Avatar Trailer and Pre-Release Buzz

[phansson]

Originally Posted by MeeTooInThread

Man, this is not some poke in your face kind of gimmicky 3D. It is like scene playing out in front of your seat in real space.

I agree with this comment, there were some scenes where you could tell it was intentional for the 3-d effect, but the most impressive scene is the very first one. It is a long shot down a section of the space craft that they travel in. It had A LOT of depth.

Also the scenes with things floating in the air, dust, ash or "seeds" looked incredible and very life like.

[robertthunder]

**More spoiler free than the trailer thats for sure!!)**

Not until tonight did I find out Avatar was spelled "Dances with Apocalypto". Now I'm a big Cameron fan; and when I see a Cameron film I'm expecting that little something more. Aside from the spectacular CG (which wiped the slate clean and started a whole new game) there was nothing there. The story has been done to death before, acting was OK but nothing special and the sound...poor for a Cameron film!
I could go on all day about the look and directing of the film, but that's not enough to qualify this as the greatest thing to hit celluloid in 30 years (as some critics make it out to be). I went in very excited and came out just not being fully wowed. Granted I did see Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus right before the film at its screening and with the wonderful array of character development and acting I think left me even more upset with the lack of detailed characters and stellar acting.
I do say see it; IMAX3D if you can, but don't expect this holy grail of a film. CG is revolutionary, directing is great (It's Cameron!!) but that's where it ends. I'll end it there until everyone sees it. Fell free to poor in the comments I'm dying to hear what everyone thinks.

[kolibri]

Originally Posted by MeeTooInThread

it is indeed

The theatre i went in, started the movie (previous show got delayed) before everybody could find the seats and settle down,
and we could make out when a new patron put on glasses.

coz as soon as you put on glasses, there was a loud audible ooh aah ,awesome,cool etc

Man, this is not some poke in your face kind of gimmicky 3D.
It is like scene playing out in front of your seat in real space.

Hmmm, I guess I'll have to go and catch it in 3D at the hideously overpriced Leicester Square Odeon!

[Kryptonic]

Wow. Absolutely stellar movie in every single way. While the story was certainly not a new one, that doesn't stop it from being completely engaging, emotional, and rich. The effects are the most flawless I've ever experienced. I can't wait to see it again.

[jasonicus]

Saw it last night and was amazed by the sheer beauty of it in 3D. The CGI is easily the most realistic ever made. Cameron has done what he said he would do. Loved the film throughout, don't really have anything bad to say about it. I can't imagine anyone who likes Sci-Fi would rate this lower than a B. Just an incredible film.

[khan1670]

Just saw it in 3D. All I can say is WOW!!

Truly a visual delight. Cameron & Weta have created a fantastically beautiful world.

The 3D is beautiful and used just right. It brings you into the world of Pandora and very rarely pokes out at you with typical 3D movie gags.

The creatures of Pandora are very well done, I thought more so than the Navi themselves.

The Navi look very good but I thought they still stood out a bit as CG than the rest of the creatures. They are still excellent though.

The story was good and kept me well enough engaged with the movie. Is it the greatest thing since sliced bread? Probably not, but it's still quite good.

I thought the acting was very good as well. Can't say there was a bad performance. Worthington is looking like the next big thing.

Stephen Lang was bad-ass as the Colonel. Looks like he worked out a bit for this.

The human tech was cool too, especially those Mech-walkers.

The only thing that kind of bothered me was I felt bad for the human grunt soldiers who were essentially just following orders getting the beat down.

I voted A.

[MorgolKing]

Originally Posted by khan1670

The only thing that kind of bothered me was I felt bad for the human grunt soldiers who were essentially just following orders getting the beat down.

Me too. It was sad watching the battle scenes. It was all very entertaining but it was a no-win situation. Innocent soldiers, Na'vi, creatures were all dying.

[obiwopkenobi62]

Originally Posted by ijokr

So I went to see Avatar last night and wow!!! It is visually the best movie I've ever seen. It is an epic story as said by Seretur and not a plot twist kind of movie and it is executed perfectly. Once again Cameron proves to be in top of the class. This movie is a breakthrough in technical aspects and as said by a friend of mine "It is our 2001: Space Odyssey". The acting was incredible, the CGI was the best we've seen so far. I'm going to see it again today.

