred around Reincarnation, The Placenta, and Trees. *SIMILARLY TO THE NAAVI,,* they believed in reincarnation and during the initiation festival of Yuletide (aka Haloween-Christmas) the young members of each tribe had the chance to regain their past Hamingja/honour, memories, and possessions. The Naavi is clearly a more magical take on this, where the trees can store human consciousness and communicate with the forest, but the parallels are clearly there. Under Ceaser & the following Roman Emperors/Popes, unknown millions of innocents were massacred. It first began with Ceaser (who against the will of the Senate, and in apparent self-defence) slaughtered his way through Gaul. *Similarly to the Human-Antagonists of "Avatar", the main purpose of these genocides were to acquire Wealth & Resources, via Taxation and the looting of all of the (relatively untapped) Gold Mines in Gaul, which could be used to pay back Ceaser's many debtors. Gaius Julius Ceaser and Octavian indeed masters of propaganda, and hence today there are very little reliable non-bias sources about their reigns (or about the great Carthaginian Empire which existed not long before them), but it's unquestionable that despite how good they may've been for Rome - the Emperors were disastrous for the Pagan populations of Western Europe. *When looking at a Character like Jake-Sully, his character aligns far, far more with the Roman General "Arminius",* than that of the Male Leads in Pocahontas or Dances with Wolves, who lead no great rebellion or are taught to worship nature quite in the same way. For example, when Arminius went to oversee the occupation of Gaul and their taxation and looting of the gold mines, he slowly began hating the Roman's for their destructive greed and ignorance. Anyway, long story short - he ended up switching sides - uniting the Gaulic tribes and delivering the Roman Empire one of it's worst ever defeats @ the massacre known as "The Battle of Teutoburg Forest". *Lastly, the most potent clarification that the movie is referring to the Oppression and Genocide of Pagan Europe (and not the Native Indians), would be the destruction of the World Tree.* From Donars Oak in Gaul, to Temple at Uppsala in Sweden, to the Irminsul in Germany - the Roman/Christian Occupiers would always attempt to destroy ALL Pagan Temples, especially the most large & monumental ones. Apart from depriving the natives of their temples, these acts of destruction also served as a symbol of disrespect, contempt, domination, and conquest over the local natives - and after destroying their Temples, they would build a Church in its place. *All this goes to say, that there is arguably no other symbolic act more representative of the 1000 year-long war against Pagan Europe, than the destruction of the World Tree.* *With the above points and Cultural Context taken into consideration, James Cameron ultimately delivered a powerful, magical, and unique retelling of an ancient, and long-forgotten conflict. Personally, I went along to the Cinema with separate family/friends on 3 different occasions, to experience the REVOLUTIONARY 3D-Hype together, and it was an epic viewing experience that I would've given a 8/10. But as with all CGI-intense movies, it doesn't look nearly as good outside of a cinema, and will likely age badly. The generically wooden acting and super-long screentime also makes it a definite when it comes to rewatching. But the first-viewings were really immersive and entertaining.*

[@ZoolGatekeeper]

Well, that shut me up.. Thank you.

[@rudeasmith5098]

Caesar did a lot of damage I see ..

[@teratism143]

OK - necro posting on a video about an even older movie but...here goes. I saw this in 3D when it came out. I left the theatre angry, like wtf is this piece of absolute refuse I just wasted precious oxygen and money on. Everyone else seemed to be elated, like they had some kind of religious experience but I thought it was trash - on so many levels I don't even know where to start (but you do). Time has not dimmed my active reprehension towards this movie. Thank you Drinker, glad it's not just me.

[@Grzesuav94]

Colonel Quaritch did his best to serve the Imperium of Mans survival, did nothing wrong ever and died a hero, fighting filthy xeno scum and human traitors. The fallen shall be forever remembered as The Emperors finest.

[@Jarumo76]

Thought for the day; 'Glory in death is life eternal.'

[@davidgilroy1850]

The sequel is going to be Exterminatus

[@Hanzer-ns5bh]

Reality-altering abilities? An entity heretofore unknown to the Imperium proclaiming themselves a god? Aberrant physiology? Hmmm. Let me consult my guide... ✅ *PRAISE THE EMPRAH* ✅ HERESY ✅ DOUBLE HERESY ✅ CALL THE INQUISITOR ✅ *WARM UP THOSE CYCLONIC TORPEDOES* ✅ *PRAISE THE EMPRAH*

[@acidpain6059]

the obligatory Warhammer 40k reference right on time

[@Sorakeyblademaster37]

Hanzer 2277 Don’t forget they are also furries.

