It showed up out of nowhere, made the most bank in history (for a movie), refused to explain and disappeared for like 15 years, then came back out of nowhere with a sequel movie, a AAA game, and like 3 more movies in the works.
Edit: I think it now has like a Lego line too?
And it is otherwise entirely dull and forgettable. Despite making so much money, it barely made any cultural impact. Nobody quotes Avatar like ever.
The reason it was such a hit at the time was mainly its visuals, IMO. Story might be predictable and shallow, but you can’t deny it looks beautiful. All the colorful jungle, alien species, green mountain peaks and needle rocks, it’s all just very pleasant to look at. What also helped it being directed by big Hollywood name.
PS: unrelated, but it has amazing OST.
I’ve always looked at the Avatar movies as being more about advancing movie making technology than about creating a good movie. I think James Cameron will be more remembered for his technical advances than for this storytelling.
On the other hand, he directed Titanic, which probably also had tech advances, but is recognized more for the story. Is that a fair observation? I was still a kid when it came out, so I know less about it than Avatar.
He helped to further submarine technology to get the shots of the Titanic for the movie, and he developed cameras that could withstand the pressures down there. He also helped design a small rover camera called Snoopy that actually went inside the Titanic to get shots of the staircase.
no the tech was very much the focus at the time. they did some incredible stuff for that film.
Agreed, I’ve always seen it as more of a tech demo than a feature film
Also it came out right at the time when 3D movies were at their (very short lived) peak.
And it did a GREAT job using that tech. I’ve never seen better.
The movie is a visual masterpiece and a king of theater-watching cinema.
Sure the story is bland but ain’t nobody watching that movie for the story.
Yep, IIRC someone committed suicide because, in part, he would never see real life floating jungle islands.
Doesn’t help that its dialogue is so boring, its most well known quote is literally just “I see you”.