Is Avatar Still Avatar in 2D?

[Tree of Souls]

Interesting article. I have wondered myself if Avatar would have been so compelling if it had been released in just the 2D version. How much does the 3D effect the impact of this film?

As Avatar picked off one obstacle after another after it was released, it barreled to the top of the Oscar game, and within weeks of its release, Hollywood’s top honor seemed within its grasp.

More than a month on, that hasn’t necessarily changed. But as with any front-runner, the vaunted Avatar brand has shown some signs of fatigue. The PGA, a very solid barometer of future best-picture winners, chose to honor The Hurt Locker instead. More than one Oscar observer has suggested that the movie’s revolutionary visual ethos may actually hurt it awards-wise even as it propped it up financially, since actors remain squeamish about the movie’s long stretches of performance capture.

Inane though all of this might sound, Hollywood takes the best-picture Oscar seriously. The eventual winner is a sort of benchmark, the movie that represents the year in the industry. In that vein, perennial Oscar enthusiast Roger Ebert has used his Twitter to stoke the anti-Avatar unrest. Despite a four-star review when it opened, the venerable critic has called for a tempered approach to the movie, suggesting that its true impact registers only in its hyperbolic 3D format, and without that, the movie’s power is elusive.

Although Paste has made its enthusiasm for Avatar clear, it’s a fair question: How can a movie like this, touted for so long as a different kind of experience, really hold up as it goes through the medium’s grind? Can it have the same life in 2D, much less on DVD?

So, we went ahead and saw Avatar in 2D. It’s still spectacular, but curiously so, especially for anyone who originally saw the movie in 3D. It is much quieter, for one thing, which underlines how remarkable the film’s extravagant sound design really is (those are two Oscars we can all agree it deserves). Without the intensity of the 3D images, it’s also a more laid-back experience, more conventionally entertaining than transformative, as it is in its optimal 3D format.

What this really weathers down to is a question of how Avatar should be judged. Shouldn’t we evaluate the movie the way it’s intended to be seen, in 3D? The Oscars are still about a month away (later than normal this year thanks to the Winter Olympics), but of course it’s bigger than one movie or one Oscar. As blockbuster technology reaches superlative heights, what happens in the long run to movies like Avatar, now sealed as the highest-grossing movie ever worldwide?

Is Avatar Still Avatar in 2D? :: Movies :: News :: Paste

[Elequin]

I'm sure to a lot of people the 3D was one of the big factors why they liked it so much. A good portion of the people have not seen a movie in 3D at theaters so that was an experience in itself. I think the 3D makes the difference between someone being speechless or just saying it was a great movie.

For me it would not matter too much. The visuals are still great on 2D, and I like the story much more than the effects so 2D-3D matter not to me.

[spicyapple]

With 3D, I can't enjoy the first 10 minutes of the film because I'm distracted with trying to get my eyes to adjust to the 3D. Sometimes you get lost in 3D exploring the world and the immersion is wonderful, but does take away a little bit from experiencing the story.

I've seen in 2D and looks just as good, but lacks the Pandora immersion factor, but without the 3D I can concentrate better on the story and characters.

It's really a toss up.

[Anna]

The first time I saw it was in 2D and I was pretty much blown away. Personally I think the 3D only makes it that much better.

[SBG]

yes it is. I like it better in 2d

[Atokirina']

The first time I saw it was in 2D and I was pretty much blown away. Personally I think the 3D only makes it that much better.

^This.

[rapunzel77]

With 3D, I can't enjoy the first 10 minutes of the film because I'm distracted with trying to get my eyes to adjust to the 3D. Sometimes you get lost in 3D exploring the world and the immersion is wonderful, but does take away a little bit from experiencing the story.

I've seen in 2D and looks just as good, but lacks the Pandora immersion factor, but without the 3D I can concentrate better on the story and characters.

It's really a toss up.

2D is fine. I saw it in 2D the first time. Sadly, I didn't like it as well the first time I saw it. When I saw it in 3D and with an open-mind, I loved it. So, its a toss up. Some people can't watch 3D to much due to eye issues, etc.

[palulukanmakto]

I downloaded the screener couple of days ago and today I watched it. I can defenitely say that Avatar is still Avatar even in 2D and moreover even in that awful quality as it is on these pirated files. Oh God, I didn't even notice that I watched it on my TV and not in the theater.

[Jason525]

I guess the immersion effect is something we will just have to remember in our hearts and minds. Either way the movie kicks *** and i cant wait to own it on DVD.

[Arcazyiln]

I actually would want to see the movie in 2D. While 3D really helped me to immerse into the world of Pandora, that RealD-3D effect really made my head hurt. And my eyes were feeling really stressed out at the end of the 3 hour film since I had to cross them several times at certain scenes.