yeah, finally watched this film, it had been sitting on my shelf for over 6 months....i'd heard nothing but good things about it, cool cgi, cool action sequences, decent acting...

i must say i was dissappointed.

lame acting, a slow-as-molasses storyline, and just plain didn't hold my attention.

and that ending, what a load of garbage.

anyone here agree?

I certainly don't.

I thought this movie was fantastic, everything I would expect from Mamoru Oshii. The story was great, the action scenes were fantastic, and it had good pacing.

I also thought the visual style was original and very cool.

I agree with you, slateef. I fell asleep three times.

There were some visual gems of shots on their own though. The final shot was haunting, though I can't exactly say I got the 'meaning.'

it is a terrible film. the reason you didnt hear anything bad about it was cos we couldnt be bothered to write about it due to the appathy it instills in the viewer...

It may not be the best movie ever, but I enjoyed it.

The story is good, and as flashburn points out, the visual style is very well done and original. And as most good science fiction stories will do, Avalon makes a statement about the human condition and makes you think about it.

The pacing certainly isn't fast, but it's just not that kind of movie. If you are expecting an action filled story, then you would probably be disappointed.

AVALON is a great sci-fi film. I love the way it deals with the subjectiveness of reality and doesn't try to make everything clear-cut. The visuals are great, and the music is incredible.

As others have said, this isn't an action film. However, what action there is is well done and helps propel the story foward.

The pacing is a bit slow, but should be no surprise to those who have seen Oshii's other work like GHOST IN THE SHELL. Those who have seen GITS should have a good idea what the pacing of this film is like.

I found the film to be above average, and by the standards of some other sci-fi films (e.g. Stalker) it's extremely action-packed.

Agreed

Funny, just today I picked up a used copy of this DVD at Blockbuster (for $6.99 ), so I hope I like it, but the general consensus seems kind of split. I wouldn't be surprised to find the pacing a bit slow, based on the other Oshii films I've seen, but that usually isn't necessarily a problem for me.
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The Miramax DVD that you likely picked up at Blockbuster has dubtitles. If you watch it in the original Polish, don't be surprised if subtitles appear when nobody's talking. Those spots are where Miramax added dialogue to the film in the English dub.

have to agree with you slateef, after reading so much praise of this film and then buying the DVD sight unseen I have to say I was very underwhelmed and disappointed.

Count me in with the disappointed crowd. Because of Avalon, I'm very weary of buying the Returner even though I hear thats a good one. hmmmm

i actually like returner, even though it has some very cheesy parts...but overall, MUCH more entertaining than avalon.

Is the connection in your mind between Avalon and Returner simply that they both have Japanese directors? I assure you they're about as similar as Soderbergh's Solaris and Resident Evil.

I absolutely adore Avalon. It's stunning.

Shame the Region 1 DVD has been defiled.

Avalon is hands down one of the best films I've seen in the last 5 years... It's pacing and depth might turn off some people, but then there's always The Returner or Ressurection of the Little Match girl for those people. For someone who really appricaites the art of filmmaking, the sci-fi genre and gaming, it's a thing of beauty.

If you can pick up the R3 Korean release that's a port of the R2J Bandia release. It's Full Bit-Rate DTS track is AMAZING!

Thanks for the warnings about the R1 disc. If I end up liking the film, I'll dump my R1 disc on Ebay (for the price I payed for it, I should at least break even) and pick up the Korean release.

I picked up the regular R3 release on Ebay for .50 + 2.50 shipping, for $3 shouldn't be too bad. Just need time to sit down and watch it, hopefully sometime this week.

Thanks for the comparison, Yakuza. I may have to check out Returner now.

The subjects been done a few times, a few too many perhaps, but this is otherwise a truly unique film. The art direction is phenomenal.

I was a tad surprised by the ending, though I suppose the real surprise would be if she had managed to "escape" the game. Why'd you think it was a "load of garbage", slateef?

well, maybe i was a bit too harsh...

but i found it simply too boring and slow.

the "special effects" were sub-par...just too "low budget" looking for my tastes.

and that damn theme song, the opera piece, was played so many times that i wanted to kill the singer at the end...how many times did they go back to that damn song??

the pacing was agonizingly slow...so much so that it was distracting, i found myself saying out loud "GET ON WITH IT ALREADY!" especially the ending (again, with all those cut scenes in the opera house/theater and that damn song again!)

anyway, just not my cup of tea...

returner, on the other hand, while certainly not award material or profound in any way, was MUCH more entertaining...

No way, man... it's your opinion! I prefer 'em strongly stated, even if I disagree.

It moves at a spritely pace compared to some of my faves! Boring? Yeah... we've seen iterations of this basic storyline more than a few times now, and I could see where it could become tiresome. I caught myself thinking I'd seen this movie one too many times already at a few points...

I think the look of the game effects was entirely intentional and not the result of lack of budget. This is one of my favorite aspects of the film.

Yeah... and it didn't help that it was so formulaic new-agey. On the other hand, the repetitions of the music had a specific plot-based justification, so I guess I can forgive it.

I've got a Tarkovsky/Dreyer/Ozu film festival going on at my place this weekend... just warnin' ya!

It was an OK flick in my mind, though derivative of a gazillion other similar ones. Loved the art direction and the pacing, but not a great movie IMO. But, on the other hand, it wasn't some pandering mediocrity, assembled-by-committee and focus-grouped to death before it was ever projected for the public-at-large. A good effort perhaps, if not quite successful?

Cool! Can I come over?

At least he'd have someone to talk to.

so, I am being gullable, or are you just being cheeky?