In my opinion, Avatar is when the '10s began for movies.  Prior to that we were still in an '00s environment across all genres.  Comedies were stuff like Superbad and the Hangover with stuff from earlier in the decade like Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle still popular.  Borat and Bruno were also very popular and both movies are excellent '00s political comedy.  Comedy at the time seemed a lot lighter and a lot less politically correct.  I miss that.  For horror it was just before the found footage era began.  It was the golden age of the teen horror flick, many of them being so cheesy they were almost comedic.  The best horror movies were ones such as the Saw series. For dramas, it seemed there were a lot of coming of age films around that time.  Even superhero movies like Batman: The Dark Knight were very "last generation" and didn't have the feel or epicness of this decade's Marvel Cinematic Universe.  That was the movie world during the late '00s.  That all changed at the end of 2009 when Avatar came out.  Avatar changed so much about film making and it also began the 3D movie craze.

Agree or disagree?

Yes, "Avatar" did start the onset of movies for the 2010s, but on viewing it, I almost fell asleep.

I agree Avatar was probably the first movie to genuinely carve an identity for 2010s cinema, although in hindsight, the first Iron Man movie can be considered the first culturally 2010s movie, even though the Marvel Cinematic Universe wasn’t a guarantee yet at the time of its release.

I think the movie world was still somewhat caught in a 2000s world until after 2012. Once the Harry Potter, Twilight, Dark Knight, and Shrek film franchises concluded, we were firmly entrenched in the 2010s for movies, especially with game changers like The Avengers, Frozen, and The Hunger Games coming out.

Other landmark films that established 2010s cinema include Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, an enormous box office success thaf inaugurated the live action fairytale blockbuster craze this decade; Tangled, the first unambiguous Disney Revival movie; Despicable Me, which popularized the Minions and put Illumination Entertainment on the map; and The Social Network, which recognized social media as the legitimate subject of a major motion picture.

Avatar was advanced for the time. But it doesn't seem like a 2010s movie at all.

I agree Avatar was probably the first movie to genuinely carve an identity for 2010s cinema, although in hindsight, the first Iron Man movie can be considered the first culturally 2010s movie, even though the Marvel Cinematic Universe wasn’t a guarantee yet at the time of its release.

I think the movie world was still somewhat caught in a 2000s world until after 2012. Once the Harry Potter, Twilight, Dark Knight, and Shrek film franchises concluded, we were firmly entrenched in the 2010s for movies, especially with game changers like The Avengers, Frozen, and The Hunger Games coming out.

Other landmark films that established 2010s cinema include Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, an enormous box office success thaf inaugurated the live action fairytale blockbuster craze this decade; Tangled, the first unambiguous Disney Revival movie; Despicable Me, which popularized the Minions and put Illumination Entertainment on the map; and The Social Network, which recognized social media as the legitimate subject of a major motion picture.


I agree about Iron Man since that is the first of the many to come of the Avengers related films, much like how Man of Steel in 2013 was the first of the Justice League related films. I think the Incredible Hulk came out in 2008 as well.

One thing I noticed about Avatar is how the American military turn out to be the bad guys, and I felt that it was a sign of a more liberal leaning culture of the Obama era that contrasts the conservative and patriotic culture of the GWB era. Star Trek (2009) was mentioned in EW that it reflects the beginning of the Obama era as the future is depicted to be utopian (and with a good health care system), and reflects the vibe of hope and change.

I agree about Iron Man since that is the first of the many to come of the Avengers related films, much like how Man of Steel in 2013 was the first of the Justice League related films. I think the Incredible Hulk came out in 2008 as well.

Hulk is a bit harder to categorize because it features Edward Norton as Bruce Banner instead of Mark Ruffalo, not to mention it wasn't nearly as popular, even though there was already another Hulk movie to quintessentially represent the 2000s decade five years earlier.

Regardless, even though it wasn't a surefire thing that Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk were going to be more than just standalone flicks back in 2008, they were already representing a notable stylistic shift in how superhero movies were written. The former in particular I remember being a really novel movie for its time, as instead of relying on shadows, cold introspection, and cynicism like The Dark Knight or the Blade movies, for example, it integrated a lot more humour, technology, and unconventional themes that grounded it a lot more with mainstream audiences while still delivering an exhilarating cinematic experience. Putting aside the cinematic universe element, the majority of popular blockbusters this decade, superhero or not, have largely followed the stylistic template Iron Man brought to the forefront of the industry. It was actually the only superhero movie that my mom genuinely enjoyed at the time.

Hulk is a bit harder to categorize because it features Edward Norton as Bruce Banner instead of Mark Ruffalo, not to mention it wasn't nearly as popular, even though there was already another Hulk movie to quintessentially represent the 2000s decade five years earlier.

Regardless, even though it wasn't a surefire thing that Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk were going to be more than just standalone flicks back in 2008, they were already representing a notable stylistic shift in how superhero movies were written. The former in particular I remember being a really novel movie for its time, as instead of relying on shadows, cold introspection, and cynicism like The Dark Knight or the Blade movies, for example, it integrated a lot more humour, technology, and unconventional themes that grounded it a lot more with mainstream audiences while still delivering an exhilarating cinematic experience. Putting aside the cinematic universe element, the majority of popular blockbusters this decade, superhero or not, have largely followed the stylistic template Iron Man brought to the forefront of the industry. It was actually the only superhero movie that my mom genuinely enjoyed at the time.
We are set to watch "The Dark Knight" over the weekend, I get back to you when I can.