Anybody want to nit pick Avatar?

[hedgehog]

I don't think the price of unobatamium is high enough to justify the huge investment to mine it on Pandora unless there was a currency re-issue in 2143, say one new dollar is equal to a thousand old dollars.

[kayakjohnny]

1. Thank you.

I agree. I was thinking during the movie, that they were going through way too much effort and expense to get that floating rock.
The numbers didn't add up.

And I'm not even a numbers person.

[hedgehog]

2. Blue people? check. Instersteller transport? Check.. Cryogenic sleep?

No problem. But the rock isn't worth all that effort! we fans of science fiction do have certain standards for plausibility, you know!

:rofl:

[UnseenUndergrad]

3. I got one.

The utter crap-sackery that Cameron describes on Earth just doesn't seem plausible. Apparently with fusion and antimatter power and (I think) peak carbon already happened, Earth is a polluted, worldwide slum with near-unbreathable smog for air.

Of course, the origional script is ten years old, predating the emergence of the Green Movement as a major force.

Global Warming and an increase in sea level I can see (almost inevitable), but with something Like that, most of the rest of earth landmas would either now be city or farmland... all running on clean power.

In short, the earth would not be dying... but it would be utterly domesticated (I imagine most heavy industry transplanted to the Moon or Mars) and utterly boring compared to Pandora.

However, algae farms and urban decay would almost perfectly describe the subterranian, RDA-ruled industrial colonies on Mars, populated mostly by low-wage, exploitable "thrid world" overflow from Earth.

Would have provided a more complex message and a more transparent RDA slogan. "We don't fix problems, we just ship them off-world!"

[DainBramaged]

10. As the movie careens on towards the biggest payday in history,

your criticism seems, moot.


The public obviously enjoys the movie, and the number of theatergoers who have gone back three and even four times is beginning to rival the original Star Wars movie......

[UnseenUndergrad]

12. Why...

should the total gross and the number of fans (including me, but I haven't been able to go back for another showing) have to do with the conflict between futurism, storytelling and percieved plotholes?

I'm just theorizing what Earth may be like (and basically declaring personal discontinuity on the "activist survival guide").

Besides, I thought this was supposed to be nitpicking...

[DainBramaged]

13. "I thought this was supposed to be nitpicking"

I hate nitpicking. Life is too short........


:hi:

[Common Sense Party]

92. So you're nitpicking about the nitpicking of others.

Too short, indeed.

[Bucky]

15. No! That comma you put before the word "moot" is moot.

Moot, moot, moot.

[redqueen]

32. "Moot" actually means debatable...

not sure how you're using it there.

How's that for nitpicking?

[Glorfindel]

4. The waterfalls pouring off the floating mountains...

Where the hell did the water come from? Floating lakes on top of floating mountains? Why wouldn't the water just percolate through the ground and pour out the bottom? I loved the movie, but those waterfalls really made me wonder.

[hedgehog]

19. But what if the mountains are very dense at the center, so water

percolates through the soil layers to come out the sides?

[MilesColtrane]

38. James Cameron owes Roger Dean some royalty cash.

[kentauros]

83. I think I've figured it out (and it had bothered me, too, when I saw that):

The big vines they climb are biologically-created water pipelines with peristaltic pumping action! :P

[hunter]

5. Those blue people are not native to the planet.

They don't look anything like the other animals. They look almost human.

I think the planet made the blue people to trick us.

The planet now knows everything about us, right down to the basic structures of our DNA and our minds.

Our way of life is doomed. Pandora will soon cure her ailing sister planet Earth of a nasty infection of techno monkeys.

[dysfunctional press]

37. all the other animals have 6 limbs....

BUT- they all have that 'bonding' thing...so the blue cat-people must be from there as well.

[AllenVanAllen]

48. "all the other animals have 6 limbs...."

There's a single shot on pandora where Jake Sully sees what appears to be a lemur-like creature that hints at the Na'vi's mammal-like ancestor.

they all have that 'bonding' thing...

I noticed the tendrils of the "connection" points of Pandora's animals closely resembles the tendrils on the "seeds of Eywa". Cameron may have meant the creatures that have the bonding ability to have co-evolved with Eywa at some point.

[dysfunctional press]

79. the lemurs have 4 arms and 2 legs.

those hammerhead rhino things had 6 legs, and so did the dog-like things that chased him in the jungle.

