So how good is Avatar?

[QUOTE="MrGeezer"]

[QUOTE="Film-Guy"]

Avatar looks interesting, but what critics think means nothing. There have been many times when most critics hate a film that I love, like Tideland for example. Most critics hated that film but I loved it. People should make up their own mind about a film rather than follow critics. Their opinion means nothing. I will wait though before I judge Avatar. I am not easily fooled by visuals though, if it looks amazing I couldn't care less if everything else sucks. For example that film Lovely bones has great visuals, but everything else sucks.

RearNakedChoke

I wouldn't say that critics' opinions mean nothing. I mean, if they are any good, then they're NOT just giving an opinion. They're giving a well-reasoned explanation for WHY they think that the movie is good or bad.

Now, you can agree or disagree with a critic, and think that that critic is just plain wrong.

But what they're basically doing is intelligently discussing art. And being open to other peoples' interpretations of art is a necessary component of art appreciation. Movie critics don't ONLY exist in order to tell you what movie you're going to like, any more than food critics exist to tell people what food they're going to like. People's tastes differ. But when speaking with someone who has different tastes, I think that more people ought to at least LISTEN instead of dismissing them as blowhards who don't know anything. No one says you have to AGREE with critics. But listen to them, think about what they're saying, and sometimes you might end up expanding your horizons.

I usually don't trust the opinions of critics because they have a tendency to underrate films. But very rarely have I seen critics overrate films, and it's for that reason that I I'm confident putting stock into all of Avatar's positive reviews.

Overrate and underrate are used so often, in the end it is just their opinion. Some more technical aspects of Avatar like the visuals are harder to argue the quality of, but I think it is good to get an idea of the film but to not expect amazing things just because the critics like it.