Something I've never really understood about the Avatar movies, derivative plot, poor script and tedious length aside - is the CGI meant to look real? Are we meant to watch these and think this could have been filmed on a real alien planet?

I remember the fuss when the first one came along over how amazing the visuals were. And they are impressive but I've always thought of them as very pretty animated movies and at no point thought anything looked photorealistic.

[–] krooklochurm@lemmy.ca 7 points 3 weeks ago

Everything except the visuals and the sound is cheap binding to hold the visuals and sound together.

If you look at us a showcase for some of the best digital art ever created rather than a movie that needs to have a great plot, acting, or any kind of real emotional impact, then you can see it for what it is.

The movies are absolutely beautiful, and an absolute spectacle of what is possible, but that's all they are.