[kentauros]

84. The lemurs could be the ancestors of the Na'vi.

One thing I noticed about them was that their arms started as one at the shoulder, and split into two shorter arms with hands. Perhaps the evolutionary line had the loss of one set of hands from that Y-shaped arm :)

[GaYellowDawg]

65. All other reptiles besides snakes have 4.

Delete that planet's version of one set of hox genes, and there you go.

[Auggie]

6. I have one (SPOILER)

Cliche ending when the antagonist and the hero have a final, epic battle. Couldn't Cameron have devised something a little more original?

[hedgehog]

7. You say cliche, I say classic

Ahab v Moby Dick

Beowolf v Grendel's mother

Arthur v Mordred

Luke Skywalker and the Emporer

Rambo and ....whoever


Rocky and ...whoever

Greeks v Troy

[kayakjohnny]

8. You left out

coyote v roadrunner.

[brettdale]

11. Itchy versus scrathy

Itchy always wins though.

[Alexander]

9. When the evil colonel uses the giant robot, why does he pull a knife?

Pulling a knife when you can smash someone into a pulp instantly seems like an incredibly stupid move.

Why would humans just get up and leave like that? They have no place else to hide on the planet? It's an entire planet, are we supposed to believe that primitive blue cat people can search every square inch of it?

The entire ending made no sense.

[hedgehog]

14. 1. He's an evil colonel, of course he needs to use a knife! How

else to stare into the dying eyes of his victims.

2. The cost of moving the strip mine & base to another location makes the economics untenable and/or the ore is only there. That's why they had to dig under the tree instead of moving in the first place.

[Alexander]

23. That doesn't really help.

I still contend the ending makes no sense, and nobody has done a very good job of convincing me otherwise.

[kentauros]

43. How about this one:

The entire surface of the planet is connected, both the flora and the fauna. It (whatever its Gaia name was) knew where to send the hammerhead-triceratops-like beasts to beat up the ground forces, and where to direct the flying creatures to the aerial troops. If it can know things like that, then there is no place on the surface (or in the air) where the surviving humans could hide. The planet would know where they were every step of the way and be able to attack in similar ways.

By the look of their airborne mission, they also lost pretty much the majority of their air force. Not much left with which to defend themselves...

I'm guessing, too, that Cameron took this idea partially from Harry Harrison's "Deathworld" books, where everything living is telepathic and communicates with everything else, except the humans.

[Alexander]

49. Speaking of the air force, nobody notices that the one helicopter just leaves?

In the middle of a mission?

I mean, one aircraft goes missing in Iraq or Afghanistan and it makes the news, and we're supposed to believe that the female pilot can just say "I didn't sign on for this" and leave, with nobody noticing and no repercussions?

"The entire surface of the planet is connected, both the flora and the fauna. It (whatever its Gaia name was) knew where to send the hammerhead-triceratops-like beasts to beat up the ground forces, and where to direct the flying creatures to the aerial troops. If it can know things like that, then there is no place on the surface (or in the air) where the surviving humans could hide. The planet would know where they were every step of the way and be able to attack in similar ways."

That's awfully convenient, and not explained or discussed in the movie. I guess we're supposed to fill in the plot holes with our imaginations.

[kentauros]

55. I've only seen the movie once, this past Sunday

and the part about the entire surface of the planet being connected and acting as one complex organism is explained and discussed. I believe Sigourney Weaver's character is the one making that observation back in their lab, or she's in on the discussion that brings up that point. Maybe someone has a YouTube clip to show you ;)

I noticed that, too, with the pilot just leaving the group. Someone should have noticed and passed it along to the colonel/commander.

[hedgehog]

67. They were all too busy with their wargasm.

[Alexander]

70. Convenient for the plot, but makes no sense.

We already have methods by which to track military personnel and aircraft.

I don't see that changing in the next 200 years.

[hedgehog]

86. Don't forget, the attack group was made up of a mix of civilian pilots

and armed guards. Some were ex-military, some weren't. When she said "I didn't sign up for this", she was giving us factual information. She had contracted to pilot people around Pandora, not attack the natives.

Think of someone who signed up to drive a truck for Halliburton, and ended up carrying a group from Blackwater, and you can get the picture.

I also think the fact that these guys were a Blackwater type outfit may account for the lack of discipline.

[Alexander]

91. And nobody notices her just leave with a multi-million dollar aircraft?

That makes no sense whatsoever. No amount of explanation will cause this scene to make any more sense.

