I saw it. Liked it a lot. But it did have its problems...
As Alex had mentioned earlier, I kept thinking of
Dances With Wolves all the way through. Now that Cherny mentions it,
Pocahontas works too.
Spoiler:
There seemed to be a lot of throw backs to Cameron's previous films, especially Aliens.:
1. Tough chick pilot from Aliens.
2. Loaders like in the movie Aliens.
3. Helicopter planes like in Terminator 2.
4. Cryogenic sleeper pods like Aliens.
5. Epic huge SFX happening in a film that was reminiscent of the Titanic sinking in Titanic.
6. Sigorney Weaver.
7. Corporate jerk who is trying to ruin the day like in Aliens.
8. Hot shot military crew like in Aliens.
9. Jumpy specimens in large jars as in Aliens.
10. Hot shot female military soldier sacrifices her life in the midst of battle like in Aliens.
I have to disagree with Cherny about Weaver. I like her in some things but as in Aliens, she bugged me in this one. Since Aliens, she's never learned how to swear convincingly on camera. It always seemed forced as if she's never sworn before in her life. I liked the idea of her character, but she wasn't hard-assed enough for me.
The 3D is spectacular. You have to see this film in 3D or you're missing out on a lot.
Loved all the animals and the bio luminescent doings on Pandora. Truly imaginative. Ralphie had mentioned that Cameron had talked to some of his colleagues about deep sea stuff and bio luminescent seaweed and animals several years ago.
Loved the animation. As Cherny said, they got the eyes right. And there were expressions they made that totally sold certain moments.
It drove me nuts all the way through the movie trying to place CCH Pounder's name to her voice. Love her.
The ending... I would have liked to see Jake save the day or save himself as a human. It gave this weird message that crippled people need help.
I was blown away by the first moments on Pandora. Him exploring the jungle and getting his butt kicked and all. But there were long periods of time in the film that dragged. Slllloooow. But the rest of the film made up for it.
So God, Mother Nature saves the day? Hmm. Don't know about that one...
The CG of Jake's legs were spot on. Nicely done.
Huge liberal green message in the film. Cleverly done tho. I mean how do you get straight, Fox "News" watching dudes to see a movie about preserving the environment? Fill the film with military guys, explosions, wars and more explosions.
I was wondering if there is such a thing as too much movie. There was so much going on in this one, was it too much, too over done?
I'm beginning to wonder if I just saw the winner of Best Picture... You never know.