Avatar -- immediate impression

[bolddeceiver]

Just got back, and my feelings are mostly positive.  Obviously visually stunning (though there were a few moments that were surprisingly plastickey for a film that got so much buzz about it's amazing CG), and pretty good storytelling as blockbusters go.  Some of the characters were a little hackneyed and flat, particularly the two main villains.  I had to shush the xenobiologist in my every fifteen seconds, but that's par for the course, and it didn't take me out of the mood at all.  All in all, it's a good film, even better considering the context -- when's last we had this much hype for an original, unadapted SF film?

I've got one other big thought, but I'm going to post it separately because it spoils the ending.

[Bdoomed]

I saw it last night, and man that movie was GORGEOUS!  Visually stunning and goddamn beautiful!  Sure it's the modern "ooh look at the effects and ignore the story!" but the story actually wasn't bad, the acting was actually decent, and the effects were beyond awesome and beautiful and EPIC.

right from the start of the movie, everything is just very, VERY big.  and pretty.  and 3D.  3D was awesome.

I agree that some of the characters fell flat, as well as with some of the spoiler opinions, but all in all I really enjoyed this movie and recommend it to others.

At first one of the plot devices bothered me, but then they made that device an integral part of the entire story, so it turned out just fine.

it's also a long movie, about 2hrs 40 min or so, so be prepared.  But man is it pretty