[kentauros]

98. That makes more sense.

I had thought she was military like the rest since she had "uniform-like" clothing and flew a military craft. It's too bad those details weren't explained a little further, because it's a mess as it is now. It really needed a cleanup on the script if we're getting important details like this confused.

Thanks for you input and calm explanation :D

[hedgehog]

66. "I guess we're supposed to fill in the plot holes with our imaginations."

That's a major aspect of much science fiction. The reader is in the dark as much as the protaganists, because both are encountering an alien world. I've never seen all of Bladerunner, but isn't it left up in the air whether Harrison Ford's character is human? In the Fifth Element, we follow Bruce Willis as he seeks the 5th Element needed to save Earth.

[Alexander]

71. It's a major aspect of sloppy writing.

"I've never seen all of Bladerunner, but isn't it left up in the air whether Harrison Ford's character is human?"

That is not a plot hole. It is deliberately left up to the viewer's interpretation. It's not a nonsensical plot point that we are expected to believe.

"In the Fifth Element, we follow Bruce Willis as he seeks the 5th Element needed to save Earth."

This isn't a plot hole either. In fact, it's the plot.

[rcrush]

93. The priest guy also explains that Milla Jovovich is the Fifth Element.

[AllenVanAllen]

46. The dude in the AMP suit with a big knife

Isn't the first time in sci-fi a big-ass robot has "pulled a knife."



:hi:

[Alexander]

50. That doesn't make it any less stupid.

That entire character was one-dimensional and cartoonish.

[AllenVanAllen]

54. Ah, different point.

I thought Colonel Miles Quaritch was a cool character. He was exactly what he was supposed to be, a hardened warrior. The scene where he's armoring up in the AMP suit and talking to Jake as he does it is fucking awesome.

I do disagree about the knife though. If your gun mounted or not gets destroyed, a piercing weapon used in close quarters fighting with an armor plated behemoth carnivore isn't a bad idea.

[gmoney]

22. Well, why does the giant robot need to HOLD things like guns and knives

Wouldn't they just be attached to it for greater accuracy and reduce the risk of it being dropped or knocked out of the giant robot hands?

Reminded me of the bit in Kevin Kline's "Dave" where he's controlling the robot arms and makes the joke "One time I caught a fish THIS BIG!"

[Alexander]

24. It reminded me of that too. Meaning it was comical.

And if people in the audience are laughing at a supposedly serious scene, something is wrong with the movie.

[AsahinaKimi]

41. Because he stole that from

Aliens..

[AllenVanAllen]

45. "They have no place else to hide on the planet?"

The primitive blue cat people wouldn't have to find them if they could hide. The atmosphere was unbreathable by humans. Unless they had a constant supply of oxygen they couldn't do it. Apparently most of the mercenaries' heavy weapons were destroyed in the all-out offensive. Humans without any body protection like an AMP suit or a Na'vi avatar wouldn't last long because the planet's hostile animal life. The animals were very hard to kill and the Na'vi themselves possessed "natural occurring carbon fiber" skeletons. So small arms wouldn't have been enough for a counterstrike.

[Alexander]

51. Did the blue cat people find and destroy the base? I must've missed that part.

Because last I checked, the base was more or less unscathed, with hundreds if not thousands of humans with lots of weapons and oxygen in there.

I mean, if you want to explain away poorly-written movie endings, go right ahead. That doesn't make the writing any better.

[AllenVanAllen]

56. As I said , their heavy weapons were destroyed

and probably their best warriors killed. Small arms would only get you so far on a hostile planet like Pandora. Once Eywa becomes involved in the fight, practically the whole planet was against the invaders. Apparently the remaining contractors and mercenaries would rather live than continue fighting a losing battle. They were there for the money not honor. They basically underestimated the difficulty of the task. To win they would have had to wait for reinforcements if the corporation funding them saw fit to do so.

[hedgehog]

68. I forgot about the carbon fiber skeleton. That expains the ability to fall from such

great heights with little or no damage.

[rrneck]

47. Maybe

because the planet will send the hammerhead rhinoceroses and flying dragon thingies to mess with them no matter where they go?

[Alexander]

52. And they didn't do this in the beginning of the movie because...?

The blue cat people were not exactly friendly towards humans at the beginning. Why wasn't the planet attacking them then?

If the audience has to fill in the plot holes, it's a poorly-written movie.

