AVATAR PREVIEW: Breakthrough this, Revolutionary that…
It’s taken a decade and a half for James Cameron to bring Avatar to the silver screen (in 3-D IMAX no less), but now that technology has caught up with his imagination, he’s leading an all-star action-packed cast into the jungles of a world called Pandora to meet his photo-realistic blue-skinned aliens. Using custom-made performance capture rigs on a scale never before attempted, Avatar LOOKS stunning so far and there’s a lot of talk about the technology and the visuals, but as is the case in any movie, the real satisfaction for the audience lies in that 15-year old paper that Avatar was written on. Is THAT any good? We’ll soon find out, but with Cameron at the helm as writer and director and producer, we’ve definitely got our hopes high!
If you’re looking for a way to get even more engrossed in all things Avatar before this week’s release, check out The Official TypePad Avatar Community, we’ve been playing on there ourselves and having a great time!
December 13th, 2009 at 4:03 am
He want’s to make a sequel? so it means that the movie doesn’t have a real ending?! that sounds not a good thing…
December 13th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
I’m the exact opposite of you Matt, I’m really hoping that Avatar delivers the goods on “revolutionary” filmmaking as it claims it’s going to. Otherwise, from what I’ve seen, thematically the entire thing can be reduced to trite. would-be progressive platitudes. Unforgivable storytelling at its worst.
December 14th, 2009 at 1:59 am
don’t really know the story may be great,but from the trailers doesn’t seem revolutionary althougth the movie may be great with the effects,but who knows we have to see. And i think that’s the point they want us to be confused of what to expect so that we go a see it
December 15th, 2009 at 7:39 am
Revolutionary? I have my doubts that Cameron can do any more to the world of cinema that hasn’t already been done. Even the story itself, from what read and seen in the trailers, follows a familiar path of storytelling where one infiltrates the enemy camp, learns their way of life, has a change of heart, and fights to protect the people that he has come to love and respect from those who wish to bring it harm. The cgi is the only thing going for him right now.
December 15th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Finally an “Avatar” post! I’ve got three tickets to the premiere in 3D in my town, can’t wait! It’ll be amazing. Of course the story isn’t revolutionary, we’ve seen it 100 times before, the point is telling the story in a way it’s never been told before – in 3D and with performance capture!
December 15th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
This movie will be BEAST!!!
(All I have to say about that)
December 16th, 2009 at 12:51 am
I assume “BEAST” is a good thing, but I honestly can’t be sure.
December 16th, 2009 at 2:03 am
It’s a good thing. Sorry for the confusion. I wanted to say something very brief that pretty much summed up my anticipation for this movie; something that sounded kind of awesome.
December 16th, 2009 at 6:18 am
Well the trailers havent really revealed much but hopefully it should be awesome….
December 16th, 2009 at 6:31 am
It’s awesome Heath!:)
December 17th, 2009 at 7:01 am
G’day mat and nat
I’m big into the 3ds max scene so I’ll be taking a close look the the cgi
December 17th, 2009 at 11:52 am
When I saw the lead male in a wheelchair, I called ‘VERY SILLY,’ and I was disappointed. Army psychologists should have weeded him out before he even got his application in. A person like that, who gets to have his body whole again on a mission, is going to listen to the army when they tell him to “come back now, your duty is over”? I think not.
He will love being able to walk etc. so much that he will be reluctant to give up this experience, which is exactly what the army doesn’t ever want – soldiers who could be compromised from following their orders.
That’s just stupid.
On the upside, Matt and Nat did a great job at dissecting the hype and pointing us in the right directions. Thank you Matt for the roundup of filming breakthroughs – that was cool!
We shall see. (This film doesn’t promise nearly as much eye candy for me as New Moon provides, which is a downer….that is now my barometer for films, now many buff guys with their shirts off are running around!) heheheheeeee
December 17th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Tootie: there’s a very LOGICAL explanation behind the army’s decision to draft Jake, even though he’s in a wheelchair; his twin brother dies on Pandora and thus his Avatar – which is personal to each user due to it being grown from their DNA – is rendered useless. The army drafts Jake since he obviously possess the same DNA as his bro’ – SO; instead of growing a new Avatar (which takes time and is expensive) – they get Jake to control his brother’s “Avatar”.. make sense?
