Excellent. Pretty much sums the film up.
You could say Avatar lacks originality and that it rips off Dances with Wolves and doesn't live up to all the hype, but I think it looks like a pretty descent cinema experience. Anyway another great 5-sec.

I agree. It's nice to look at and the action is decent, but if Cameron wouldn't have waited so long and did the movie like 10 years ago, it would be nowhere near SIX RANKINGS HIGHER THAN CITIZEN KANE ON IMDB.

So?

Rips off more than Fern Gully.

Call Me Joe by Poul Anderson is a story of a disabled man who surveys a land uninhabitable by humans (Jupiter) in a remotely controlled artificial body. He eventually
transfers his consciousness into his host becoming fully integrated with it.

Pocahontas, Dances with Wolves, The Last Samurai etc. is the story of a white man who enter a native tribe, learns their ways, becomes a respected member of the tribe and eventually saves them from destruction by the other white people he left behind.

Cameron himself even describes it as a combination of elements from all his favorite stories.

Funny, I don't recall the Sioux being saved from destruction at the end of Dances with Wolves, and if I remember correctly, the samurai were defeated in The Last Samurai.

Exactly...they are clearly veeeeeeeery different.....

:huh: hmmm

Just throwing tihs out... I think Avatar would have been much, much better if the aliens lost at the end >_>, even ignoring the fact that there's no logical explanation as to why they should win even.

and james cameron is taking credit for what WETA did in lord of the rings. the only reason it wasnt used was because its incredibly expensive.

an joke on the USB pony tail thing could have been hilarious really...but here I could just use bits from the trailer, the movie is still in cinema...so I was very limited to do that stuff (that's why lip synching the lyrics would have been impossible)

EDIT: for those who would really like to know what I actually think of AVATAR, it's in my TOP 5 videos (movies of the decade)...

Did we see the same movie? Because I don't remember it really ripping off anything but the fact the story could have been more in depth. This film was one of those take it at face value or leave it alone type of movies. Humans=bad and stupid by nature. Aliens=smart yet primitive.

the ferngully comparison hurts me

Im agreeing with you 100% of the way. Even with the ferngully part.

Couldn't have said it better myself Benzaie; creative story, this film was not.
Specifically, nice mention of Matrix here. Looking back on it, I don't know how I missed the connection while watching it in theaters. Probably too sucked in by the 3-D visuals to catch ALL the recycled ideas. No doubt, it LOOKS fantastic, but still left me feeling kind of empty on a narrative level.
Thanks for helping to keep the 5 second movies alive. Always good for a laugh.

nicely done

You forgot to mention Dances With Wolves!

I think James Cameron was sitting in a theater watching Fergully and he said "Pfft, I could do better than that." and some kid says "Oh yeah proove it!"
It's still a really good movie.
EDIT: Thought I would draw it out as a comic for fun...

http://panpizza15.deviantart.com/art/Avatar-Ferngully-2-147595134

Yep... and it made over 1 billion dollars.. BRAVO MR CAMERON!!!

pwnd

Yup. Pretty much. And everyone hates me for pointing it out.

Don't forget Last of the Mohicans and Captain planet too.
If we had to drink a shot for everything this movie blatantly grabs in the absence of story originality or depth we'd all be dead before the 2 hour mark.

Agreed.I'd add a dash of BULLSHIT to that equation though..Pocahontas + Ferngully + The Matrix + 8tblspns of BULLSHIT = Avatar :pinch:

AVatar sucked.
DISTRICT 9 explored most of the same themes and was A MILLION times better because although wasnt as pretty it wasnt disneyfied either.

District 9 was about racism and explaining apartheid to a modern audience. Nothing to do with environmentalism or EVIL MILITARY!!111

My opinions exactly. The only unfortunate thing is, when you try to explain to the simple minded that the only good thing Avatar has is "pretty colors." Hell, even the animals in the movie resembled animals you'd see in the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon, so I can't really give the movie credit for creative animal designs.

Well about 95% of people who liked Avatar are going to like it for the CGI.The last 5% are going to like it for other reasons.Im one of those 5% and yes i'll admit that the story isn't original but wasn't The Last Samurai,Pocahontas and FernGully ALL copying the plot of Dances With The Wolves?The problem is,that people should have gone in with an open mind,but they heard that the plot was not original so it already set the tone of the film for them .James Cameron admited that the movie is a cliche "going wild" movie such as Dances With The Wolwes so he didn't copy the plot he was just inspired by it.Another example is Akira Kurosawa's "Ran".It's basicly "King Lear" in feudal Japan, but he said that he was inspired by King Lear and wanted his own take on it.I like the movie,but i agree that the plot wasn't really original,but i went with a open mind and i was left in awe after i saw it.I think that people who didn't like it because of the plot should watch it again and look at the things that they might like,acting,characters just for an example.I think we should give Avatar another chance.If you didn't like the first movie, you migth like the next two Avatar movies that will be released in the 2010's,Yes there is going to be a Avatar trilogy.And since it's James Cameron.....i doubt that the movies will be a flop.