[kentauros]

57. The planet wasn't aware of just how much of a threat humans were

until Jake's character mind-melded with it. Or did you miss that part, too? ;)

I agree it was poorly written, but so far everything you've objected to dealing with the consciousness of the planet has been shown to have existed in the storyline. I was on three different kinds of anti-allergy medicines and less than three hours of sleep and I still was able to pay enough attention to notice those points as well as the flaws, such as the evolutionary ones.

[Alexander]

59. And yet none of the humans brought along a nuke or a biological weapon.

They're so involved with acquiring this horribly-named mineral that they bring an entire army, but no nuclear, biological or chemical weapons with which to kill all the blue cat people as a last resort.

And if the planet only notices that the humans are a threat after the mind-meld, why do all the animals and creatures attack humans to begin with? They're part of this living planet, right? The planet that is oblivious to the humans until Sam Worthington communicates with it?

As I said, certain fans are trying to fill in the plot holes, and failing miserably, getting really defensive in the process.

"I was on three different kinds of anti-allergy medicines and less than three hours of sleep and I still was able to pay enough attention to notice those points as well as the flaws, such as the evolutionary ones."

Maybe all this, plus the fact that you saw the movie only once, contributed to you not noticing major plot holes that I noticed.

[kentauros]

60. Oh, I noticed the holes, and have agreed with you on some.

However, you seemed to have missed the finer points you're complaining about, like the interconnectedness of the planet's flora and fauna, and that the scientists accepted that as a fact. It's only been a day and a half since I saw the film, so I consider that still quite fresh.

I have to ask, though: did you go to the movie already prepared to hate it? If so, that might be why you've missed so many of the points you have brought up as "holes".

I had read some story about the movie where the element's name was mentioned, and I thought the writer was being facetious. I had no idea until I saw them use it in the film that it was meant to be a serious name. I don't know why someone didn't point that out to Cameron, either. I guess the majority of the fans either let it slide or simply don't know much about chemistry. And you can bet Holly banks on that amount of ignorance, too.

And if the planet only notices that the humans are a threat after the mind-meld, why do all the animals and creatures attack humans to begin with? They're part of this living planet, right? The planet that is oblivious to the humans until Sam Worthington communicates with it?

Now you're contradicting yourself. The planet learns from Jake about the humans being a threat. After that, then it treats them as a threat and attacks. Before that, it was indeed oblivious to them as such a threat. I'm guessing you meant to say "Why don't all the animals attack". If so, why would the animals be able to "reason" that the humans are a planetary threat when there is no evidence they are capable of reason in order to "decide" to attack the humans? As far as we are able to discern as viewers is that they take the humans as just another meal, albeit one kind they've never seen before.

As for the reason they didn't use a nuke (or chemical/biological), this was never explained, so we can only speculate about that. Perhaps it causes some undesired chemical reaction with the element, like say, rendering it worthless. Or it would react badly to the heat generated by the nuke. By the looks of their 3D models, the ore was rather close to the surface, so any nuke would likely irradiate it.

Chemical and biological warfare may not have been used because of pressure from either the scientific community or the general public. We don't really know the background and history on this thing, like what it's used for, why it's needed and what it does. The movie isn't about the element itself, only the consequences of obtaining it at any cost. I accepted that fact and don't need to know it any more than I need to know what fuels their ships and powered-armor. It's just not knowledge that's necessary to keep the main story going.

I'm no fan of the movie, but I didn't think it was horrible, either. It was a good movie, but not a great movie. I'll look for it again when it comes to Dish Network, but no sooner :)

[Alexander]

72. I did expect to at least like the movie.

I have liked some of Cameron's movies, like the Terminator movies, True Lies, and Aliens. Not a big fan of Titanic though.

The thing that bugs me the most about this movie is that it's overhyped. I wouldn't even bother to talk about it if certain moviegoers didn't think it was the greatest thing ever. But apparently, many people are okay with putting aside decent acting, writing and storytelling all for some glitzy special effects.

"Now you're contradicting yourself. The planet learns from Jake about the humans being a threat. After that, then it treats them as a threat and attacks. Before that, it was indeed oblivious to them as such a threat. I'm guessing you meant to say "Why don't all the animals attack"."

For still being "quite fresh" in your mind, you seem to forget the entire beginning of the movie, when Sam Worthington is chased by giant creatures after he goes out exploring on his own. Seems like you are the one being contradictory here.

