Like everone else, The Guardian can’t print a full review of “Avatar” before Monday, but their writer Mark Brown (not the paper’s regular critic, it should be said) has tested the embargo enough to say this:
So by saying Avatar was really much, much better than expected, that it looked amazing and that the story was gripping – if cheesy in many places – the Guardian is in technical breach of the agreement. It is not a breach, however, to report that other journalists leaving the screening were also positive: the terrible film that some had been anticipating had not materialised. It was good.
They also report that Cameron claims to have enough story material for two sequels. (It had better be “good,” then.) More here.
Comments
25 responses to “The Guardian on ‘Avatar’: “It was good.””
Good means so many things.
No, it was good.
It was goooood!
Um, good.
I prefer the “really much, much better than expected, that it looked amazing and that the story was gripping.”
But that’s not as bite-sized.
Great news!
No offense but Guardian’s critics are terrible. They are avatards. If I wanted a review from UK I could semi-trust I’d wait for “Empire”.
“They also report that Cameron claims to have enough story material for two sequels.”
I didn’t know “Call me Joe” had sequels (semi-joking here – I’d have to see the movie to see how similiar it really is to Anderson’s story).
All joking aside though at least Cameron doesn’t have Harlan Ellison on his tail this time.
Empire? They gave Transformers 2 3/5 and T4 4/5. Those weren’t good movies.
I expect Twitter to explode soon. Nick Nunziata tweeted “I love blue people”. AICN`s Massawyrm is seeing it. DrewAtHitFlix is seeing it.
Fingers crossed it`s good.
“not the paper’s regular critic, it should be said” Is this necessary?
Good or REALLY good?
I would never expect Cameron at this point to make a movie that was REALLY bad, but there’s good and then there’s great..
Massawyrm and Nick are enthusiastic! othet tweets are too! Waiting for Drew! This is looking good, people!
Yallolkin: Yes. It’s not a jibe at all, but it’s worth mentioning for the sake of context. There’s a certain critical identity associated with the Guardian’s regular writers, and Brown may or may not be consistent with that “voice.”
Did you get into the screening tonight Guy?
It’s not just about The Guardian. It’s about the pattern that’s emerging here. It’s simply a great film and the nay-sayers appear to be more wrong every day. Still, the wait continues.
Good to know. I knew Cameron would deliver. And to be honest, we all know that Cameron isn’t the best writer in the world when it comes to dialogue. No one expects this to get a screenplay nomination by any stretch. But Cameron knows how to deliver epic movies with a gripping, fast-paced story. Terminator, Aliens, and Terminator 2 are some of the most fast-paced films I have ever seen. And you know what, they all kicked ass too. Cameron is a visionary. He may be a jackass sometimes, and no one is going to argue that he isn’t a womanizer who tends to sleep with his leading ladies, or other directors (Kathryn Bigelow, Linda Hamilton, etc.) and that he can be a major douche to his actors (Kate Winslet said she’d never work with him again unless they offered her a ton of money). But bottom line, he knows how to tell a great story well. And he knows how to deliver on the scope, scale, and spectacle of his films. He pushes the technology to the limit with nearly every film (even though the first Terminator looks very dated now, 25 years later) and is like the anti-Michael Bay. He manages to not only blow you away with the epic nature of his films, but also tells stories that despite occasionally having cheesy dialogue, have a heart and soul. That’s why I’m showing up for the midnight show at the IMAX 3D for Avatar. Who cares if it has some cheesy moments? What movie, especially sci-fi, action, or fantasy movies, don’t have an occasional cheesy moment? Bottom line, it looks awesome on all fronts.
Sorry for the rant but I’ve been getting sick of the haters and their shallow crap they throw at movies like this. Not every movie in the world can have a mind-bending intellectual screenplay and pose grand philosophical questions and social implications, or a commentary on the human condition. Sometimes, a good movie is a good movie. A good story told well.
Ah, so you’ve seen it and can tell us it’s a good film?
Can you really trust the people who get in to advance screenings? Of course the movie’s not a piece of s— to them… it would ruin the sense of occasion if it were. Same reason why you can’t really trust people who go to the film festivals, unless they’re jaded from 10 years of doing it. Good movies get inflated into great ones in their minds, because then they can tell themselves that they’re among a select group who got to see a great movie before everyone else.
Twitter reactions are kind of unreliable. Obviously, people twitter about stuff they’re enthusiastic about. If they’re less decided on it, they’re not gonna tweet a reaction 5 seconds after seeing it.
Loyal: Sadly not.
Exactly, Morgan. It’s a phenomenon psychologists like to call “cognitive dissonance”. Also, the people that have reacted so far aren’t really critics, and haven’t given the film any time to digest. I think it’s generally a mistake to post a review of a film until at least 24 hours after you’ve seen it, unless it’s your job.
I hate twitter reactions. They are so petty. Just variations of awesome fabulous, mind-blowing. I know 100 characters doesn’t permit much but why write something so disposable.
Simon Pegg had this to say:
“Avatar …………………… tweetless. Just tweetless in the best possible way.”
Speaking of Avatar, I’m incredibly bummed it’s not going to be playing in 3D where I’m at. Which means I’ll never get to see it in 3D, as Cameron intended. Disappointing.
Simon Pegg, again:
“Just left the party. The movie is a game changer. Still buzzing. Tweet over.”
Could people come up with another description for the film beyond “game-changer”? The incessant repetition of those two words is starting to drive me nuts.
GAME. CHANGER.
:P
But seriously, I agree. I don’t even get what kind of game it’s supposed to be changing. Like others have written, this isn’t going to convince Coen brothers to have George Clooney running around in a mo-cap suit.
I wanna love this movie (well, actually most of the movies i see) but I almost KNOW I’ll just get bored after 30 minutes. It just doesn’t feel like a
Game Changer. :p It’s my time of silliness!
Anyway, I’ll give it my nice money. What the hell? I’m not gonna miss something like that!
ok guys, time to give up the love, im ready to
this is where our best picture was hiding, right in the open where no one could see it, could hiding place, watch james cameron save the oscars.
Hell while your at it awarding the 1st sci-fi film with best picture for the first time in history, why dont you also give his ex wife the first female win in all of history, and thats how you save the oscars ladies and gentlemen, endless stories to come from that alone