..but it’s obvious that a person who has “New Moon” as a barometer doesn’t have a clue about what “Avatar” is about..
December 17th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Nocturne, you’re very rude.
No it doesn’t make sense, for the very reason I’ve given. My observation stands that it would be much more realistic to have had someone else besides a paraplegic in this character’s position. It would have made for a smarter film. Again, he would be considered too great a military risk, None of which you addressed in your comment, which is curious.
The expense of ‘growing’ a new Avatar for a planet-conquering government-military-corporate entity is NOTHING. Expense is just an excuse to have this wheelchair-bound character – which you should see through. It’s just silly, as a plot point. Movies are full of them, and it’s no big deal, but it would be nice to have smarter films when possible.
I was making a joke about New Moon. So sorry you didn’t catch that. I will try harder next time. I hear you can get a sense of humour for a steal at Best Buy on Boxing Day – good luck with that!
December 17th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
I went to the midnight screniing in mexico (a day before) and the first hour and a half are entreteining not something extraordinary, the story has been good , but the movie burn when we were watching so i have to finish to see it today, but overall is good that far
December 17th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Tootie: Hello, I’m a paraplegic myself and you right on in your instincts about some of what your saying. For instance, lets say hypothetcially I had the opportunity to drive an Avatar. Yes, I would be far more interested in walking, running, jumping, hell even dancing ( and I never was much of a dancer ). But then I would assume the hierarchy of the military would set me straight with a threat, that if I didn’t behave myself I would loose my Avatar previledges. Which one could see how that might change say ” my attitude” towards how I spent my time being an Avatar.
I personally would not want to loose that ability to walk again, even through another body. So, no it’s not silly. A man once said, ” A good threat is better than good advice “.
December 18th, 2009 at 12:05 am
ok i saw it, really worth it, but not something amazing just very well done and yes the story is good,but a bit weird jaja
December 18th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Hmm. Saw the midnight in 3D. Great Visuals with flashes of good original, imaginiative story telling. However, I felt like if he expressed this in a trilogy and shown more of the characters over time that they could have done better. I saw trilogy because no one would sit through a six hour movie to make it right. Things were too obvious at times that I did feel like I was reading a Paolini book. However, I want to say a 7/10 right now, maybe it will change for the better (or the worse) though, but doubtfully. I do love the idea though and kept thinking of how things could have done better though.
-NR
December 18th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Hi Brad,
Thanks so much for your thoughts. I was (silly in its own way) assuming that the person ‘driving’ the avatar would control over when to return, but maybe it’s the people in the lab…but with this set-up, I would be surprised that’s the case. If it is, my point is moot.
We all know that you have to take that leap of faith and accept lots of parameters and loopholes for a story/movie to work – I just get frustrated sometimes with the ones that are obvious and thus not terribly complementary to the intelligence of the audience!
I wish you a very happy holiday season Brad – and you too Matt and Nat and everyone else
December 18th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Saw an early release in England a couple of days ago. I wasn’t rendered speechless, in fact I spent half the film muttering ‘wow’ to myself. As a mark of how good it is, though, there was a standing ovation at the end. Which is impressive in that I’ve never, ever seen that happen before. At anything. It was a very surreal experience.
December 18th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Just got back from the midnight IMAX showing. This movie was more than “Beast”. I have no other word to describe it. Awesome won’t do it justice. Holy S@%t!
December 18th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Tootie: Thank you Ma’am! And I hope you have a good Holiday Season too. I just wanted to throw in my two cents about the paraplegic thing. I hope I didn’t come off as being brash.
I understand your point. You do want the story to be spoon feed to you. It’s kind of like someone insulting your intelligence. Anyways I hope that you will still see it!