"As for the reason they didn't use a nuke (or chemical/biological), this was never explained, so we can only speculate about that."

When you have to try and explain things that weren't properly explained in the movie, that's called bad writing.

"The movie isn't about the element itself, only the consequences of obtaining it at any cost."

Yes. At *any* cost. Meaning at least two lines of dialogue could've been spent on WMDs and why they couldn't be used.

"I accepted that fact and don't need to know it any more than I need to know what fuels their ships and powered-armor."

What this means is, you left your brain at the door. Ship fuel and armor are irrelevant. The ideas of nuking, gassing or releasing a pathogen on the planet to get this "unobtainium" are not irrelevant. We're expected to believe that the humans will wipe out an entire civilization to get this stuff, but they won't at least consider using weapons of mass destruction?

"I'm no fan of the movie, but I didn't think it was horrible, either. It was a good movie, but not a great movie."

I thought it was neither good nor great. I'm just glad I didn't waste money on this film. I'll grant you the special effects are nice. But I don't make a habit of going to the movies just for special effects.

[kentauros]

80. As for the beginning part where Jake is out exploring:

Uh, he wasn't human when he was doing that, and he ends up losing his main weapon. Pretty stupid for a supposed Marine, but he was also still getting used to a new body. There was no way he was going to get out into the jungle exploring when he had no working legs, or did you miss the part about him being paralyzed, too? ;)

What this means is, you left your brain at the door. Ship fuel and armor are irrelevant. The ideas of nuking, gassing or releasing a pathogen on the planet to get this "unobtainium" are not irrelevant. We're expected to believe that the humans will wipe out an entire civilization to get this stuff, but they won't at least consider using weapons of mass destruction?

If I had truly "left my brain at the door" then you'd be arguing with one of the masses that are almost worshiping this film, instead of someone that is knocking holes in it. I can't knock holes in it if I wasn't cognizant of those facts. I really wish you'd stop making these huge assumptions. It's coming across like you're leaving your brain at the door to DU.

Maybe WMDs have been banned by then, as we are trying to do in our current-day society. And yes, they could have easily explained that in some manner. But they didn't, so we really cannot speculate on why they didn't use them. Besides, there's talk of a second movie now, so maybe rational minds will be able to bend Cameron's ear and they can explain things that time around.

[Alexander]

90. But it was easy to tell between the human blue cat people and the regular blue cat people.

The humans had an extra finger and carried high-tech weaponry.

"Uh, he wasn't human when he was doing that, and he ends up losing his main weapon. Pretty stupid for a supposed Marine, but he was also still getting used to a new body. There was no way he was going to get out into the jungle exploring when he had no working legs, or did you miss the part about him being paralyzed, too?"

Your snide comments do not detract from the fact that this movie is riddled with plot holes and sloppy writing. The very fact that you even need to attempt to explain this away is a result of such shoddy writing, and you're not even doing a particularly good job at that.

"If I had truly "left my brain at the door" then you'd be arguing with one of the masses that are almost worshiping this film, instead of someone that is knocking holes in it. I can't knock holes in it if I wasn't cognizant of those facts."

Yes, instead you are picking apart certain problems and completely excusing others. It's even more bizarre than a simple worshiper. The fact that you even consider this movie to be "good" speaks volumes.

"I really wish you'd stop making these huge assumptions."

I'm assuming nothing. You are the one assuming I missed parts of the movie. A false assumption. You would do well to stop projecting.

"It's coming across like you're leaving your brain at the door to DU."

Yet another completely unnecessary snide comment from you. Did I hit a nerve?

"Maybe WMDs have been banned by then, as we are trying to do in our current-day society. And yes, they could have easily explained that in some manner. But they didn't, so we really cannot speculate on why they didn't use them."

Yes, that's called bad writing. Ship fuel and armor have little to do with the plot. The idea of using WMDs instead has a lot to do with it. Again, you are making excuses for bad writing.

"Besides, there's talk of a second movie now, so maybe rational minds will be able to bend Cameron's ear and they can explain things that time around."

I'm sure it will be even worse than the first movie.

[kentauros]

99. Back to the endless (and pointless) argument...

Starting at post 43, I said: The entire surface of the planet is connected, both the flora and the fauna. It (whatever its Gaia name was) knew where to send the hammerhead-triceratops-like beasts to beat up the ground forces, and where to direct the flying creatures to the aerial troops. If it can know things like that, then there is no place on the surface (or in the air) where the surviving humans could hide. The planet would know where they were every step of the way and be able to attack in similar ways.