[@JohnSmith-ib2zk]

We need a compilation of Drinker saying "Nah it'll be fine."

[@Charmer4856]

YEEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHH 1:07

[@stefanssmellsvictory105]

We need t-shirts of his youtube avatar (no pun intended) in black and white, with "Nah it'll be fine." quoted below.

[@yoshi314]

nah, it'll be fine if we don't get it.

[@kreese-yi2nb]

Off we go then!

[@daveeyes]

Nahhh, it'll be fine.

[@DavidWHorst]

A story with: - a tropical alien world filled with plants and animals that can be beautiful and dangerous - this world has an atmosphere that will kill a human without a respirator in about 30 seconds - there are humanoid aliens on this planet that are 8-to-9 feet tall - these aliens worship a crystal that humans can use as a source of great power - humans are determined to get these crystals and the aliens are determined to prevent that - the main character initially agrees that humans should simply take the crystals, but as the story progresses he thinks that the aliens and the crystals should be left alone - the humans finally decide to wipe the aliens out and take the crystals Where have I seen this before? 70 years before AVATAR (2009), all of those same plot elements were in H.P. Lovecraft's short story IN THE WALLS OF ERYX (1939).

[@juanausensi499]

Well done

[@herheartbeats5727]

You're right ! But I think that story was better than Avatar's because at least it focused to the Human protagonist's story-line with better consistency and logic. And didn't try to force-feed the Aliens as noble savages from the beginning. . Oh and the logic of the beautiful flora was better too. They had evolved into that pattern clearly to incapacitate potential threats by illusions, not just to be beautiful with no further consequences.

[@evanhayes5891]

These aliens don't worship a crystal. They don't even seem to care about it. There just happens to be a lot of it under their enormous tree.

[@herheartbeats5727]

@@evanhayes5891 I like your view ! Alternate story for Avatar : the big tree is in fact some uncanny Alien leech which just lives on the crystal's energy...and mind-controls the locals into zombies in order to protect it and it's feeding source.

[@aceambling7685]

@@herheartbeats5727 I mean if you think about it that is kind of the actual plot of Avatar. They explicitly say that the mega huge trees are basically central cores for the hive mind that inhabits Pandora's flora, and all the fauna can interface with the hive mind through the tentacle plug in things. The Na'vi are politically a theocracy and their religion revolves around the hive mind which they directly mind meld with during rituals. We see that the hive mind can even control the fauna when not directly connected, when the animals come to the defense of the Na'vi during the final battle. We are told that unobtainium is a fuel source for FTL travel, therefore it must be an energy dense mineral, and it would take obscene amounts of energy to grow the immense trees we see on Pandora.

[@CEAsfg]

- Man betrays the human race to clap alien cheeks - Space Pocahontas - Ferngully: The Last Rainforest, but with blue people

[@lowpinglag]

All I remember was, the movie was in 3D, made a ton of money, and thus every other movie tried the 3D thing, even if it was not filmed in 3D. And TVs now also had to be 3D. I'm so glad that trend died.

[@sdzero]

Exactamundo. Avatar brought about the revitalization of 3D and studios went nuts over it. I've never seen Avatar myself. I just remember the hype surrounding it.

[@ChocorocK]

@@sdzero I member going out to see it with some friends some of us were exited, and i went along. It was a fun spectacle, but it wasn't really that gripping.

[@lowpinglag]

@thespACEchannel Oh have no doubt the 3D works, it was just crazy how the whole movie and TV industry went omg omg omg we have to go 3D. I had a coworker who bought a 3D Samsung TV, when they were all new, and he payed a fortune for the TV and extra goggles, later they became much cheaper. Also...porn in 3D, I see you are a man of culture ;-)

[@Overphased]

@thespACEchannel haha porn good

[@stephenw2992]

Yes it was all the hype about 3D. Everyone was talking about it as well as the CGI. And it was visually spectacular, but the lamest story ever. I guess younger people got more out of it because they hadnt seen all the usual contrivances a hundred times before.

[@BlazingOwnager]

I can tell you why: Full color HD 3D. That was entirely the reason for it's success. Then Hollywood proceeded to curbstomp the technology and shit on it, making everything a crappy outsourced post conversion.

[@PunxTV123]

because people that day don't care on story, because jackie chan is the best at the time VS western technology showing effects...

[@planaraspect9461]

There's such a difference between filmed in 3D and post conversion that so many people don't care to recognize.

