I just saw avatar in 3-D. I had heard and read a lot about the plot and how it simply rehashes old stereotypes. In this case, The White Messiah. That, in my opinion just points out how limited we are with subject matter.
On the other hand, the special effects were spectacular. The flying horses and illuminated dandelions could not have appeared more real. They also did not resort to cheap 3-D tricks. It was used to create a wonderful overall effect.
I also loved the absurdity of this super valuable mineral, "Unobtanium." What a joke.
SNAP! I was so gonna say pretty much the same thing.
The White Messiah issue didn't really bug me; I expected that it was going to be a fairly standard story. My comment on that, though, is that if you believe that mythological concepts are sort of limited in number, than it's ok to see them retold over and over again. If I wanted to have a less-than cathartic, satisfying epic movie experience, I'd watch a French film and be pissed off that it ended in mid-sentence... Oh wait, there ARE no epic French films! LOL (btw, I'm just stirring folks...)
The name of the mineral Unobtainium fucking cracked me up!! However, imagine a strong, metallic substance that would in essence be lighter than air used as a building material for machines, buildings, etc... If it truly existed, it would mean energy consumption would be dropped to almost nothing... I also loved the fact that it was just thrown into the 'mix' of the film for us to figure out it's significance; you can't very well get pissed off at a film for giving us a little less narrative and in the same breath say something wasn't explained well enough. I LOVE not knowing what's going on and using my brain to figure it out with the clues, etc provided.
My partner and I saw Avatar in 2D first because EVERY other 3D film I've had the misfortune to see in the past just gave me a fucking headache, the colors were bad, seemed out of focus, and I was bored by shit 'flying or floating' out of the screen at me.
But I enjoyed it so much I decided to give the 3D a go on Boxing Day (Day after Christmas for my USA brothers/sisters) and was blown away by the subtlety that JCameron chose to go for. Rather than going for the 'boo factor', he let the 3D technology give a depth to the screen that can't be experienced with a 2D.
If this is the future of 3D then I'm all for it.