I agree. On another note for those who were worried about the 3D as I was I actually forgot I was wearing the glasses. There was no eye strain. I didn't rub my eyes once as I did a lot when I saw Beowulf in 3D. I was just immersed in this visual spectacle.
Cameron and his crew hit it out of the park with this. I can honestly say I don't have one bad thing to say about Avatar. To me it was magical. I have to agree with something Roger Ebert said about Avatar. He said he hadn't got this feeling from a movie since he saw Star Wars in 1977. I couldn't agree with him more.
This was a totally immersive experience and the 3D was used smartly and only enhanced the movie instead of using all the gimmicy stuff that other 3D movies did.
I don't usually keep thinking about movies after I see them but I can't stop thinking about Avatar. I only hope that cameron does revisit Pandora and turns this into a trilogy.

[Sussudio]

Just got back...I'll provide a more in depth review later, but all in all I would say the visuals were of course mesmerizing and the story was solid. Dialogue was weak as expected and I had a few issues with some of the plot points, but otherwise I can't wait to see it again soon! Overall I would give it a B.

[maverik1979]

*******SPOILERS********

saw this last night in imax 3d,

first off as others have said, there are a couple of lines where you ask yourself, did they really say that?, but otherwise i thought the dialogue was fine

as for the supposed "CG", the point is that after a short while you stop thinking of it in that way, its hard to explain, but as an example, you can see and feel the emotion in the Na'Vi characters and you just believe they're real

for the 3d side of things, obviously easily the best incarnation so far, but that doesnt tell you the whole story, again another example to prove my point

one scene has them jumping from a flying rock onto a vine maybe 1000m up in the air, and you get that feeling in the pit of your stomach when you're doing something dangerous, i felt scared! you wouldnt get that in the 2d version i bet

2nd example, much more subtle, but just as effective in bringing you closer into their world:

a scene in the forest has them saying something (cant remeber what it was about tbh), but they are slightly obscured by some ferns, and i just got this impulse to brush the ferns to one side with my hand so i could see what was going on better

i have to see it again, just to take in all the stuff i probably missed

and i might get flamed for this but i dont care:

all these people saying well star wars was better blah blah blah,

actually, no its not

[Grumpz]

I've avoided all the hype as much as possible, and have only seen 1 small trailer. I'm going into this thing...in 2 hrs...with the expectation that I'm going to be let down. Why? Because that just seems to be the way theatres go these days.

I hope I get blown away, and will be unbiased upon my return.

[Blu-vie]

Just got back from Pandora! I mean from Avatar! I'm glad I have seen other 3D movies before this. Now I can compare. In Avatar there is lots of depth. You actually feel like your in the picture. Especially with the aerial shots. It got really emotional too when the Tree was getting bombed. I love how when Cameron starts an action scene, It doesn't seem to end for a long time. I must go and watch again. I know I must have missed something. I rate this movie an AWESOME x10!

[MorgolKing]

***SPOILER question*****

Hey did anyone catch why the school for the Nav'i got shut down? I'm guessing we're left to assume human and Nav'i relations got strained or something or we're just left to imagine a reason. But I was wondering if there was some explanation that I missed.

[Grevlin]

Originally Posted by MorgolKing

***SPOILER question*****

Hey did anyone catch why the school for the Nav'i got shut down? I'm guessing we're left to assume human and Nav'i relations got strained or something or we're just left to imagine a reason. But I was wondering if there was some explanation that I missed.

Sully arriving on a ship with a few other new Avatars and maybe gear leads me to think they were running out of options. Relations seemed VERY thin, and the 'dozers reached sacred ground after three months - it all seemed like they were in a last-ditch effort phase.

I want to know why "Unobtainium" was so friggin valuable. -- Maybe an energy source for a crappy Earth??

[kpkelley]

I'm not as adverse to unimaginative plots if the filmmakers are doing something unique in another aspect of the film. As such I loved Avatar and would rate it a solid 9/10. I was amazed by the cgi presented and was quickly immersed into the 3d experience. I'm looking forward to seeing again as soon as possible.

Originally Posted by kolibri

To all those that have seen Avatar in 3D... Is it really that impressive?

The first few minutes took some time to get used to, but after that It felt totally immersive. I was pleased by the lack of eye fatigue afterwards.