You retorted: That's awfully convenient, and not explained or discussed in the movie.

I pointed out the following part in reply: the part about the entire surface of the planet being connected and acting as one complex organism is explained and discussed. I believe Sigourney Weaver's character is the one making that observation back in their lab, or she's in on the discussion that brings up that point.

You never addressed this point, so I assumed you understood that you got that part wrong in your initial assumptions of that detail being unexplained within the movie.

Now, in this last post, you said: I'm assuming nothing. You are the one assuming I missed parts of the movie. A false assumption. You would do well to stop projecting.

So now you're trying to tell me I incorrectly assumed you missed parts, when it's obvious to all here that you indeed did just that. This was a major part of the storyline and you missed it!

You've also missed all my other contentions and exact statements that I agree with you on it being sloppy and bad writing, yet you continue to ignore those parts of my posts, too. I am of the strong impression that you are now arguing for the sake of the argument. We get it all ready! It was badly written! Yet to some of us, it's still enjoyable. If that means we are lower in your opinion of us, then so be it. I'm tired of the endless attempts to get my points across, especially when they are not being read or noted.

Tear apart this post if you like, I'm done with this thread.

[hunter]

73. I'm thinking the planet could neutralize biological weapons quickly.

Imagine there was an intelligence driving the kinds of resistance to biological agents most earth life forms are capable of.

Here on earth we have bacteria resistant to antibiotics, insects resistant to insecticides, weeds resistant to herbicides -- it's all very common.

Bacterial resistance is especially quick because the bacteria and fungi have been suppressing their competitors with chemical and biological agents as long as there has been life on earth.

So imagine humans create some version of smallpox or ebola or nerve gas... A few blue people die maybe and then the planet releases a vaccine/antidote and the blue people stop dying. Then the planet turns its attention against us. Oooops.

I'm imaging a biological agent that turns even the most hardened human soldier into a totally peaceful tree-hugging bonobo hippy freak.

Wow, man, look at all those pretty colors... Let's get naked and do a little penis fencing.

[Alexander]

74. Then the writers should have mentioned something like that.

They used helicopters and mechanized infantry to drive out the blue cat people, and care nothing about killing them.

But there's no mention of any weapon of mass destruction.

I'm not asking for much from the writers. One or two lines of dialogue would have sufficed. Something like:

"Why don't we just nuke these people to hell or gas them?"

"Because these weapons would destroy the unobtainium."

As I said, when audience members have to explain plot holes, it's bad writing.

[hunter]

78. My favorite realistic movie is Buckaroo Banzai.

New Jersey: Why is there a watermelon there?

Reno: I'll tell you later.

Reality has more holes in it than a colander. I can't read a newspaper or anything that purports to be an accurate accounting of history without seeing the holes in the plot.

A story that's not leaking with plot holes isn't realistic. One of the things that bothered me about Avatar was how many holes were paved over with cliché dramatic devices. The aliens were not alien. This was Disney's Pocahontas painted blue. She and John Smith fell in love and expelled the Europeans from North America.

I have an even bigger problem with ordinary down-to-earth dramas lacking holes in the plot. For example, I hated the movie The Big Chill (1983). I remember it because as a young man on a movie date I knew if I ever found myself trapped in that kind of stifling hellish world I'd probably have to retreat to the basement to cut myself and draw cave-man murals on the wall with my own blood. The angst of young adulthood was probably the point of this movie but I already knew my life was never going to be like that since I'd long fallen out of the colander of comfortable normalcy and quiet despair.

[hedgehog]

88. a corporation can justify sending out security guards for its people,

but trying to ship out WMD or nukes might not be legal and/or might garner bad publicity. Think of oil companies and mining companies in the 3rd world today. They all have armed guards, but i don't think any of them carries anything as heavy as a mortar. The robot suit is actually the equivalent of a tank, so the company did haul out some pretty heavy duty armaments.

[NewJeffCT]

16. I think they said 20 million a kilo right?

20 million of what, though? maybe 20 million carats of diamonds?

And, with the size of the trucks they were driving on Pandora, they're likely hauling it out by the metric ton. So, one ton is 20 billion. 10 tons is 200 billion. 100 tons is 2 trillion. 1,000 tons is 20 trillion and is almost 50% larger than the entire US economy right now.

