Avatar getting GREAT reviews - "The next Star Wars or LOTR"

Reviews are starting to come on Rottentomatoes.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/avatar/

FRESH:

"It's a 3D movie people will look back on in years to come to comment on how it transformed cinema."

"One of the most exhilarating, barmy and eye-wateringly gorgeous movies of the decade."

"If this is the future of filmmaking, then bring it on, I say."

"An epic film born entirely of Cameron's imagination, Avatar uses tailor-made technology to create the most astonishing visual effects yet seen on screen and blends them seamlessly into a mythical sci-fi story."

"Avatar may be James Cameron's masterpiece."

"You care about the CG characters. It tugs the heart. It makes you shout. And it is an overwhelming feast of visual artistry unlike anything you have ever seen before."

"Game-changing - yes. Spectacular - absolutely. Occasional dodgy dialogue and dramatic imperfections - of course. But still - wait for it… - a titanic achievement."

" To say that I was pleasantly surprised by Avatar is an understatement. My advice to you is to forget all that you think you know or believe about Avatar. Just go and experience the world of Pandora and revel in the fact that one of the most entertaining filmmakers of our time is back in action."

4/4 from Roger Ebert (READ THIS PART):

"Watching "Avatar," I felt sort of the same as when I saw "Star Wars" in 1977. That was another movie I walked into with uncertain expectations. James Cameron's film has been the subject of relentlessly dubious advance buzz, just as his "Titanic" was. Once again, he has silenced the doubters by simply delivering an extraordinary film."

"Avatar is a technical breakthrough. It has a flat-out Green and anti-war message. It is predestined to launch a cult. It contains such visual detailing that it would reward repeating viewings. It invents a new language, Na'vi, as "Lord of the Rings" did."

"Like "Star Wars" and "LOTR," "Avatar" employs a new generation of special effects. Cameron said it would, and many doubted him. It does. Pandora is bevy largely CGI."

"I've complained that many recent films abandon story telling in their third acts and go for wall-to-wall action. Cameron essentially does that here, but has invested well in establishing his characters so that it matters what they do in battle and how they do it. There are issues at stake greater than simply which side wins."

"It takes a hell of a lot of nerve for a man to stand up at the Oscarcast and proclaim himself King of the World. James Cameron just got re-elected."

ROTTEN:

"Feels unsatisfying and somehow lacks the pulse of a truly alive film."

"It's baggy, longwinded and, for all the light-speed imagery, just not quick on its feet. Cameron used to be the tautest film-maker around, but he just got slack."

"As superbly rendered as his 3D world is, Cameron has populated it with characters who are strictly 2D. And sometimes not even that."

If you are too lazy to read everything:

Avatar is incredible, it is the next Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. Its not just eye candy, there are great, well developed characters and it is one of the most visually stunning films ever made. It is bound to be revolutionary. The 3-D works extremely well too. Avatar has delivered.

Interesting. The only "bad" point that concerns me is the one about characters being 2-D, a point I was worried about all along; the other points are vague and sound like they exist only to be negative.

I'll be seeing this movie.

I'm curious to see what kind of bank it pulls in once it opens.

Critics know nothing!!

I'm curious to see what kind of bank it pulls in once it opens.

Hallenbeck77

I dont think it will break any opening weekend or first week box office numbers, but something tells me its going to do extremely well in the long run, just like Titanic (although nowhere near as much).

All the 'Bad' reminds me of the last 3 Star Wars films. Hope that's not the case

It looks decent to me might watch it once.

Eh, it'll drop down.

But I have to say that the bad reviews are... dumb. One of them says it looks "baggy", then it praises the visuals. Another says:

AVATAR is the most visually stunning movie I've ever seen. If I was just reviewing that, I'd give it a 10/10. If I left that out...if I watched it with my eyes closed, I would give it a 4/10. I hesitate to average that out. But, since I have no choice, I'm giving AVATAR a...

RATING: 6/10

Let's ignore the watching with her eyes closed part. The average of 14 is definitely not 6...

i still wont see it:P

Eh, it'll drop down.