December 18th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
One of the most extraordinary things I have ever seen. I don’t know what to say. All of the critics I have read who reviewed this movie were correct. You feel like you are seeing Citizen Kane, The Jazz Singer, Star Wars, The Matrix. This movie is revolutionary because its the first of its kind and I felt like I was witnessing cinematic history. When you are shown Pandora especially during the last 30 minutes, I had to remind myself when the movie was over that none of it was real. And that is what I find most extraordinary. These people, those military ships, not even the blades of grass were real. And yet I felt I had visited Pandora and sat with its people. I watched them fight against encroachment and the final result was truly believable. It wasn’t the Ewoks defeating the Imperial Guard. It made sense. But to us filmmakers who have longed for this type of technology to happen I am heartened. I haven’t been so overjoyed since I discovered the possibilities of the RED digital video camera. I’ve been working on a film for years now and been in a malaise since I’ve seen the neighborhoods I needed for my period film decimate and change. How could I replicate the experience of the 60s I needed for my film when the locations, the people are no longer there or alive? James Cameron made it happen. I saw him on Charlie Rose and he is truly visionary. But moreover he is correct when he says now we have to make the software, the technology accessible to filmmakers at a reasonable price. But just like the $2999 32 inch flat screen TV is now available at $279 this technology will also be accessible to those of us who want to realize our vision through CGI and SFX.
I saw Gollum in Lord of the Rings and I began to smile. We were close so close. But Final Fantasy (which I love) kept coming to my mind. How do I create the entire experience? How do I get the hair to move like real on my characters? How do I get the subtle facial expressions to work? Gollum was some serious breakthrough stuff but a whole cast digitally orchestrated? Impossible! But now I am a believer! I am hitting my storyboard again and revising it. This is within my grasp. Thank you James Cameron! For all of you who have not seen it definitely see it on a big screen in 3D. The 3D adds to the total experience. The projection maps, the depth of field. You get to explore not just the foreground but the background. The characters in the back of the room.
I found it quite amusing that they announced for everyone to put on their glasses during the previews. They showed 3 upcoming movies coming soon in 3D like Pirahna (sp) 3D and a couple more. And I was like oh Gawd! Is James Cameron’s movie gonna be just as bad. It was a great ploy! You think you are gonna see the same kind of low grade throwing arrows in your face 3D in Cameron’s movie but OMG. Cameron showed us what 3D is all about. Matt you are absolutely correct. NEVER. SEEN. ANYTHING. LIKE. THAT….. EVER.
Guys go and see this movie!
December 18th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
The 3D was amazing, but this, for me, is easily one of the worst written films of the year. A film so tacky, so insulting, and so mind-numbingly stupid that you almost shout out the cliches before the 1 dimensional characters let them come dribbling out of their own mouths. I feel like screaming at James Cameron for wasting such a brilliant filmmaking technique on such trite, Hollywood storytelling. Watching the technology move along with plot in this movie is like having the best sex in your life while simultaneously receiving genital torture. Ugh, I’m so frustrated. Oh well, at least it was great eye candy.
December 18th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Tootie I am about to see the movie in a few hours but am wondering if time was a factor and only somebody with the same DNA as his could use it then wouldn’t it make sense that it had to be his sibling, regardless of wether his sibling was in a wheelchair or not?
Just curious
December 19th, 2009 at 4:12 am
Ok just saw it and being a CGI junkie first, I have to say hats off, great work done by all. Close ups were great and pull back scenes were packed. I saw the 3D version which unfortunately made many scenes go a little fuzzy when mixed in with whatever was being made to jump out of the screen at the same time. So I could’nt get a good look at some scenes but overall I that the CGI was very well done.
Although I do have to wonder why Cameron decided to have real actors at all. He obviously had a group of people talented enough to make CGI humans. We’ve all seen movies like Beu wolf and final fantasy and those movies were made years ago. I thought I saw a bit of blue screen at times ( the cockpit of the armored things the colonel guy used ) but will have to watch again to be sure. If they had done this all in CGI they would not have needed blue screen.
The story line was pretty much what I expected. Big pain of a corporate army fines expensive mineral deposit under big native home and try and force them out and fail. Nothing reallly new there.
I give it 4 out of 5. Out of the ordinary, good story, stands out from the usual
December 22nd, 2009 at 10:36 am
RCM and Ttandc have confirmed what was hinted by the wheelchair-bound main character – trite, obvious, silly storytelling – you could see it from the preview.
