Avatar [Extended Collector's Edition] [3 Discs] [Blu-ray] [2009]

The alternate Opening should have been the original, I like the fact they actually filmed an Earth scene that resembled a Mad Max& Fifth Element type of a feel to it.. It blew me away how they also seamlessly integrated all the other new scenes like how Sigourney Weaver's character Dr. Augustine finally Explains what happened at the school to shut it down.. I seriously do not remember the original theater version having her ever say Neytiri had a Sister.. that "New" scene should have stayed in the original release, now the whole abandoned school part makes perfect sense.. The other scene I wish they kept in and I'm glad they show in the Extended version, is when Tsu'Tay Neytiri's Original suitor is finally shown were he falls off the plane when he get's shot and how Jake has to do do an honor killing.. THAT right there would have definitely helped carry the plot in the theater version.. I can't understand why they totally finished those scene's but never put all of them on the big screen... One more thing, The whole scene where Neytiri and Jake do the Booty Call, that was cool how they show the pony tail actually can connect with the other partners... That way they can really feel each other on a deeper level.. I wish that scene got a little bit more work down on it, but I guess its good enough... The other little detail they shouldn't have left out in the original cut, what Tsutay did to the bulldozers after Jake and Neytiri left, as you will notice his face cringed, then it cut out what else he was gonna do, but with the destruction of the dozers and the Marine unit, NOW I can fully understand why Quaritch blew up Home tree.. Not because Jake was booty calling, but The unit of soldiers getting killed.. THAT makes perfect sense now.. Finally, I am glad they are making an Avatar 2.... It will be Pandora Ocean based, kinda like Abyss I would guess.. I don't know what else they could do... We will see in a few years..AVATAR2 won't be out 'till after Titanic 3D is out, can't see James working on both at the same time, just my opinion.. But Avatar is actually a better movie than ever before with all the new scenes.. This truly IS the Avatar we were meant to have in the Beginning.. Totally worth it.. GET IT.. I'm not disappointed with this Directors cut.. The best one I've owned Since LOTR Dvd DC...

I am a huge fan of this movie, I saw it in the theater 4 times.. Not all at once.. I saw it one time at the IMAX 3-D theater and Three times at the Alamo Drafthouse.. I like the drafthouse much better, and loved the never ending Guinness Draft Pints.. I will enjoy the blu-ray much better because it has an extended scene between the two main characters (Neytiri and Jake Sully) It was too hot and steamy for theaters.. it would have made the theater MPAA rating R rated maybe NC17.. I will not divulge what happens but you get the idea. So in exchange for a shorter almost g-rated film James cut out the scene that was so carefully rendered and was as much as any other scene a good one but he wanted 13 year olds to be able to watch this film.. So parents Please don't let kiddies watch the Blu-ray, it isn't all out but its close. I hope the Blu-ray comes with an option to see the PG-13 version and or the NC17 one.. All in all I must recommend everyone buy this blu-ray.. It is an epic movie, more interesting than Hurt Locker. I did watch both, and Liked Avatar better.. This is an opinion, I just didn't like the fact Ms. Bigelow didn't thank George Bush for going to war with Iraq, without this war SHE WOULD HAVE NO MOVIE!!! So that's the main reason I didn't like Hurt Locker... Avatar may have a few script flaws like Sigourney's first set of lines, where's my #! cigarette?? That was a little stupid, but over all, I did think this wan't a Pocahontas re-mix of a movie... I felt it was very original..