[@wyw201]

"A New SIMP", "The SIMP Strikes Back", "Return of the SIMP" all in one movie

[@magallanesagustin4952]

Dance with smurfs

[@keithroberts7219]

There will be a secret civilisation under the water, that's well advanced which left the surface dwellers untouched, until the evil humans came and took there shit!

[@azh698]

No "The Chad awakens" to cap it all of unfortunately.....

[@shinobifirecracker6671]

What

[@shinobifirecracker6671]

@@magallanesagustin4952 you mean “Dances”? Oh yeah, easy mistake because all First Nation names sound the same?

[@Thrawn23.]

Video: 2.9M views Movie: 2.9B dollars Perfectly Balanced

[@Fourloko45]

As all things should be

[@joe_fizz]

As with most things, this film's a lot better when you're drunk

[@difficultbastard]

I only watched it once, and remember feeling unimpressed, but I have to wonder if it would a good weed or shroom movie.

[@SouthpawZer0]

Yeah! Now it's a party!

[@derrickennemee8604]

Stoned

[@lindenstromberg6859]

Every film is better when drunk or high, but especially animated ones, and ones with fantastical scenery.

[@nuhuh4564]

Sadly no

[@MrScrofulous]

The visuals make perfect sense when you realise that Pandora is actually the Great Barrier Reef. The "toxic atmosphere is water, yes, actually a jellyfish, the "global consciousness" is a play on the idea that the Reef is the "worlds largest living organism", where everything is inter-connected. All the colours and predators etc are reef creatures. Those big leaves they slide down is plate coral. Those floating islands are what land overhangs look like from below. Oh yeah, "unobtainium" is Aussie slang for a part that's hard to find. I first heard it in a motorbike spares shop in about 1993.

[@Narcan885]

"a play on the idea that the Reef is the "worlds largest living organism", where everything is inter-connected." It's a nice theory and it makes sense, but just a correction for anyone unaware, the reef is not one giant interconnected organism. Coral is mostly made of rock-like carbonate, inside those rock braches there are little polip-like creatures but they each live isolated from the others, near but distinct. Most of the reef mass is made of those dead rock like branches. Even the sand in tropical islands is made of that stuff broken to dust. It's almost entirely dead material, like bones.

[@dig8059]

So Jake is a guy betraying australia to bang a jellyfish. Can live with that

[@Geezer-yf8hv]

Good, interesting comment!

[@mikefrench882]

That is a good comparison. I am a bit more extreme though. I tend to argue that Pandora is a derelict interstellar warship. The Na'avi are the descendants of the crew and the biosphere is the result of evolution from the original life support systems (which is why the psychic bonding thing is still possible and indeed an expression of the original control system). The sequel ought to steal the plot from Harlock Space Pirate and send the whole planet buccaneering around the galaxy in an environmentally friendly and eco saving way.

[@e.corellius4495]

@@mikefrench882 personally i think it would be great fun if 2 is literally just captain planet with navi, like they run around collecting power rings to summon the "avatar" of their weird tree god. literally just captain planet lol.

[@rickleuce8025]

Disney’s “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” manages to tell the same story, but in half the time and with more likable characters.

[@mikesteelheart]

Yeah but does it have awesome high budget half and hour long battle scenes with CGI? I don't think so; Cameron knows what America wants lol.

[@ddubsquizzee]

@@mikesteelheart America made up like one seventh or eighth of its money. This was across America and Canada, Asia, Europe, and Australia and all areas played major roles in its success.

[@Yellow123Ninja]

@@mikesteelheart Just because a movie has a high budget and incredibly made CGI fight scenes, DOES NOT ALWAYS AUTOMATICALLY MEAN ITS THE GREATEST THING TO EVER GRACE THE SILVER SCREEN.

[@mikesteelheart]

@@Yellow123Ninja I was being sarcastic lol.

[@c.e.oofforrestdwellers.8619]

You guys are very… umm, how do I put this… extremely impeccably retarded. Including the guy who made this vid. And if you say It’s a bad plot then get a better brain.

[@jonvia]

Im also on the "why do people like this so much?" band wagon...i thought it was pretty mediocre for all the big names attached to the project.

[@cringefairy2687]

The worst thing about the protagonist is that he's a complete Gary Stu. Hasn't walked in years, learns how to run in 5 minutes inside an Avatar. First trip out, successfully escapes and swims away from giant scary alien without a scratch. Integrates into Na'vi society quickly with almost no effort. Gets blue chick to fall in love with him without earning it. Quickly learns how to fly the dragon things despite never having seen one. Becomes the first one to fly the big dragon thing despite nearly nobody else ever being able to. Becomes the leader of the Na'vi despite never really earning it.