Anyway, I’ll still go as the CG sounds as good as the hype – enjoy, everyone.
December 25th, 2009 at 4:52 am
After watching the movie, all I gotta say is, this is one of my favorite movies of all time, if not my NUMBER ONE favorite, I loved everything about this movie. What I like the most is that after watching the movie, I realized that there is still imagination in the big screen, and a lot of it. The emotions this movie bringed to me were unbelievable, and as weird as it sounds, I gotta say I fell in love with the character of Neytiri.
December 25th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Tootie, I think you missed the plot about Jake sully (the paraplegic). The main military guy arranged for Jake to get his legs back in working order on his next rotation back to earth. One of the main threads of the storyline was the inner struggle between his “legs” in the avatar world and his “legs” in the human world. What meant more? He was willing to risk being a paraplegic for the rest of his life in the human world for the chance to have his “legs” in the avatar world for only a short period of time.
January 1st, 2010 at 11:39 am
My husband and I did something unconventional to ring in the New Year. Went to see AVATAR with only a handful of others. WOW, what an experience! I would love to see Star Wars episodes 3, 4 & 5 on the big screen, re-mastered using the same technology. I agree with Daniel’s sentiments regarding the paraplegic theme. Also, Brad – Thank you for your insight. Only a paraplegic would be able to provide true insight on this seemingly enless debate. I wish you the the best, Brad!
January 1st, 2010 at 4:15 pm
For what it was, it was good movie.
January 1st, 2010 at 5:39 pm
Breeze, I’m just curious here… did you choose Star Wars Episodes 3, 4 & 5 to juxtapose the differences between the last of the “newer” trilogy (Revenge of the Sith) and the beginnings of the “older” one (A New Hope & The Empire Strikes Back), or did you mean Episodes 4, 5 & 6 – the whole of the older trilogy including “Return of the Jedi”?
I’m actually very pleased that you mentioned “Star Wars” and “Avatar” in the same post, as its very appropriate. The reaction to “Avatar”, from both the average movie-goer and film critic, is very much along the lines of “Star Wars” back in 1977. Unfortunately, not too many of the comparisons are positive. In both situations, we have ground-breaking effects and a grand vision saddled with the limitations of a control-freak film czar who settles for trite cliches, hokey dialogue and a simplistic worldview to tell a story.
Lucas was a fledgling filmmaker when he wrote the original trilogy, so a lot of the story drek was chalked up to the enthusiasm of youth and lack of worldly experience that a veteran creator could bring to those movies . The older version of Lucas doesn’t have that excuse. NOTHING that Lucas wrote for the new trilogy was innovative, intelligent, or even interesting – and as a result, the only people whom I know who enjoyed Episodes I, II & III are guys who love to see things blowed up real good or younger people who knew little about the original trilogy.
Cameron’s sins are even greater, as he’s a more complete filmmaker than Lucas could ever hope to be, and yet he low-browed “Avatar” to the level of lowest-common denominator with a limp, insulting plot. All I could think while sitting in the theater watching it was, “This is the same guy who made two of the best sci-fi movies ever with ‘Aliens’ and ‘Terminator 2′ – and it took him 12 years to make…this?” Cameron has stated that he wants to make “Avatar” into a trilogy, a la the “Star Wars” phenomenon. We can only hope that he decides to pass along the scripting of the next two movies to an actual writer rather than a CGI-driven maven who sticks generic characters into the film and has them spout out ridiculous dialogue in order to move on to the next explosion… er, scene. Gee, sounds familiar.
Unfortunately, I can’t share your enthusiasm to see the “Star Wars” films re-done with “Avatar”-level CGI. At this point, I’m of the mind that the further George Lucas stays away from his own creations, the better. The new CGI and scenes added to the original trilogy in the FIRST “revisionist” editions providing little more than eye candy – and ultimately served to piss people off more than anything else by mucking about with canon.
Say it again with me:
HAN
SHOT
FIRST
January 1st, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Well, hello from Portugal. Went to see this film today, and like many others I was amazed by the “real” images I was watching and the “power” of the technology. This is a hell of a film experience.