Originally Posted by MorgolKing

***SPOILER question*****

Hey did anyone catch why the school for the Nav'i got shut down? I'm guessing we're left to assume human and Nav'i relations got strained or something or we're just left to imagine a reason. But I was wondering if there was some explanation that I missed.

The only possible explantion presented in the film was that the Nav'i used the school as an opportunity to teach as well as learn and when they came to the conclusion that they couldn't teach the "sky people" their ways then they felt thay had nothing more to learn from them.

Originally Posted by Grevlin

I want to know why "Unobtainium" was so friggin valuable. -- Maybe an energy source for a crappy Earth??

I would have liked an explantion beyond "it's worth a lot of money."

[MCT]

I gave it a C.

I felt like I was watching The Last Samurai with blue monsters and gun ships and massive explosions. Is this supposed to be an archetypal story? Yeah, sure. Does that make it good? Of course not. It's very easy to get lost in the spectacle of it all, if you're a casual movie-goer. I've seen this same movie played out so many times that I wasn't compelled by the Navi's plight. It wasn't gripping in the least. James Cameron will always be my favorite director of all time. But my god was this story bland and predictable. I knew exactly how it was going to end at least 2 hours before the movie ended, and that is NEVER a good thing. There's just as much to like about this movie as there is to NOT like about it, hence the C. I just don't feel like I'll ever watch this again, especially not without the 3-D effect.

EDIT oh yeah...my favorite character was Lang. One of the best villians of this decade. Just out and out merciless, steel-willed, and determined to see those damned Navi driven from their homes. I salute you, sir. I salute your granite-encrusted heart.

[toef]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

Just got back...I'll provide a more in depth review later, but all in all I would say the visuals were of course mesmerizing and the story was solid. Dialogue was weak as expected and I had a few issues with some of the plot points, but otherwise I can't wait to see it again soon! Overall I would give it a B.

I agree with all that, but don't feel like giving a lengthy review.

It's a fun movie to look at, but I think the 3d effect creates a fuzziness that takes away a bit from the visuals. I'm actually looking forward to seeing it on a 2D BD down the road. The story is pretty weak (a pretty simple Joseph Campbell-plotted script, with the unlikely hero, the mentor dying, etc), and some of it just seems odd (like the word "unobtainium").

The first hour (or so) was a bit of a bore, but the last two (or so) flew by.

I don't think the 3D was really that big of a deal. It kind of looked cool, but it wasn't jaw-droppingly amazing, nor did I feel like it really added to the movie. At times it actually seemed to detract from the movie, because there were a couple times it looked like a 2D layer sliding on top of another layer, and that looked pretty crappy. Other parts were cool, though I don't imagine I'll feel like I'm missing anything when I eventually watch it in 2D.

I gave it a B. The movie itself (story, acting, etc) would probably be a B- at best, but the visuals bumped up the overall score for me.

[Romulus]

Saw it today.

My biggest fear going into the film was that it would be visually stunning but the story would be very weak or uninteresting. The first hour of the film certainly didn't help my initial concerns. Let me be frank, the film is absolutely gorgeous. The night scenes with all the plants practically had my jaw on the floor. I would definitely say that for the first hour the visuals are what really drove the film. After that we start to see the development of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and the moral dilemma he faces. I would say that the most interesting aspect of the story was hearing his narrative, it without a doubt offers the most in depth and interesting part of the story. Other than that we don't really get an in depth look into the other characters, maybe an exception to Sigourney Weaver. For me I knew that the movie had become good when in the last hour and half I was completely immersed in the story, and not the special effects. It was only then that I realized that the movie has surpassed my expectations. Needless to say, the dialogue is not great. I wouldn't say that it's horrible, but it's certainly the weakest aspect. Also the film is predictable and you know how it's going to play out, but the ride to getting there was still very exciting, in my opinion.

So overall I'm going to give it a B.

[Sussudio]

Alright...full review...and I agree with a lot of what Toefer and MCT said (and disagree with some as well):

First, I won't go too in depth with the CGI because, as has been stated, it really looked phenomenal on the big screen. The environments were outstanding and the Na'vi were much more believable than what I witnessed in the trailers. I felt the only weak sides of the CGI were some of the creatures (namely the smaller ones) which looked a little too video game-ish up close. The 3D was surprisingly subtle which I appreciated. I expected more "in your face" moments and it was nice to see Cameron hold back, instead choosing to appropriately integrate the 3D technology into his world instead of feeling the need to constantly hit us over the head with it.