[@rockykay01]

I don't think we saw the same movie. Jake Sully is terrible at most things, he is teased by the Navi as well as the scientists. Jake is nicknames stupid like a child in most of the movie. He has to train to overcome his body's limitations, as well as find a deeper respect and understanding of the Navi culture, such as praying and thanking an animal before killing it. Jake Sully has to rally and unite the different clans to fight to save the forest, and for this is chosen to lead the rebellion. None of that is a Gary Stu in my opinion.

[@cringefairy2687]

@@rockykay01 "Terrible at most things" like what? I suppose unlike most Gary Stu, you do actually see him stumbling during the learning process, but on every occasion he goes from struggling amateur to god-tier pro in five minutes. Finding out about and developing a respect for Na'vi culture is irrelevant. How much he is teased is irrelevant. The fact that he rallies all of these people despite being an outsider with no issues whatsoever is even more Gary Stu-like, as well as a weird white saviour trope.

[@enginepy]

He does seem to pick up things very quickly, but I don’t think he’s a Gary Stu IMO. He was a marine, and you keep a lot of that even years later. He acts no different than an average level soldier, except he’s a little defiant and undisciplined. He screws up a lot and grows as a person. He doesn’t have any special abilities or excel at anything better than anyone else really.

[@chastion3689]

I think the concept of a montage eludes your grasp.

[@moonglum101]

@@cringefairy2687 surely he was able to rally the people because they saw that he flew the big bird. The movie began with him dreaming of flying like he was born for it. I think most of his "accomplishments" were set up well enough by the movie. Quickly learning to use the avatar was surely about the can-do attitude and his mental ability. The only relationship it had to do with his paralysis in real life surely was a motivating factor that made him more keen to just get on with it. This is one of my favorite movies but I'm willing to hear criticism on it although I think that you're off the mark with yours and the Gary Stu aspect of things. For example, I thought Unobtainium was such lazy writing but if I stopped to think about it even more I would come up with greater sins committed by the movie. Such as the ridiculously over the top comic book villain. Still fun to watch though. I respect your opinion, just letting you know that I disagree with it and thought I might possibly get you to reflect upon yours. But it's okay if you aren't swayed by my words.

[@chriskaye1997]

I think one of the reasons this movie did so well was all the partnerships it pulled off with DVD/Blu Rays (I can’t remember which) - it seemed that for a year or two this movie was bundled with new players as it is quite visually stunning and perfect to show off the new format and HD TVs that had recently come out.

[@canibezeroun1988]

Very true. It really showed how much better HD was than 480p

[@D3Mp5]

I just made a post about this exact thing. It helped me sell so many Sony's in the first few years after it came out. Then from memory the movie was bundled in with Panasonic's, for all the good it did them. It was a sad day when they discontinued their Plasmas.

[@myradselfdotwebsdotc]

Blu Ray... Coincidence? Blue...

[@TheMistyBlueLounge]

I'd put edge of tomorrow and interstellar up there as great science fiction movies, as well as district 9 which got a shoutout in this video. They're not exactly a dime a dozen but there have been plenty since the 80's! Avatar isn't exactly a standout in science fiction imo, and certainly not the only noteworthy sci fi movie in the last 20-30 years.

[@Ch4os4ever]

Funny detail, most fictitious sentient species develop the wheel first (Fire heavily depends on their original planets atmosphere, but wheels are universal technological innovation), however, on the Hitchhikers Guide (Douglas adams masterpiece scifi book) one species known for its 50 pairs of arms were famous for being the only sentient species to invent the deodorant BEFORE the wheel. Now we have the navi who had the INTERNET before the wheel.

[@Hiraghm]

most sentient species don't develop anything; fictitious or otherwise. Sapient species do. Sentient = self-aware. Sapient = capable of abstract thought. And while the human species invented the wheel well after discovering fire... the humans of the Americas never did.

[@Rollin8.0]

@@Hiraghm so... The Luggage is capable of abstract thought?

[@liamwarner5749]

I suddenly find myself wondering how much Navi porn played into the scientists desire to access the world tree.

[@liamwarner5749]

Well it did build itself little luggage and it seems to be fully aware of what's going on around it.

[@cleanerben9636]

@@Hiraghm they also never figured out how to tame and ride horses.

