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Saw it in 3D, though my eyes are screwy, too, and I didn't expect it to work. It did work, and arrow tips and gun muzzles pointed right at me as they were supposed to, but I don't think it was that crucial to my enjoyment. <shrug>
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I saw it in 3D and wish I hadn't. I had to situate the glasses inside my own glasses and the field that actually worked made it so I couldn't move my head much and I ended up with a stiff neck. Why didn't they make glasses that would have a little shelf or hook that would work more easily with existing glasses? The 3D also only worked on one eye, but that was me. The 2D option disappeared from the theaters before I got to seeing it. I would have much preferred to see it that way. The 3D didn't add anything significant for me, even when it was working right.
Another note about the story; there was a total lack of strategy on the part of the good guys. They say that knowing the terrain will help them but they never use it. The ewoks were better at using the forest to fight. The blue guys here just charged straight at the mean people with the big guns. Or how about dropping some rocks and branches into those unguarded propellers since you have those cool dragon thingies. The MC didn't use any of his military knowledge to come up with tactics or even suggestions. You know, 'this is the weak point of this machine, hit it here'. And if he didn't offer, why weren't the blue warriors asking these questions?
Cliches aside, too many things happened because the characters were kind of stupid.
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Oh, Kathleen, I'm glad you enjoyed it soooooo much. I like your explanation that the story sounded like it was told from the YA point-of-view. I think this is the reason I enjoyed it so much. I seem to like YA type stories better than those that are more in-depth. What I call light science fiction. Yes, I agree that there was so much more that could've been done to make the story better, stronger, but I still think it was the most amazing movie I've ever seen in my life.
David Farland has written several of his "Daily Kick in the Pants" blogs about Avatar recently.
And, basically, one of his main points is that it was aimed at a YA market and the creatures, characters, and events were created specifically to resonate with that market.
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I enjoy some YA stories, such as Harry Potter and some of the classics, but I felt this movie, with it's "War and Love" theme, was more mature. Now I know HP has some more adult themes than the typical YA, but part of that has been the series growing with the MC and audience. As far as comparisons go, I would compare it more to "The Battle of Little Big Horn" (though not as overwhelming of a victory) than I would to Pocahontas.
What I think part of the problem is that we, as writers and sci-fi connoiseurs, are much more aware of "formulated" plots more so than the average movie-goer.
I have seen some good sci-fi movies over the years that had better-than-average plots but flopped at the theaters. One of the best examples was Dark City. This was my favorite film of 1998. But I question how many people looking for a great plot saw this one. It didn't exactly light up the box office.
Here are a few others that had more complex plots, but did so-so at the box office: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, The 13th Floor, Gattica, Children of Men, and District 9. I know the las two did fairly well considering budget and all things considered, but I don't recall them hitting the magic $100M mark, though COM might have - not sure.
The only "original" sci-fi movie (that I can recall) within the last 10 years to do well at the box office and also to have a significant plot twist was the first Matrix. Now I am sure there were others, but I just can't think of any right off hand. And yes, I know The Matrix came out in 1999, but it was the last one I could think of.
Interesting to note, Dark City is also one of the few genre films Roger Ebert actually likes.
I'm vehemetly opposed to elitism and I dont like making value judgements and the like but...if your looking for complex plots and highly advanced storytelling, American cinema isn't really the place to look. Generally, here, movies that do well sales wise are disliked by critics and the reverse is also often true...its a generalization, but a lot of movies heavily lauded by critics arent exactly blockbusters.
Its changing, with the vogue for foreign, especially Asian cinema but Hollywood movies are generally geared almost totally toward straightforward entertainment value. Now, me, I don't see anything wrong with that at all and while chances are when I do rent Avatar I probably won't like it as much as I do Dark City or The Matrix I'm sure I will enjoy it, and I don't consider movies of that sort "inferior" to those with greater complexity...they're just different is all.
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