Let me start by saying that I understand the amount of work that went into the making of this film. I get that. At the same time I look at the crop of films that hit theaters these days and am sorely disappointed with the lack of imagination and originality that they hold. I purposely held back from seeing this movie when it was in wide release because I was skeptical with the amount of hype that it received upon its release. I wanted to watch it with a more objective eye and not get caught up in all of the fanfare. I did not read one review...not even the synopsis of it. I had about as much of a clue of what was to happen as anyone other individual watching it the first night that it was released. Within the first half hour I was surprised at the blatant heavy handedness that the plot and theme was just laid out. Ok, so that was forgiveable, even for a James Cameron movie. I was surprised at the amateuristic way that this conflict with the Navi was a direct mirror image of the conflict in Iraq...one not of moral values but of financial gain. I have seen social commentaries done in so much a better way, ie. District 9. Even still that was forgiveable, even for a James Cameron movie. I was even surprised in the manner in which James Cameron completely ripped off the plot of Dances With Wolves, nearly beat for beat up until the end. That was only slightly forgiveable, even for a James Cameron movie. What was not forgiveable was the lack of character development that this movie possessed. Lack of character development in turn lead to lack of emotional involvement which left me with a film that had some amazing visuals in it but nothing more. If I am left with an empty feeling at the end, the thought that nothing was gained after an investment of 3 hours, then to me that was not an acceptable cinematic experience. I was left wih more of an impression after watching the films District 9 and WALL-E (a cinematic masterpiece in my eyes) than watching this. That is unforgiveable. If he had an itch to scratch on these themes so badly James Cameron could have saved himself a ton of money and just did a remake of Dances With Wolves. Everyone else is doing it these days! To spend 14 years on something so unoriginal doesn't really say much about him as a filmmaker these days. The fact that we bought into the hype doesn't really say much about us as filmgoers these days either. If you want to see something truly original, truly imaginitive please, I beg of you, see Pan's Labyrinth. You can watch that film on mute and not read the subtitles and this film would be more comprehensible and leave more of an impression on you than Avatar.

Stop hitting on this movie people! I know it is not the best, but when you see movies with absolutely no story and thought, you don’t shoot them up. Despite the criticism surrounding this movie, I believe it to be above average and while it might not be a must see, science fiction fanatics will love it and the movie lover will appreciate it. This movie starts off a bit slow to some but it seems to be necessary to get connected a little better to a few of the characters because of the fact that in the latter half of the movie they are normally in their avatar bodies. Some might say that this film is a space edition of Dances With Wolves, while they are similar, you have to take into account other themes in the film, and that this was originally to be done about fifteen years ago before Dances With Wolves. This film cannot be accused of not being colorful and creative visually. The new 3D technology adds to the experience and almost makes it worth watching on its own. Speaking of colors, the story is very green, almost fanatical at points, but it seems that is the only way of making points in this modern era where no one actually thinks but instead searches the web for the answer. Other topics discussed behind the curtain would be things like respect of human lives, racism maybe, Native Americans, and religion, but I am sure there are others I have forgotten. I might sound too critical of the film for liking it so, but I liked it and recommend it to anyone who believes they can take it as is and not want something out of it that it is not. I had to give it lower stars on the plot because it had elements that could seem like they were stolen from other movies, and a bit lower on acting because it wasn't the actual faces of the actors, and poor on extras because this edition of the movie does not have extras.

Avatar was the highest grossing film to date. If you haven't seen it, watch it. If you own a HD television/blu ray, buy it. James Cameron knew many years back what he wanted to do with Avatar, but he had to wait for the technology to catch up with his ideas. The technology used to make this movie was beyond anything we've seen in special effects until Avatar. It's a new, exciting experience that truly was like nothing I've ever seen before. Predictable?-Yes, simplistic plot?-Yes. Avatar is not The Shawshank Redemption, people! I'm sick of hearing people say how "bad" the plot was. It's a good vs. evil kind of movie, but no one complained about Spiderman. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't seen it, grab a copy and enjoy the film for what it is. And to the person who said something about wanting their blu ray movie in "Full Screen"-you're referring to a 1:33:1 ratio (a square). You do realize that to have a "full screen" movie they chop of the sides and zoom in, lowering the quality of picture? When HD tvs came out with the 16x9 screen the industry was already moving on to 1:78:1, and now they're more commonly doing films 2:35:1. The reason is that the movies keep getting wider as if the film is happening around you instead of inside a little frame in front of you. If you want your blu ray movies to fill out the entire screen left to right, top to bottom go ahead and drop $8000 or more in a cinematic view LCD or plasma with a 2:35:1 aspect ratio.

