Avatar & Sherlock Holmes Fight It Out for Biggest X-Mas B.O.

I only saw Sherlock Holmes. It had a fun Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid feel to it. RDJ is at the top of his career. I really hope he can stay clean and keep up the good work.

One-sided.

Avatar or Sherlock Holmes? Both movies rocks, but i say Avatar!

Shelock Holmes was much better, better action and better story. Avatar was good but it wasn't very original, you can tell what was going to happen before it happened, Holmes was much more surprising.

Visually though Avatar wins hands down, the effects were stunning and complimented the story rather than have it be a distraction from lack of plot. I still liked Avatar though.

Overall though Holmes is the better film but sadly Avatar will most likley beat it at the box-office.

What a shame.

i researched the different criticisms of each movie and they said:

AVATAR:

Boston Globe
Ty Burr
"It’s easy to get lost in the visually spectacular world ..." A-

Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert

"...an extraordinary film." A

Chicago Tribune
Michael Phillips

"The first 90 minutes of Avatar are pretty terrific -- a full-immersion technological wonder with wonders to spare. The other 72 minutes, less and less terrific." B

E! Online
Luke Y. Thompson

"...an immersive epic unlike any other." more... A

Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman

"...likely to leave audiences simultaneously amazed and unmoved." B
Filmcritic.com
Bill Gibron

"This is a sumptuous film, overflowing with detail and delicate touches which counteract the massive firepower and mechanical/animal menace on display." A

Hollywood Reporter
Kirk Honeycutt

"A titanic entertainment -- movie magic is back!" A

Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan

"You've never experienced anything like it, and neither has anyone else." A-

New York Post
Lou Lumenick

"...it’s rarely less than absorbing and never boring over its nearly three-hour length." A-

New York Times
Manohla Dargis

"...glorious and goofy and blissfully deranged." A

Reelviews
James Berardinelli

"...the most technically amazing motion picture to have arrived on screens in many years..." A

Rolling Stone
Peter Travers

"Cameron's talent may just be as big as his dreams." A-

San Francisco Chronicle
Amy Biancolli

"...a monumental feast for the eyes." B

USA Today
Claudia Puig

"For all the grandeur and technical virtuosity of the mythical 3-D universe Cameron labored for years to perfect, his characters are one-dimensional, rarely saying anything unexpected." B

AVERAGE: A-

SHERLOCK HOLMES (so far):

Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert

"Guy Ritchie's film is filled with sensational sights, over-the-top characters and a desperate struggle atop Tower Bridge." B

Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman

"A top-heavy light entertainment." B-

New York Post
Kyle Smith

“Sherlock Holmes dumbs down a century-old synonym for intelligence." D+

Reelviews
James Berardinelli

"Guy Ritchie's 're-interpretation' of Holmes feels more spastic than kinetic." B-

Rolling Stone
Peter Travers

"Downey is irresistible. The movie, not so much." C

The Hollywood Reporter
Kirk Honeycutt

"Fits Arthur Conan Doyle's creation, but few among modern moviegoers will care." C+

USA Today
Claudia Puig

"Sherlock Holmes has been reimagined with fighting skills as potent as his intellectual acumen." B-

AVERAGE: C+

(thanks to movies.yahoo.com)

I'd go with Avatar on this one

Avatar and Sherlock Holmes were both great. And even though Sherlock Holmes was beast (in my opinion), it was only a drop in the bucket compared to Avatar. So my vote goes to Avatar!

But RDJ's Sherlock Holmes is kinda like "The Prestige" meets "Indiana Jones"! Go see Sherlock if you haven't! It's awesome

Avatar vs. Sherlock Holmes?

That is the oddest competition. Solid story and its expostion wins out for me. Sherlock Holmes gets my referal.
Though Avatar is the popular film here, it is shallow and its characters are cartoonish and cliché, its dialogue unimaginative and unmemorable, and its plot predictably bland.
If you need an action flick-fix, but don't want to necessary check your brains in with the ticket stub, see Holmes.

This is my first post on comicbookmovie.com, although I have read for several years. I feel compelled to post because I also feel people are losing touch with what makes films great.

After paying $13 for a ticket, I wanted to enjoy Avatar, but I just couldn't. Bottom Line? It was completely forgettable. Yes, that’s right. I’m saying the film with giant alien birds and floating mountains was forgettable. It was like a beautiful nature hike with a terrible guide. Jake Sully is the most bland action hero of all time. There is absolutely nothing interesting about him.