But I have to say that the bad reviews are... dumb. One of them says it looks "baggy", then it praises the visuals. Another says:

AVATAR is the most visually stunning movie I've ever seen. If I was just reviewing that, I'd give it a 10/10. If I left that out...if I watched it with my eyes closed, I would give it a 4/10. I hesitate to average that out. But, since I have no choice, I'm giving AVATAR a...

RATING: 6/10

Let's ignore the watching with her eyes closed part. The average of 14 is definitely not 6...

Baranga

Down to 86%. This might end up being the Zelda TP of movies.

I really cant believe people arent more excited for this movie. It looks freakin unbelievable! Pretty much all reviews (good and bad) are saying the visuals are some of the most amazing of all time! Most reviews are saying even the story is fantastic.

Plus, apparently it has a battle sequence near the end of the film that (as another poster pointed out, the mother of all battles) is just downright amazing.

I seriously cant wait.

Down to 86%. This might end up being the Zelda TP of movies.

Pdiddy105

Its a completely different system. Movies either get a positive review or a negative review. Good games like TP dont get a single negative review (lowest was 80%). So its much easier for games to score higher.

Rottentomatoes is a percentage of good vs. bad reviews, not on average of scores.

i cant wait!!! :D

Good, James Cameron can take a sigh of relief now. And so can I.

I'm going to go see it no matter what.

Critics know nothing!!

MrsSolidSnake

James Cameron made Termniator 1 and 2, Aliens and Titanic, I expect great reviews from this movie too, and will plan to see it.

Its down to 83%. However, most of the bad reviews are clearly borderline so far, while the good ones claim it to be incredible.

Its down to 83%. However, most of the bad reviews are clearly borderline so far, while the good ones claim it to be incredible.

Samurai_Xavier

Some of the positive reviews:

"AVATAR is not the kick-ass, mind-blowing James Cameron movie I was hoping for, but it's a perfectly serviceable sci-fi adventure that's well worth seeing"

"Game-changing - yes. Spectacular - absolutely. Occasional dodgy dialogue and dramatic imperfections - of course. But still - wait for it… - a titanic achievement."

"The combination of special effects, creatures and immersion into a 3D world lend Avatar a kind of grandeur that thrives despite the clunkiness of Cameron's script."

Those sound pretty borderline.

[QUOTE="Samurai_Xavier"]

Its down to 83%. However, most of the bad reviews are clearly borderline so far, while the good ones claim it to be incredible.

JML897

Some of the positive reviews:

"AVATAR is not the kick-ass, mind-blowing James Cameron movie I was hoping for, but it's a perfectly serviceable sci-fi adventure that's well worth seeing"

"Game-changing - yes. Spectacular - absolutely. Occasional dodgy dialogue and dramatic imperfections - of course. But still - wait for it… - a titanic achievement."

"The combination of special effects, creatures and immersion into a 3D world lend Avatar a kind of grandeur that thrives despite the clunkiness of Cameron's script."

Those sound pretty borderline.

I don't think "well worth seeing", "game-changing", "immersion" and "thriving grandeur" qualify as borderline.

Simon Pegg said this on Twitter, I just saved because I think it's a fair point:

It's a familiar story but it needs broad mythological strokes to counterpoint the intense visuals. Narrative complexity would self defeat.

You know, like the 1984 Dune...

I don't think "well worth seeing", "game-changing", "immersion" and "thriving grandeur" qualify as borderline.

Baranga

Well, borderline for me anyway...things like a "clunky script" make me hesitant to see this. I personally want more than really cool visuals.

I'm sure you'll see it and love it, but so far it sounds like something that just isn't for me.

Yeah... thats still not enough reviews so far. for all I care it could see a sharp decline by the time launch day happens(and it has happened before on that website). If the reviews can maintain similar score by the debut date, then that would certainly be somewhat telling of the review of the movie itself.

Critics know nothing!!

MrsSolidSnake

Awesome, I tend to find that my tastes match up closer to critics than to joe schmo so this is good news. If the critics panned it than I would be far less inclined to see it.

[QUOTE="Samurai_Xavier"]

Its down to 83%. However, most of the bad reviews are clearly borderline so far, while the good ones claim it to be incredible.