I think Cameron will do a much complicated plot with the sequels if he does them, he was more introducing new technology and Pandora with this one with a simple story. Star Wars did the same thing in episode IV and did a much detailed story in episode V.
And now when he has the fans, he can work much more on the plot rather than the technical part of the movie.
And if there's any man who knows how to do a sequel, it's Cameron.

Are you kidding me? Star Wars ep IV had a much more detailed plot and well developed characters. Of course it was more detailed in the second movie because the premise and characters were already established. Avatar on the other hand, barely even had a plot, it just moved from one CG set to the next.

Well you can't say that.Im not saying that Avatar has an original plot, it doesen't that's the problem with the movie,but it's not like this is the FIRST movie to have done the same.Read my comment above sabbath's comment and you will see what i mean.

Yup that's what i think, your right.Cameron is one of the few people who can make a a sequel good.

How dare you compare James Cameron to Akira Kurosawa, good sir. Go stand in the corner.

Im sorry if i offended you, i was not comparing them i was just giving an example of a clever take on a clever story.Their both great directors, but the movies of Akira Kurosawa are more epic and somewhat spiritual rather than just entertain the hell out of you as Cameron does.Again, i apologise.

not to mention that district 9 had better flushed out characters and a decent story.

Uh...I'm probably gonna be an called a fool for not jumping on the bandwagon, but I personally didn't really mind Avatar's recycled idea. Sure, we've seen similar stuff before, but in my opinion Cameron kept it lively enough so it didn't bother me much throughout the film. The setup was very simple, yes, but I still consider this movie good entertainment.

Either way, I liked this 5-second just as the rest. Keep going!

it is still an amazing movie

huh. That actually does work. And I liked the movie too...

Ferngully was better than Avatar.

That's how low my opinion of Avatar is.

No Tim Curry in Avatar.. that's where Cameron messed up.

My mom said it was good,but I don't know if I'd trust her opinion on that one.

Thanks, Benzaie. You just reminded me why I never want to see this lame movie. The trailer said enough for me. So what if the director made Terminator 2 and Aliens? I still don't get the point of this movie.
And to any fan of the movie who feels the need to explain it to me - GROW SOME BALLS.

My mom said it was good,but I don't know if I'd trust her opinion on that one.Might see it once it hits on demand.

Fun viewing experience. The story was painful the second time through though.

Kinda neat what happens when you mix colors someone else has provided.

What a perfect analogy.

I'm sorry, but i thnik that wasn't very funny.
Even if i adore this movie, i found the Bum review funnier, even if it was a very negative critic.

But here...when, we can give you credit to actually find things to laugh about this movie even if we all know you have a good opinion of this movie. But in consequence, you haven't put all your heart in this video.
And i must say i'm a bit tired of hearing the anti-avatar just shouting "this is unoriginal" or "the scenario is too simple" all the time.
These are pretty weak arguments. But it has nothing to do with you or your video, of course :) but that makes these jokes a bit over-used.
Perhaps a joke about the usb-ponytail of the Na'Vi would have been better, or a comparison between the Titanic and the Tree-city, or Pandora and the Vietnam, or jokes about paraplegic people on wheelchair...uh, forget that one.

So yeah, just for ths time, it didn't make laugh. Good luck for the next 5 seconds video. ;)

How is saying the plot is weak and unoriginal a weak argument? The story should drive a movie forward, and frankly a movie like this getting critical acclaim sets a horrible precedent for movie making.. basically "if we put enough sparkles and frills on a pile of crap, people forget it's crap eventually"

Class act again, Benzaie. Loved it.

*5 star'd*

Avatar was good. Just not very original.

It's been said that Avatar is not terribly original. But let's face it: given the state of Hollywood these days, what is?

What really matters is whether the movie engages us with a good visual experience and good story-telling.

I can honestly say it was much better than Transformers 2: The Jumping of the Sharkticon.

Story aside, you've got to give credit for James Cameron's imagination and creativity.

you mean WETA's creativity....they did all the effects.

The sum of references to other movies don't make Avatar less entertaining than what it is, an enjoyable storytelling with some revolutionary special effects.
An old story will always be glad to hear again if it's good storytelling, and Cameron proves he can do that.

Agree 100% but you could have tried to include some Dances with Wolves lines although everyone who heard of the movie heard this comparison so at least you added your 3 movies you think it rips.

Also I think the movie rips-off Robinson Crusoe. From the guy who under some circumstances is obligated to mingle through people he considers savages to turning against fellow white people.

Damn if you strip the pretty graphics from the movie you get one of the most ordinary, mediocre and bastard of hyped cinema and it's execution of characters, plot and moral is weak and understandable by a 5 year old.

One of my favorite movies of 2009 is Inglorious Basterds and although it tackles the subject of Nazi exploitation it's execution and atmosphere is incredible and immersible. Lucky for Avatar that there was Transformers 2 in 2009 if not CGI the movie would've been my worst of this year because of it's sheer spectacle of stupidity.

this is your best 5 seconds movie benzaixxx