But I also liked the message, about the bond between all the living things in Pandora. But “we” the humans as usual only care for the profit, so as Jake says we will destroy the tree to get to the money
January 2nd, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Please, tell me something, did you have to pay extra fee for your 3Dglasses? When you go to see another 3Dmovie do you have to pay for another pair of glasses even if you already have ones from your previous movie? because here in Portugal we have to pay/buy another pair. I wonder if this is to help to pay the new technology, or just another way for the distribution movie company to make some extra money, and in the end its a big amount of trash, disposable glasses, that need the exploitation of natural resources to make millions of this glasses. Exactly the opposite of what Cameron says in the interview…we should stop for a while and look to what are we doing to the planet.
January 2nd, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Over here we recycle the glasses so that we can use them again, clean and fresh. It helps with the environment. Oh, yeah and you do pay extra for tickets and glasses. A little expensive but the experience is totally worth it.
January 8th, 2010 at 12:27 am
WOW WOW WOW! I’m literally in love with this movie! I’ve been to see it twice in 3D and man am I dying to go see it again. For those saying the plot was pedictable and cheesy etc. then please get a life and perhaps for once go to enjoy a movie rather than analyse it. It’s a bit weird seeing how the best acting in the movie came from the Na’vi rather than the real life humans. Sam Worthington isn’t the best actor out there but he did manage to convince us that he’s a jarhead (jarhead clan lol). Neytiri was no doubt the best character in the movie and as she teaches Sully and he grows to love her so does the viewer. Best movie I’ve ever seen
However, can James Cameron produce another masterpiece for a sequal or will we get another Matrix Reloded?
January 18th, 2010 at 10:40 am
I agree, this movie is awesome and there is nothing like it. The motion capture made the difference and not with the bodily movement, but rather the facial expression. Neyteri was the best character and Zoe Saldana did an amazing job making the audience believe her emotion. Not that Jake didn’t, but his lines weren’t as captivating. Awesome movie, and worth seeing multiple times. Must own.
January 28th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Honestly this Movie Blew My Mind Out My Ass and I’m now Undoubtedly obsessed with the franchise. I’ve seen it twice planning to do it a third time this weekend. This Movies Been Top of the Box Office List for 6 WEEKS Running Nothing has ever been so popular. I mean I’ve been reading Na’vi I bought several Movie Posters and even the Officially Sponsored Game for the Xbox 360 and I was having doubts about that as well..But it was remarkably well made for a Movie Game and doesn’t play as horrible as Movie Games like Transformers or Spiderman. You interact and go deeper into the story line and it also appears more as an addition to the movie before the movie takes place. I’d give the movie a 9.5 and the game an 8.5 This Movie was so epic it landed third on my personal list of movies of all time. It reminded me of how awesome the Star Wars Series is and How my Brain Bubbled in a pool after watching the whole Matrix Trilogy..It’s Just So Amazing that Words can’t describe. Cameron’s Attention to Detail seems to be his Niche and he is remarkably good at it. It was hard to critcize the movies plot. Some of it was predictable but the movie made up in being Original and extremely enticing. I can’t believe how much money this movie has already made. It was literally Movie of the Decade for me. Cameron Truly has a Gigantic Imagination and I praise him for this project. Its made extremely well and I wish I could go into more detail on the movie and every tid bit that I loved but the cast is great the plot is great the CG was Orgasmic. I mean this movie probably couldn’t get any better than it is. It was unrealistic either in how it presented the world of Pandora, He made everything so real that Yeah I’ve been having day dreaming memories of being on Pandora and talking to some of the characters. Its just Insanely Good, Recommend this Movie to anyone. Nothing Can Compare to this Revolutionary Film making..Cameron You’ve Truly Outdone yourself This Time -Will Kirchmayer.
February 21st, 2010 at 10:19 pm
I have seen this movie 5 times already IT IS BY FAR MY FAVORITE MOVIE, I know thats hard to judge with all the great movies out there, but its the emotions I had after watching it that hooked me. Incredible, as Cameron says the Na`vis are the people we deeply associate to, living close to nature just how it should be. Great message. Congratulations Cameron.