I've just got home from watching the 16 minute clip shown around the world today for Avatar Day. Now I have to point out that I have never seen a 3D movie before, if you don't count the Terminator 2 3D show at Universal Studios about 7 years ago, funnily enough also directed by James Cameron. So this was my first taste at proper 3D cinema.
Now my reaction to the trailer that was posted yesterday was on par with the majority of the people out there, disappointment after all the hype surrounding the film. My gripe wasn't with the CGI, which was spot on and comments about the thing looking like a "video game cut-scene" were unfounded and honestly rather idiotic. It was the character design that irked me. It was something straight out of porny fanfic and erotic Deviant Art renderings. The alien design was lazy and unimpressive IMO and gave the trailer too much of a cartoony feel, which most likely fueled the video game comments. I think people weren't expecting that much fantasy and it caught them off guard. The whole thing didn't gel for me and I predict that this will fare far worse at the box office than they expect.
Now I'm not one to judge the film based on a couple of minutes of random footage so I went to the screening today hoping that Cameron would deliver something worthwhile. And he did, on one front. The film looks fucking Amazing. THE best CGI characters ever made, period. Video game cut-scene proclaimers can suck it and suck it hard. The subtle nuances of the face, realistic movement and no trace of key animation which usually ruins motion capture in my mind. The surroundings, which are all CGI are alive with countless bugs and flies that bring more depth to the 3D. And even though I hate the design of the Navi you put that in the back of your mind almost immediately because of how well they are animated and rendered, the feel like living and breathing creatures.
Of course the 3D helps tremendously with bringing this world to life but you have to wonder if the film really needs it to succeed because after all what are we watching, the technology or the story? And that's really what we have to find out really in December, is the story any good or is it a tech wank fest? In a way it is but it needs story to be a winner for those who don't give two shits about that stuff.
I was very impressed with what I saw on a technical level and that's all we have to go on now because the clips gave us nothing in terms of story or plot outside of what we already know. As a thrill ride it will succeed I'm sure but as a good film that remains to be seen.
Agreed. The creatures border on silly. CGI is gorgeous.
Apparently you didn't like the videogame comments, but that doesn't make them "unfounded" or "idiotic" because Avatar looks better than videogame cut scenes you've seen. Recent shorts for Blizzard games and the last 2 Final Fantasy games had amazing cg cut scenes that are a bit reminiscent of what was shown in the trailer with more impressive detailed characters.
Lmao @
"porny fanfic and erotic Deviant Art renderings"
When I read that those cheesy Deviant Art images flashed through my memory.
unless this is PG or at least PG-13 I have a bad feeling that the general population will not see this. They really need to bank on "From the Director of Titanic" or most people wont give two shits.
Also not in its favor will be the 3D. Yes that is what will set it apart from everything else BUT as you all have seen showing a clearly 3D image on a 2D format makes it look "silly".
Either way Cameron has earned a pass from me due to making two of the greatest Si-Fi films in the last 30 years. Hope I get WOWED tonight at my screening. :)
I have hope in this little project yet, I rewatched the trailer today and it keeps growing. I just don't know what to expect.
Seriously guys, the CG is absolutely incredible and does not feel like a video game. I was quite impressed. And yeah, I'm a gamer - I see a lot of crazy FMV sequences.
Avatar does not disappoint in terms of effects...
That being said, the story looks like its going to be an issue. Dialogue was mostly awkwardly melodramatic and cornball and while all the set-pieces looked amazing, apart from a sequence with flying dragons, they are nothing you haven't seen before in a summer blockbuster. One sequence felt ripped straight out of The Lost World (they even sampled the T-Rex scream).
My biggest complaint is that it did not effect me like the 6 minutes of The Dark Knight that played in front of I Am Legend did. With TDK, I was pretty restless afterwards knowing I had to wait 6 months to see the film, where with Avatar I am not desperate to see the whole thing. Definitely intrigued and interested, but yeah... the hype has really simmered for me.
I saw the 16-minute IMAX 3D preview last night and came away very impressed. Sure, th alien design looks like the result of Dr. Manhattan fucking a donkey and the dialogue hints at being the same clunky stuff that largely stopped Titanic from being a genuine classic, but the 3D really was phenomenal. I've been to see pretty much every 3D movie that has been released so far aand this is right up there and I wouldn't be at all surprised if the finished product becomes the best 3D experience ever. Jungle chase sequences had me ducking and wincing in my seat, but it was also effective in the first "Avatar" sequence where Sam Worthington wakes up and staggers around the lab in his new body - you got a real feeling of disorientation, uncoordination and dizziness as he tries to manoeuvre in his new gangly frame.
This film is pretty much guaranteed to be a PG13 on release. If it is rated R than it will miss its entire target demographic as a 3D showcase (as 3D productions are predominantly "younger audience" flicks). There will be some scary monster moments but nothing beyond that and quite frankly the second half of the film - an all-out war between human military and aliens - has proved in the past to be the perfect setting for Cameron's best work.
Will this be the greatest cinematic experience of all time? Quite probably not. Will it make for a memorable one? on this evidence, almost definitely.
I got to say that I was really disappointed. James Cameron really made it a point to tell everyone at the Microsoft Advance event that Avatar would be the first film that had realistic characters.
He also said that this film had managed to one up the uncanny valley. Making such big statements you would think he would have a way to back it up in the finished product. I have seen as good and or even better CGI game scenes.
Make Avatar, not war.
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I kinda remember that when Cameron was making Titanic, everyone said it was a dumb idea, and couldn't understand how a movie about a ship could cost so much. I remember people said that nobody would go watch it because everybody knew the ending...anyway, I think very few people had faith in Titanic, and then it became the biggest movie in history. It certainly made superstars of DiCaprio and Winslet, and unfortunately, Celine Dion.
My point is, I'll just wait until the movie is released and see if it's any good. I can't judge it based on a trailer.
"This is great!"
err... no, it is not.
I havent seen the 16 minute 3d footage, but as far as the trailer goes, I am far from impressed.
I guess for 'realistic humans' it's a step up from Beowulf, but then you've got the corny-looking Reptilian Smurfs with dreadlocks. I dont care how 'stunning' the rest of it is, these ridiculous Navi are pretty much ruining all their efforts.
And you shouldnt insult the DeviantArt pornfaeries like that.
Pornfaeries have feelings too.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the realistic humans in the beginning not just that: humans? That's not CGI.