[@loyalhoodini4944]

By far my favorite part of this movie was the human vehicles. I watched this as a kid (like 4-5 years old) and this was the first time I’ve seen anything like a mech on screen. I LOVED them. To this day, my favorite vehicle in all of science fiction is still the helicopters in this film. When ever I find myself drawling vehicles, mainly Aircraft, I always take some inspiration from avatar. The creatures are also beautiful to watch. Hell I really want to see what one of those hammerhead things look like in real life.

[@josiahanderson9328]

Those aircraft in Avatar were heavily inspired by the Ornithopters in Frank Herbert’s Dune.

[@Flugs0]

@@josiahanderson9328 what do the ornithopters have to do with it?

[@randomly_random_0]

@@josiahanderson9328 no

[@Kaminoyouni]

Ah the Navi, the epitome of the Myth of the Noble Savage.

[@chasm671]

Exactly. It's insulting that Cameron tries to manipulate us with such a crass concept. If the "humans/capitalism bad" theme had been left out of it, it could have worked as a visually-stunning blockbuster with a simple, feelgood plot. But instead it beats you over the head with a "message" that only works if you're ignorant of the actual reality behind it.

[@canibezeroun1988]

I am glad you mentioned this. I don't dig the myth that American Indians were environmentally conscious. They exploited the land and had to move from place to place when the soil was robbed of all nutrients. Horses were hunted to extinction. If they had discovered more technology they would have been the same as the invaders. Don't even get me started on the peaceful thing.

[@theunknownone5990]

A great many of those tribes weren't peaceful either. Some of them were outright bloodthirsty.

[@anilin6353]

@@canibezeroun1988 you are wrong on several account. Horses are not native to the Americans. The farming of the Iroquois kept the soil health by crop rotation, fertilizeration . The nation of America's had very good Land management skills.

[@chasm671]

@@theunknownone5990 And Avatar shamelessly glosses over the fact that the Na'vi are a tribe with a very prevalent and proud warrior class. Not such a peaceful bunch of blue hippies after all. Also, they're cat people, and cats are sadistic little fucks.

[@n3k0lein]

Minor correction: Big eyes are associated with human babies. Our eyes never grow, you had the same size eye balls as a baby as you do as an adult now, that's why baby eyes are that big. It triggers empathy.

[@jacobcarasso3251]

Your eyes actually do grow. They just grow significantly slower then your body. Look it up.

[@dr.vanilla9017]

@@jacobcarasso3251 I believe your eyes are fully grown by age four. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[@OBtheamazing]

i want to see a Navi baby with huge ass eyes that are half the size of its face

[@bluecaptainIT]

@@OBtheamazing or just watch Treasure Planet and look at Morph all the time. Same effect.

[@burntgrahamcracker2866]

It’s one of the reasons aliens that are meant to be kind usually have large human like eyes and monsters either don’t have any or have slit/pure black eyes

[@pezdispencer113]

The hype around this movie was entirely the 3D tech they created. It basically just lead to a level of immersion not experienced until then.

[@DeadlyDan]

A novelty that quickly got boring, so much so 3D movies and TVs are disappearing.

[@osets2117]

@@DeadlyDan right!? The Nintendo 3DS exists and it was replaced by the switch

[@georged5420]

@@DeadlyDan yeah I don't think they make any more 3D TVs actually.

[@kaasmeester5903]

@@DeadlyDan Not at all. People were already bored with 3D until Avatar came along. The thing is, doing 3D well requires a *lot* of effort, and pretty much only Cameron has reached this level of immersion. Sanctum (also by Cameron) came close but it was perhaps a less suitable subject for immersive 3D. The fact that so many people claimed to be depressed after exiting the theatre into the drab real world is not a symptom of how badly hyped up this film was; it's a testament to what Cameron managed to achieve in 3D. For the first time, a movie came very close to actually taking us to another world, albeit one inhabited by flat characters that have only 2 dimensions. The Oscars it won were well deserved though (Cinematography, Art Direction and another 1). By the way: for 3D to work really well, you need a big screen that you sit far away from; distance gives you "depth budget" and that's a hard physical limit. That is why Avatar isn't all that special on your 3D TV Set; it only works in cinema's (or on VR headsets). And that is why few people bother anymore with 3D TV. For movies, it can work really well... but it is really hard to do well. Too expensive, perhaps. And no one besides Cameron has really made the effort thus far. I hope that will change...

[@OSRSnChill]

They’ve actually waited this long for a new tech to come out, and are now going to be the first to use it in underwater scenes so they really could just ride the hype train of tech again. I like the first movie and without 3D it’s still super eye popping for that years tech.