[hedgehog]

17. OK, you're right. The price of gold per kilo is in the neighborhood of

$40,000, so I guess $20,000/kilo might be worthwhile. I was gravely overestimating the current value of gold.

[NewJeffCT]

25. I think they said 20 million, though

not $20,000?

[hedgehog]

27. Oops - Does it sound better if I say I can't type or I can't count or I can't read?

:blush:

[NewJeffCT]

31. No problem

I figured I might have heard the number in the movie incorrectly.

[kentauros]

44. But what's the value of the currency 144 years from now?

;)

[Tuesday Afternoon]

18. it pretty much sucked. the end. n/t

[hedgehog]

20. How so?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

21. I was pretty much bored after the first hour and the 3D gave me a

headache. It just Tried Too Hard. meh. just not a Fan, I guess. Do not understand all the brouhaha surrounding it.

[gmoney]

26. Here's a basic one...

If the "hero" was supposed to be guarding Sigourney Weaver and the other guy's avatars out in the jungle, why the fuck did he just wander off? And wouldn't he have been briefed about all the dangers of the place, and how to deal with them, or have had a weapon that could have actually been effective against the predator animals? Seems like the worst-trained-soldier evar to me.

And why were there virtually no children or babies among the blue people? I only saw one or two during the evacuation scene.

[hedgehog]

28. He was scouting? Yeah that's it, he was scouting the area.

No babies because the Blue people are in balance with their environment and have small families.

[NewJeffCT]

29. I remember Grace greeting several children

of the blue people... (she even commented how big they had grown) and, she also had pictures of her with them as well.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

30. How come advanced military armored hardware...

loses a battle to animals? Can't they just bombard the place from orbit?

[gmoney]

34. or why does the advanced technology still require clear cutting and strip mining?

[Fire Walk With Me]

33. I don't like it, and I haven't even seen it!

True story! :rofl:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

35. I haven't seen it.

And yet, I've seen it a million times.

[Fire Walk With Me]

75. So very true. Just last night

I was japing a program about having the same plot as Avatar. It's everywhere.

[dysfunctional press]

36. why do all the animals have 6 limbs except for the na'vi...?

evolutionarily speaking- shouldn't they have 6 limbs as well?

[Glorfindel]

39. Their other two are hidden under clothing

for modesty's sake. :evilgrin:

[AsahinaKimi]

40. Just some notes..

Physics much??
Floating Rocks with a water fall? How is water able to fall but Rocks don't.

About that glass...sir
Na'vi first shoots arrows at ships, bounces off the glass .. however a few hours later, in the final battle, that stuff breaks like.. um. Glass.

Just Nukem!
You mean to tell me a ship that travels in intergalactic space with soldiers for hire on board did not have a few nukes lying around? Btw, did'nt the weapons they fired look like something stolen that was from HALO? And, is it just me or were those helicopters stolen from The Incredibles?


Lets exchange body's shall we?
So here it took Scientists years to figure out a way to transfer themselves into an avatar body, but the Primitives do a "Search for Spock, thing", lay the dude in the special bio grass and it easily transfers him forever into the alien body. How convenient!

Hello Na'vi's ..wake up!!
SO the Na'vi's have these flying nasty reptiles that they can "bond" to via there bio Usb plug. The Hero gets the idea, that if he can just "bond" with that big nasty one, he can be their leader!? ..UM. WHY didn't the other Na'vi's figure that one out themselves..along time ago. Its the Same kind of bio usb port.. What were they doing all these years? Were they not supposed to know about all the animal life on their planet?

PANDORA..
Well, going to that planet sure opened up Pandora's box didn't it? What great writer came up with this one? Oh yeah, the same one who thought up "Unobtainium".

Oh yea...
The Sigorney Weaver character. She cares deeply about the environment of Pandora which is exactly why she smokes.. yeah that makes perfect sense.

[DarkTirade]

42. This isn't really a nitpick movie.

Either you ignore the gaping holes in it, or you don't. Either way, there really aren't any little holes to pick at. :P

[Alexander]

53. Good point. It's a piece of crap movie.

It makes no sense whatsoever, and Avatar's biggest fans are too busy drooling over Cameron's expensive CGI-fest to adequately address the major flaws with the movie.

[Broken_Hero]

58. Yep,

I haven't seen it yet, but heck...why Blue? Why not orange, or red...why Blue?

Of all the colors, why blue kittens?