JML897

Some of the positive reviews:

"AVATAR is not the kick-ass, mind-blowing James Cameron movie I was hoping for, but it's a perfectly serviceable sci-fi adventure that's well worth seeing"

"Game-changing - yes. Spectacular - absolutely. Occasional dodgy dialogue and dramatic imperfections - of course. But still - wait for it… - a titanic achievement."

"The combination of special effects, creatures and immersion into a 3D world lend Avatar a kind of grandeur that thrives despite the clunkiness of Cameron's script."

Those sound pretty borderline.

Really, they dont sound borderline at all. Even the quote that says a titanic achievement?

[QUOTE="Baranga"]

I don't think "well worth seeing", "game-changing", "immersion" and "thriving grandeur" qualify as borderline.

JML897

Well, borderline for me anyway...things like a "clunky script" make me hesitant to see this. I personally want more than really cool visuals.

I'm sure you'll see it and love it, but so far it sounds like something that just isn't for me.

I think you must be either incredibly picky or you just dont see that many movies. For an action sci-fi movie to be getting these kind of reviews its something special.

Just look at cr@p like Transformers 2. It has like 22% on rottentomatoes and a lot of people still thought it was awesome.

That's cool... I guess.

I'm not sure why, but I have become incredibly hyped for this movie... probably has something to do with my obsession with blue aliens... :P

But for real, I plan on seeing it on opening night.

Hm... I really don't have any interest at all. I just do not like the design of the avatars. JustPlainLucas

This.

It's going to be the greatest movie ever created.. it captures human nature perfectly.. too bad they had to go with a fairy tale ending.

Good to see that Cameron can still cut after all these years. I'm so going to see this. Silent-Hal

sounds like the movie is **** but the graphics and animations look great.F1_2004

Did you not read see the reviews? Not a single review said the movie is bad.

Some new reviews:

"You have to see Avatar to believe it, and even then it's nearly impossible to register all of what's on screen."

"Wow. James Cameron pulled it off."

"No, there's no clever wordplay, but the sophistication exists in the vistas, the landscape, the staggering use of new technology."

Its climbed to 89%.

[QUOTE="F1_2004"]sounds like the movie is **** but the graphics and animations look great.Samurai_Xavier

Did you not read see the reviews? Not a single review said the movie is bad.

Some new reviews:

"You have to see Avatar to believe it, and even then it's nearly impossible to register all of what's on screen."

"Wow. James Cameron pulled it off."

"No, there's no clever wordplay, but the sophistication exists in the vistas, the landscape, the staggering use of new technology."

Its climbed to 89%.

[QUOTE="Samurai_Xavier"]

[QUOTE="F1_2004"]sounds like the movie is **** but the graphics and animations look great.F1_2004

Did you not read see the reviews? Not a single review said the movie is bad.

Some new reviews:

"You have to see Avatar to believe it, and even then it's nearly impossible to register all of what's on screen."

"Wow. James Cameron pulled it off."

"No, there's no clever wordplay, but the sophistication exists in the vistas, the landscape, the staggering use of new technology."

Its climbed to 89%.

Some of them also say the movie is a masterpiece and a titanic achievement. (first page) And I dont think the critics are referring to in terms of visuals. The movie wouldnt be getting these kinds of 5/5 or A+ kinds of reviews if the movie was just eye candy.

I'm going to see it. The CGI and the Avatars look great, but I'm not too impressed by the production design on the vehicles, the miliary weapons, etc.

Wow, Tilt Rotor technology..... in the 22nd Century, really, James? And those helicopters look.......bland, even today's Osprey used by the USMC look 10x better. I know Cameron was trying to relate our current military technolgy with this movie, but damn, they all look ugly, especially that Ramjet propelled space plane, uggh. How the hell does that thing hover, with those massive wings? VTOL? No thanks.

Sorry, but for a guy who went out of his way to make Space Marines popular, making dropships look cool, making the Pulse Rifle and Smart Guns look cool and sound thunderously different, as in not sounding like a typical M16 firing (Aliens earned an Oscar for best Sound & Editing in 1986), AVATAR seem rushed, lazy and lack of imagination, from a production design point.

Yes, I'll admit, I was expecting something brutal, something beyond the "Whoa that's so freaking cool!" factor, beyond what we've seen in the Colonal Marines.

There's my 2 cents.