The story was largely cliche, but I still felt Cameron was able to spin it in an creative motion while integrating several familiarities of classic storytelling instead of directly copying them. It wasn't the completely original mindblowing epic I had once thought it would be, but it wasn't a major disappointment in my eyes either.

Jake's side-switch from humans to Na'vi was a very important story element in which I was successfully convinced, but it was somewhat harder for me to believe how easily the Na'vi tribe allowed Jake to train to become "one of them." I failed to understand why they gave in so quickly and decided to "half-trust" him, knowing he wasn't really one of them. I also strongly disliked the voiceover/video logs...they seemed to exist just to make sure the audience was following along and "getting the story," and I wish Jake's narration wasn't so direct. It brought me back to the theatrical cut of Blade Runner which was not a good memory (for me).

I won't get too into the dialogue but I thought most of it was fairly weak. I expected this from Cameron, who has never had a strong ear for dialogue (in my opinion), but I think his memorable characters and storylines provide a deep enough buffer to overshadow his occasionally poor choice of words. The movie's pace was unquestionably quicker in the 2nd half, but I felt the 1st half's slower (but still steady) pace was vital in helping establish and develop Jake's relationship both with his new body and his new-found species. I was thankful to see Cameron save his big action scenes for when they were really needed instead of shoving one in our face every five minutes. Speaking of which, the final action scene was superb. It lasted exactly as long as it needed to without going too over the top, and the movie wrapping up shortly after without a long and drawn out finale was a welcome decision. Moreover, a very strong final shot.

Sam Worthington gave a solid performance but I didn't believe it was anything special, and the same goes for Sigourney Weaver (who was a welcome face on the screen, but again, I didn't feel her performance was mind-blowing). The two roles who really stood out for me were Stephen Lang and Zoe Saldana, the latter of which I would love to see nominated for an Oscar (even though I know that really isn't possible). I thought her dialogue and movements were delivered perfectly, and she was one of the most mesmerizing characters for me.

James Horner's score was both suitable and memorable to me. He is one of my favorite composers and I firmly believe he is able to bring something new to the table of every film he works on. I'm not here to argue with anyone who thinks all of his music sounds the same, but I would challenge those people to listen to at least 10 of his soundtracks both in context of the movie and outside of them. He has a style that works wonderfully for him and his movies, and by molding it to the tone of his movies, I think he achieves near perfection in all of them (but of course, that's just me ).

All in all, I would give this a B. The visuals were deep and involving, the story was strong but not terribly original, the acting was respectable with a few standout performances, and the music was sweeping and melodic. After multiple viewings--which I feel the film deserves--I may have a change of heart and raise the grade to an A, but this is where I currently stand 8 hours after seeing it. Sorry for the long read...if anyone has actually braved the entirety of my thoughts, I'd be interested in hearing your reaction.

[MCT]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

Jake's side-switch from humans to Na'avi was a very important story element in which I was successfully convinced, but it was somewhat harder for me to believe how easily the Na'avi tribe allowed Jake to train to become "one of them." I failed to understand why they gave in so quickly and decided to "half-trust" him, knowing he wasn't really one of them.

Remember the miniature floating white jellyfish? They "chose" him on the way to the village, and the Navi chieftan and his wife went along with their daughter's advice to train him as such. Very cliche, reminded me of Hot Rod catching the Matrix of Leadership mid-fall, briefly feeling the power of it, hinting at his eventual turn into leader of the Autobots (really stupid btw). Bumbling oaf evolves into natural leader = stupid.

A very strong final shot.

agreed.

Sam Worthington gave a solid performance but I didn't believe it was anything special, and the same goes for Sigourney Weaver (who was a welcome face on the screen, but again, I didn't feel her performance was mind-blowing).

ditto. And a word on Weaver's performance....in the beginning, when she first learns of Jake being on the team, she came off very wooden and unconvincing. The exchange between she and Ribisi (who was very underused) was pretty painful. Seemed like she was shaking off the rust. I did notice that she fell more into character as the movie went on though. Worthington needs to learn how to deliver his lines with more passion and gusto....sometimes he sounds like he's kinda mumbling, just too-low key for my tastes. Other than that, I suppose he earned his paycheck.