Wasn't interested in this movie after the first descriptions, considered it just another "military scifi action movie".
But then I heard it is worth seeing and now I just left the cinema after 3 hours of "Avatar" (3D) and .... wow!!

Not a movie you go to because of the story or the actors, but the setting is unbelievable. I would like to see much more of Pandora, learn of the culture, traditions and the ecosystem. I could do without the battle-stuff, but the landscape is breathtaking. Floating mountains, how does that work? What would the weather and seasons be if you live on a moon to a big Jupiter-like planet? What kind of stuff has a tree to be made of to grow that tall without crushing from its own weight?
The stars of the movie are all the visual effects and computer stuff people.

I like Science Fiction books about strange planets, different ecosystems and cultures, feeling like an explorer of an alien world. (e.g. "Solaris" "Dune" or the "Heliconia" triology). So this movie puts into pictures what I like to read.

Who has seen it? Other opinions?

I really, really liked it!! I too thought it was just beautiful. I couldn't figure out exactly what about the story seemed so familiar, then I saw a thing someone had put up on a website and realized the story is exactly like that of Pocahontas. lol. Regardless of the overdone storyline though, I really enjoyed the movie and will definitely pick it up when it comes out on DVD.

Also, I found it kind of amusing that the actress who voiced (and maybe did motion capture? I'm not sure) the character of...oh gosh, I can't think of her name now, the female alien that Jake fell in love with, was the same actress that played Uhura in the new Star Trek movie.

I read a review of Avatar before seeing the movie and the reviewer's only complaint was that the audience was much quicker on the uptake than the movie makers expected them to be. I'll admit that remark stuck in the back of my mind. It caused me to wonder if the movie makers really expected us to be on the side of people who wanted to scrape aside a civilization to get at minerals below and it was only after we learned that the civilization was extremely beautiful and idealized that we'd switch sides and want to stop the distruction.

I'd like to believe we'd want to stop the destruction even if the natives were less beautiful, but our history suggests otherwise. Even today we're doing mountaintop mining -- scraping the tops of mountains into river valleys below -- to get at a bit of coal (less than 10% of the fuel powering electric plants). We destroy communities and whole eco-systems for money that goes into a few pockets of very wealthy men.

If only the people of the Appalachians were blue and could ride on flying reptiles.

Carol

Agreed.

Awesome setting. Animation and all.

Slightly cliched but still enjoyable story.

I heard someone's review that said "if we wanted to see Dances with Wolves then we'd watch Dances with Wolves." It's a little different but I get what they're saying.

I did like the Pocahontas-type character. She was pretty cool.

I'm a total sucker for make-believe ecosystems in stories and that.

Crowd scenes with the Nav'i were great.

Wasn't Pandora a moon or satellite rather than a planet?

Go in with medium-level expectations, and you'll be treated to a pretty good yarn, I reckon.

----------------
edit note thingy: Saw this movie and "Holmes" recently and they both had previews to Clash of the Titans. Pretty fragmented preview but the movie looks pretty spectacular. Giant scorpions. Cool.

We do not have to go to the cinema and imagine a far away moon to see this story happening

Please have a look at this:

http://www.survivalinternational.org/films/mine


I am emotionally enganged because my family visited those mountains, my father was there several times, and we know some people of a neighboring tribe.

Well no of course not. It's taking a historical / contemporary issue as archetype. And from that standpoint, setting it on a far away, essentially inaccessible realm with the protagonists being ten foot blue monkey people is immaterial.

One of the good things about speculative fiction is that you can explore these contentious issues in a fairly general manner while using the process of defamiliarisation and not getting so "close" to history that people are not going to want to hear your message. And if done well, this can be a powerful thing.

...Which of course is likely to resonate very differently with different people. But the world would suck if we were all the same.

I agree upon all your observations.

But it feels very different when you notice that this is happening right now and to a place and a people you know.
And a people who have little chance to succeed, one reason beeing that for the majority of Indians these tribal people "are living like animals in the jungle". (This were the words of an Indian doctor, when my father told him about his visits to the Khond. It describes the attitude of many)

At least ... the movie seems to help the Dongria Khond to get some international visibility.
http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/6273

I am sorry.
===============

I guess... How to clarify without coming off all weird?

It's good to hear that your friends are getting some publicity.

Nothing above was meant to be sounding callous or unfeeling.
Please understand I don't speak the language of sympathy very well.

Peace?

Peace of course - I knew you meant no offence, Ash, I just wanted to explain.

I myself like to linger on issues from a theoretical point of view. Talking animated about politics, social matters, ecological issues - but sometimes an event breaks through the intelectual musing and gets my emotions involved. Then I feel I should get my lazy bum off the comfortable chair I am sitting in, and DO something! Unfortunatly, the older I get, the less optimistic I become about changing anything. Which is no excuse not to try.

I can't believe it!!
Good news from India: http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/6385
Now this is a reason to be more optimistic about "what can I change" ... not that I contributed, my letter will arive late. But still...