Anyone see Avatar?

[vangogh]

I saw Avatar last week and I have to say I was very impressed.

When it first came out I wasn't too excited. I figured it would be another sci-fi move and I've been there and done that. Assumed I'd eventually catch it on tv. A friend of mine had seen it and wanted to go again so I thought why not. I wasn't disappointed.

I won't go into the story other than to say it's a cross between sci-fi and Dances with Wolves. If you like either, you'll probably enjoy the story. As a story it's enjoyable enough. Certainly not the best I've seen, but far from the worst.

What blew me away was the 3D. If you do see the movie you have to see it at one of the IMAX theaters that has 3D. Yeah you have to wear glasses, but they aren't as cheesy as the old cardboard ones with the red and blue lenses.

The first minute or two of 3D was a little weird. It took a couple of minutes for me to adjust. From then on it was an amazing experience. I felt like I was physically present in the scenes instead of just watching them. At times I almost reached out and tried to touch something in the movie, because it felt like I could. Characters would walk off the screen and you felt like they walked right to the side and then behind you and at times I could swear one of the characters was in the row in front of me instead of on the screen.

There were a number of previews for other 3D movies coming so even of you don't care for Avatar there's probably going to be one movie coming in 3D you'll like.

From what I understand James Cameron really wanted to bring the experience back to the theater. I can understand that, because for a few years now I haven't felt the need to see anything in the theater. With tvs getting bigger and bigger and movie prices going up, I've been happy to wait.

Much of the 3D cameras were invented in order to make Avatar and the 3D really does make a difference. I can see where most movies will be in 3D in a number of years. Now if only they could do it without the glasses.

[rezzy]

I saw the movie, and it was a killer movie indeed. It was almost to much for me, all the spinning and motion through me for a loop and I had to take breaks during high motion periods.

From what I did see, it was awesome.

[vangogh]

I wonder if you were feeling what I felt in the first minute or two. It went away for me pretty quickly, but I can imagine if it didn't it could have been hard to deal with for a few hours. Once I got used to it, which didn't take long at all, the experience was amazing.

Like I said I really felt like I was in the scene and not just watching it. I didn't want to take the glasses off when the movie was over and had someone asked I would have seen it again immediately.

The one I'm looking forward to next is Hubble. They took a 3D camera with them the last time they went to Hubble to repair whatever it was that needed repairing. The preview was incredible. I'm looking forward to thinking I'm floating around in space with the astronauts when the movie is out.

[cbscreative]

I saw it the same way you did, IMAX 3D. The only difference is, I did go right away. The show kept selling out back then, so we booked a few days in advance.

I had only seen one other movie using the same 3D technology, and it was in an aircraft museum, so it was not all that well done. It seemed very blurry to me. I had concerns about what the 3D would be like, especially for a 3 hour movie.

I was not disappointed! From the very start, the 3D was clear and awesome. I do think the first couple minutes is intended to get you oriented for it because it can be a bit much at first. Best of all, there were no effects afterwards, so watching a 3 hour movie was only hard on the bladder and not the eyes.

I thought the story line was not unique, but it was so well done, that didn't matter. It was still a new twist and they were very creative within a familiar premise.

[vangogh]

Sounds like we had similar experiences. The first few minutes for me were during a preview for the Hubble movie and the scenes did jump around a bit. That might have been why it took me some time to adjust. By the time Avatar started I was seeing the 3D fine.

Even though it was 3 hours there was never a point where I felt it was a long movie. What's that they say about time flying when you're having fun. I've been to other movies where 30 minutes in I was squirming in my seat.

You're right about the story. It's mostly predictable. You can pretty much tell how it's going to end and even guess at some of the twists and turns. It was done well though and let's face it, how many movies out there really keep you guessing about what's going to happen. Most of the time it's pretty easy to figure out how a story will end. As long as it's enjoyable getting to that end I don't mind.

Are you looking forward to some of the other 3D movies that are coming soon. I'm psyched to see the Hubble one, but there are some others coming out that looked good. Given Avatar's success, I expect we'll be seeing more and more movies in 3D in the near future.

[cbscreative]

You could be right about more 3D movies, but Avatar will be difficult to top in one sense at least. I didn't research to know how long it took to create the movie, but I recall hearing it was like 8 or 13 years.

Now that the technology is developing, yes, I think there will be more 3D movies. But I don't expect the quality of Avatar unless they are willing to put the same effort into creating it. I would not go see it just because it claims to be as good as Avatar. There's only one Avatar, and it now has an enviable position in history, just like it would be difficult to be another Star Wars.

I'm not saying that just because it's 3D they would be trying to be the next Avatar, but I do predict some "me too" movies as a result of their success.

[vangogh]

Most of that time though was waiting for technology to catch up. The script had been done, but I think filming was basically the last 2-3 years. And Cameron did have to invent much of the technology as he went. Now that the technology is out there it shouldn't take as long.

I'm sure there will be 'me too' movies. What I think we'll see though is more people coming back to the theater because of the added experience. I can't speak for anyone else, but I haven't felt the need to see anything in the theater for years. Now if there's a movie I'm interested in and it's in 3D at IMAX I would make sure to get to the theater. I have a hunch there are many more like me in this regard.

[cbscreative]

One thing I didn't mention yet is when the movie was released, the first showing was a midnight show that my daughter went to with a group of her college friends. This group was made up of students studying 3D animation. They have an in depth knowledge with hands on experience in every phase of 3D creation. All of them were VERY impressed! They reported the movie was nearly flawless.

It was also the regular version they were watching, not the 3D version. I didn't see the non 3D version, but according to my daughter, the biggest difference was the intense action scenes. In non 3D you see more of the detail whereas in 3D it's so intense you can't really take it all in. She was glad to have seen it both ways, and because of her experience, she knew in advance that the 3D version was going to cost the detail that you experience seeing in non 3D.

[vangogh]

I would think if you saw the non 3D version you'd miss out on so much of the experience. The story itself would still be the same and I'm sure the special effects still look great. But I know most of why I was so impressed was that I saw it in 3D. Had I been watching another 2D movie I don't think I would have walked out feeling anywhere near as impressed.

It was also the regular version they were watching, not the 3D version

Just curious, but how could they know how well the 3D was done without seeing the 3D version. I know you said they did later, but could they tell by watching the 2D version? Not suggesting they couldn't by the way. Just wondering how.

[huggytree]

i saw the movie last night and was very impressed. I had to almost force my wife to go(she doesnt like scifi), but she liked it alot too.

i saw it in Imax 3d....im used to Imax being a dome...this imax was just a slightly taller screen and it had a curve..is this all Imax is to most people?...anyone see it in Imax w/ a dome?