[kentauros]

61. Why not tie-dyed?

:P

They do have some form of natural camo-colorations on their skin, though.

You know, if you think about it, human natives are rather brightly colored in a deep-green rain-forest like the Amazon... ;)

[hunter]

89. Many of the critters that eat humans don't have good color vision.

Well, except for mosquitoes and other biting insects. Watch out for the alligators too.

The birds and reptiles can see us just fine, but to a tiger we are pretty much the color of a tree stump, which is not much different than the color of leaves.

[kentauros]

97. Okay, but that doesn't necessarily mean alien lifeforms would have the same rules.

For that matter, there's nothing to say that humans would be able to artificially connect with their brainwaves, either ;)

However, making a movie where things are truly alien, as Stanislaw Lem attempted to do with his stories, isn't all that conducive to a blockbuster story...

[AllenVanAllen]

62. Yeah, I hated that too the first time I saw it. Freakin' Blue?

But once I saw the freakin' blue Na'vi on the big screen. Wow. Regardless of it's flaws this is an amazingly beautiful film. It reminded me of the Discovery Chanel mini series "Planet Earth."

To me, sometimes you have to stop analyzing things and just enjoy the view. You know what I mean?

[kentauros]

63. I know what you mean.

It is visually stunning and beautifully depicted. I was just a little disappointed I could predict so much of the story ;)

[AllenVanAllen]

64. Very predictable

but visual bliss... :hi:

[hedgehog]

69. We need to take a poll, was the plot of holes or boringly

predictable; or can it be both simultaneously.


Part of the fun in science fiction is for one person to point out the glaring error in continuity and another to explain it away. This is especially true among fans of the original Star Trek. Continuity wasn't a big issue when the series was written, so there are some really big whoppers in there.

[kentauros]

81. Yeah, a poll would be good :)

I wouldn't say the movie was boringly predictable, but it was easy to pick up the hints and clues that lead to the ending. I was surprised, though, when Jake and whatshername made love that she didn't find out the "truth" right then and there. That would have made for much better tension and difficult goals to hurdle later on than what we got :)

[MilesColtrane]

76. The dog-like pack animals that attack Sully his first night lost in the forest...

come at him one at a time, just like bad guys in a cheesy Kung Fu movie.

[Beetwasher]

77. Why Did They Need To CLIMB FLOATING Mountains?

:shrug:

[kentauros]

82. Because the main characters

weren't full of enough hot air? :P

[MilesColtrane]

85. Apparently the corporation had special Na'vi sized weapons and ammunition made.

Both Sully and Spellman's avatars are seen wielding guns that are at least four and a half feet in length.

Is it really a good idea to go into a possible hostile environment with a weapon that could be taken away and used against you?

[hedgehog]

87. Why not? It happens all the time in real life. Look at Afghanistan.

[MilesColtrane]

95. Let me rephrase that.

If you are going into a possible hostile situation, one in which you are massively outnumbered and relying on your superior weaponry, why would you go out of your way to specifically create weapons that your enemies could use against you, and that would be useless to almost all of your forces?

The standard issue human guns couldn't be fired by the Na'vi because they couldn't get their fingers in the trigger guards. But, somebody had a great idea. "Let's make giant sized guns that only four or five of our guys (and 85% of the entire native population) can wield."

Besides the Avatar program was supposed to be a peaceful attempt to contact and influence the Na'vi. Why did the hybrids need guns at all?

[kentauros]

100. Maybe the guns require four fingers per hand to fully operate

;)

[TrogL]

94. No way, no hell can those helicopters fly

Miraculously, the planet has identical gravity to earth, hasn't been torn apart by tidal forces from the nearby planets and moons.

Those flimsy mounts would break in an instant, especially with the sharp turns. You also don't need double-counter-rotating propellers if you've got one on each side. Just make those two counter-rotating (and sturdier) for the same effect. I also don't get what the rim around them is supposed to accomplish.

Oh, and they've been stolen from The Incredibles.

(yes, I've seen it three times and I'm trying to cook up an excuse to go see it again)

[MilesColtrane]

96. Due to it's smaller size, Pandora has lower gravity.

The wiki says it has 0.8g.

http://james-camerons-avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Pandora

Also, the atmosphere is 20% more dense than Earth.

Don't know if that would make those choppers any more aeronautically sound, but it keeps from killing the Na'vi when they fall off of their dragons in mid-air.