Ah, well I offered my thoughts (in the form of a comment) on a Jeanne’s blog post so thought I might as well as post it here as well. Why not, it is my blog after all.
Regular readers of my blog will know that we’re a Sci-Fi lovin’ family. We get to explore all sorts of concepts without the bias that often comes from a real world scenario. So suffice to say that I couldn’t wait to watch this movie. Now, my disclaimer is that we watched the film at the drive-in… not in a 3D at the cinema. I’ve heard that the movie *must* be watched in 3 D so maybe my opinion is coloured by that…
It just didn’t deliver!
Maybe I’m getting old, I don’t know but it just didn’t cut it for me.
Sure the graphics were amazing but I want more story, more plot, more character development than graphics. I just don’t get amazing computer generated graphics- I prefer the real thing. God’s creation (nature) is mind blowing and yet we still need to dress it up with even more colour in these movies? I just don’t get it. Visually it was a little overwhelming for me…but that’s probably just me. I get sensory overload easily….
Using the movie as a teaching tool allowed us to show the boys how pantheism (faith equating nature with God) can look and how it contrasts with a biblical worldview. We also contrasted the view of a biblical worldview with that of animism, which is the belief that ‘spirits’ are everywhere and are in everything (remember this in The Lion King?) Don’t get me wrong: we use all sorts of movis as teaching tools…I just don’t get the hype about this one. Epic? Classic… what like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy? I don’t think so. Not even close. As much as I love Middle Earth and Hobbiton I’ve not known of anyone who became depressed or suicidal because it was fantasy world… unlike the story which CNN reports here.
The plot was totally predictable, with very little character development. A lot of cultural, spiritual and political opinion resonates from this movie. In fact, I thought it was Pocahontas meets John Smith redone! Although I did giggle at some of the political comments like, “We will fight terror with terror.”
Give me a good old drama anyway- one with twists and turns, character development, an interesting plot, real scenery and real flesh & blood.
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
Romans 1:22 – 25
Oh Susan from one sci-fi fan to another…..hee hee can you stand it if I disagree O:-)
I LOVED it, to me it marks a “change” in technology and cinema……we saw lots of 3D movies in Manila (they were sooooo cheap there) they open a new world of “reality” movie!!! Wait till they master 4D……..
This movie was an epic in the 3D world……………as for the spiritual connotations I totally agree (it reminds me a little of the movie Golden Compass, it certainly preaches another gospel )….. I agree pantheism and animism are rife!!
There are other movies like Final Fantasy that are totally animated but Avatar was a visual feast! I just feel that it was a ground breaker in the movie world…a new standard…..bit like Matrix and the fighting slow motion thing (another of my favs shhhhhhhhh)
I am not an expert and I TOTALLY agree nothing compares to Lord Of The Rings Triology and Narnia etc etc………..but it does have a WOW factor…….the textures and colours were outstanding! the story welllllllllll maybe you are right, but they were giant blue things weren’t they?
Do you still love me? :kissing:
You better!!!!! :smug:
I haven’t seen this movie as yet, but then again, I am not a sci-fi fan normally. Have heard a few things about it, but mainly that it was too long.
Thanks for the review Susan… I always enjoy your perspective. :-))
Hi Susan,
I have not seen this movie yet, but I have been watching the reviews and shorts with interest. That CNN report is a little disturbing – not only the fact that this movie is generating such strong feeling, but also what people are doing about it. Escaping by immersing themselves in anything related to Avatar. Every now and then, I see a picture of how truly lost our world is – and this is an example. Those people are so very lost and blind – they don’t even know it.
Ah Susan, will anything ever come close to Middle Earth? 😎
The story was old, and outdated, and predictabe. There’s two reasons this film is so popular.
1. The art. For people who don’t much care about the art there’s a problem, but the art is astounding. The story isn’t meant to be the main focus I don’t think, the beauty is. The lights in the plants and the grace of their movements and even the way they connect their hair into things, it’s all artistic elements. In 3D you’re immersed into this.
2. It supports the ”greenie’ agenda, and right now anything that supports the greenies is popular. The evil humans are destroying and killing for money and don’t care, while the beautiful creatures are in touch with nature and each other. The head human is shown as completely, totally, heartless even towards his own race. That’s why people are suicidal over it, not because they like the world better, just as I adore hobbiton, but because that’s how they believe humans are and they want to go into the perfect world potrayed, it’s the greenie thing again.
I’m interested in what you guys analyzed in regards to pantheism. The movie potrays pantheism as such a good, wonderful, beautiful thing, did you find faults and differences in opinion, where something they viewed as good we view as bad? What were they? Or did you just look at obvious differences like their prayer ceremony thing.
For the record, I am visually impared, and while I appriciated some of the art it wasn’t to me what it is to sighted people. And I’m obviously not a greenie, so, I didn’t much like the movie either
Fascinated to read your views. As you know, we loved it!!