I know there is a lot of talk, especially on other websites like Amazon, about not purchasing this Blu-Ray disc because it is only the theatrical release and not the director's cut which will contain 20 to 40 extra minutes. At this price, which I was able to get for $15.99 at Best Buy, it definitely brought back great memories of seeing it in the theater. If you have friends or family members that have not yet seen it, this is a must-have for your collection. An outstanding direction, cinematography, CGI effects, sound quality is superb, and we live in the day and age when studios are putting out the theatrical release first and then following it up 6 to 9 months later with an extended release. The same thing is happening with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but without having to invest in a hefty price for three movies, and then upgrading down the road when the director's cut is released, if you have even an introductory home entertainment system, this is a fantastic movie to show it off. You can always buy the extended edition when it comes back and give this one away for a gift or sell it on eBay. Why wait that long to enjoy such a great movie? I have watched it now three times over the past week and I see and notice something different every time from the special effects, to the dialogue, to the symbolism of the movie. James Cameron is one of the best directors out there and if you could combine Jurassic Park, Titanic, and Dances with Wolves, you would get this outstanding love story that includes both action, symbolism, that takes place on the planet of Pandora. Since I had purchased my HDTV, and a Blu-Ray player and hooked it up with a wonderful Pioneer receiver, I have been busy replacing my DVDs with Blu-Ray. Out of the 50+ Blu-Ray movies that I own this would be in my top five. I'm not sure how to upgrade my firmware on the Samsung Blu-Ray player yet so I was not able to take advantage of the second disc, but the movie played beautifully and without a problem. Enjoy!

Finally, its on the market for everyone. Panasonic, shame on you. The exclusive rights was dragged out far too long. I waited patiently for its home release for years. I refused to buy a panasonic or purchase the overpriced ebay copies. I saw the 3d version in 09 in the theaters so I got my viewing of it already. I also already purchased the regular Blu Ray on its release day. The 3d release was an automatic buy for me when it hit home release. This is the movie to which all are judged by. This is the standard in which all 3d movies are trying to achieve. This movie is the reason why I invested in my entire 3d setup. I am a computer animation grad so I am highly into 3d in all forms. The plot, the scenery, the detail, the concept the.....so much to praise for with this historic title. Numero Uno all time on the gross charts. Its number one for a reason is all I can say without spoiling the movie for anyone. If you have a 3d tv, this is a must. You CAN NOT just buy the regular Blu Ray and convert it. This is not one of those titles that you want to go this route. Buy the real thing and you won't regret it. Now the anticipation is really on for the other Avatars to follow.

James Cameron's Avatar is now available in Blu-ray 3-D, but it's a mixed bag, so to speak. The film's about a paralyzed Marine named Jake (Sam Worthington) who, after his brother's death, is assigned to take his place in the Marine's Avatar program, in order to go "undercover" to infiltrate and observe the Na'vi race, in order to help prepare the Marines to get a much needed metal. But as time goes on, Jake finds out that the Na'vi are not what the Marines make them out to be, which sets up the life and death battle which encompasses the final third of the film. The Pros of this release is that this is a 3-D and 2-D Blu-ray dual format disc which means you can watch the film on any Blu-ray player (3-D on a 3-D player, 2-D on a regular Blu-ray player). The film is fantastic looking in 3-D. Also, thought has been put in the placing of the subtitles for the film so that the subtitles never interfere with the 3-D visuals. The set also includes a DVD of the 2-D version. The Cons of the set is that it is a movie only version, so no bonus materials are to be found. Avatar is one of those films that deserve to be seen in 3-D, as none of James Cameron's 3-D projects have failed to entertain me. If you are planning on getting a 3-D setup in your home or if you are wanting to get 3-D material to show off your 3-D system, Avatar gets a recommendation from me.