I’d like to bring up two other sci-fi movies that follow the same story formula as Avatar: “Enemy Mine” and “District 9.” In both of these films the hero also learns the value of alien life and fights for them against evil humans. A strength in both films is the development of character as shown through the hero’s transformation. I’m not just talking about a change of sides, but a change of personality and demeanor. The heroes in these movies grow into completely different people. Jake Sully, however, remains just as bland as he started at the beginning of the story. Yes, he has sex with an alien. Yes he fights on their side. But he more or less behaves like the same person. And he isn’t very interesting. Even Neo in The Matrix played by an actor infamous for having as much dramatic range as a block of wood shows more of a transformation.

Of course, there were other things that bothered me. Mainly, illogical plot devices and an improbable dues ex machina. After the humans score a huge initial victory, they sit with their thumbs up their asses for a whole day while the hero manages to escape and round up thousands of very convenient alien reinforcements from the entire planet without any interference. This was especially embarrassing since one thing the humans could have done after Jake Sully escaped was:

1. Follow him.
2. Wait for him to get into the Avatar chamber.
3. As his human body slept, shoot him in the head.

And then when the humans finally decide to attack again, all they have to do is drop a single bomb on a sacred tree to defeat the aliens, but instead they decide to wait to drop the bomb until about 20 minutes into the battle. Because that way, we get more battle.

Of course, I’m willing to forgive these things (and heavy handed expository dialog). After all, the story is comparable to a fairy tale, and not everything has to “make sense.” What I can’t forgive is weak character development. And it wasn't that Jake Sully’s character was “subtle.” “The Lives of Others” has a subtle hero that follows a similar journey. Jake Sully was simply non-existent.

But that’s just me. A lot of my friends liked it.
-------------------------------------------------
I posted that review to a discussion thread about the movie and got the following two responses:

"There was a glowy 3D helicopter lizard. A ten-foot tall blue cat man goes one-on-one with a mech suit. If these things are not awesome to you, I am sorry. It saddens me greatly, that you have been forced to go through life with the added challenge of having some kind of defective brain. Please try to have a merry Christmas despite the fact that the Santa Claus character is two-dimensional and undergoes almost no change throughout the story. It will be a hard thing. For all of us."

"I LOVED IT! I saw beauty, magic, and fantastic graphics. I choose NOT to critize this movie too much, as I usually do, because I simply wish to enjoy it. My family and I are comparing it to Fern Gulley and Pocahontas, with more depth.

Speaking of District 9, what the hell is that man's accent supposed to be?! I got hints of British, German, Danish, and South African... It bothered me throughout the entire movie."

To the first, I replied: "I'm Jewish."
With a hidden context of "Screw you."

To the second, I replied:

"Pocahontas and Fern Gulley had more depth.
And criticizing accents is pretty ironic. Listen closer to Sam Worthington's voice overs in Avatar. Not that that was one of the things I criticized Avatar for. I really don't care about that.

All things considered: If you have the power to choose to like a movie, despite it's numerous flaws, then more power to you. After all, the most important thing is that you like the movie.

I'm just saying that for people who like interesting lead characters and story-lines that hold up to a modicum of scrutiny, then this one isn't for you."
--------------------
Another angry response:

"Too many media classes, even the critics aren't as critical. It had plenty of plot holes. But on another note, did you see say, GI Joe? Or any number of other recent films? The beauty more than makes up for it in my book."

Jesus. Is our standard for cinema GI Joe?

gtrman
Valid Argument and i agree. I went 2 see Avatar in Imax 3D with a group that had already seen it in 2D. From what I got from them they said it was equally as visually orgasmic. They even believed the Imax 3D was unnecessary and didnt really add anything to the film. They got equally the same experience in 2D. Plus its Cheaper! Im goin 2 see Sherlock this week and im positive it will without a doubt have a much deeper plot.

Gtr@ i'm with you 100%

Okay so some people have different opinions. Whatever.

Avatar was still awesome. So was Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes was very disappointing. It isn't even a competition, Avatar will win.

I dont know whether I'm going to bother to see Sherlock Holmes - I've seen a lot of negative reviews and the trailers/clips I've wathced dont look all that great...the CGI looks really out of date and fake!! I'll probably end up buying it on blu-ray but it all looks a little "Meh"! ;(

GO AVATAR! :D

@gtrman- Avatar was only made to show off it's technology, there would never be a film if they took all of the effects away. Your statement was a moot point.

Where are guardian and shaman now when this movie is setting box office records?

Guys @ Lol!


JOSH @ Good man!!! : D

superdog in the movie worthington's character is working for the colonel so that they can pay for his spinal cord operation!! it makes sense it would coast a buttload of money...and the colonel even says regarding the scars that he coulda had them fixed but he kept them to remind him of whats out there!!!

yesterday i took my girlfriend to the theatre to see avatar for the second time, but it was totally sold out. good sign!!