"Avatar" 15 min. special screening discussion thread **SPOILERS**

[chrisspringob]

[Preemptive plea to mods: Please don't merge this with the other Avatar thread we have going. This is about the ~15 minutes of footage of the movie aired at selected theaters this weekend, *not* the 2 minute trailer that can be found online. Better to keep the discussion separate I think, especially as the discussion here could get into spoiler territory, and it's easier to just put the spoiler warning at the top than to code everything.]


This thread contains **SPOILERS** for the "Avatar Day" footage.

Everyone feel free to post your reactions here once you've seen the footage.......




Well, I finished watching the ~15 min. of "Avatar" footage that's being screened at theaters around the world today. It's already Friday night here in Oz, so it got here before most of the rest of the world. My quick take:

The 3d effects here were really quite amazing. Maybe I just haven't been keeping up with 3d movies in recent years. I saw "Journey to the Center of the Earth" in 3d last year, and the last one befoe that was probably Captain EO. Have other movies had 3d this spectacular? It feels like quite a different experience from 2d. So much so that it's kind of distracting at first. It took me some time to orient myself, and it's a bit disorienting in scenes with extreme closeups and where the camera is moving around a lot. But when the camera is stable and you have shots with a lot of depth....it's quite breathtaking.

The CG looks better on the big screen, but it's still seems like something in between live action and a video game cut scene. One thing that detracts a bit: Both the Na'vi and all the animals on Pandora have more or less completely smooth skin. There's no real texture on them to add realism. They're also all colored very bright rainbow colors, which reinforces the idea that they were cooked up on a computer, and didn't arise from nature. But maybe that's just Earth-centric bias as to what can occur in nature.

I wasn't really paying that much attention to the dialogue, as I was just trying to orient myself in terms of what was going on, and soaking in the visuals. But the movie seemed to be fairly family friendly. Didn't see anything that would prevent this from being PG. It's not dark and gritty at all. It's the opposite of dark and gritty. They also seemed to go a bit over the top with the "Pocahantas in space" angle. Zoe Saldana's character (I think that was her) wore a headband that made her look like she was posing as a Native American, and she spoke somewhat broken English. Other Na'vi spoke their native language with English subtitles.

Hmmmm.....I could go on, but those are the main points. I'll leave it at that for now.

 

[firehawk12]

I just came back from seeing this - twice. It was rather disappointing to me anyway. You're right with the Pocahontas thing, although for me it was a lot like the Tom Cruise vehicle - The Last Samurai.

If this is just another noble savage film with pretty graphics, I think I'll pass. I might as well re-watch that Star Trek episode where Kirk decides to become a Native American for 50 minutes.

 

[chrisspringob]

Here is Ebert's review of the footage. He gives it zero stars:

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090819/REVIEWS/908219995

I think he's perhaps a bit too harsh on story logic, as we've only seen 15 min. of footage not placed in context, so there really isn't a complete story yet to critique.

He's also much more negative on the 3d aspect than I am. I thought the 3d effects were really quite breathtaking. But I can't really argue with any other criticisms he has.

 

[Blue_Trek]

A review from another site

My impressions of the movie...F****** awesome!!

No doubt about it. The picture was clear and perfect, I would say beyond perfect.

First segment is the introduction of a Marine name Jake Sully on a wheelchair coming in as the Commander is introducing the people to the planet.

Second is Jake Sully being prepare to turn into the blue tall creature called Navi. Sigourney Weaver is also in the film as a doctor, later on she is also the Navi.

Third segment, Jake Sully is taking on a strange creature that looks awesome, kind of like a Rhino but has a hammerhead like shark head with peacock like feather on the head, it goes up when in anger or fear I believe, Jake stands up against the creature, the creature backs away and Jake is pumped up thinking hes in control until another creature behind him pops up, a jaguar like creature that chases after him.

Fourth segment, Jake is rescued by a woman Navi against small like Jaguar creatures.

Fifth segment, Jake seems to be with the tribe based on his clothing and painting on his body which means he was accepted into the tribe, he is on a cliff preparing to tame a flying creature, he succeeds and is forced to fly the bird because it seems that when you tame the bird creature, its like being reborn and needs to fly to force it to instinctively remember to fly, kind of like a reborn 20 year old man forced to walk before it forgets and acts like new baby that has yet to know how to crawl.

Final segment, is like the trailer of Avatar but more bonus footage. Trust me that the picture quality is awesome and the 3D is even better. Must see movie!!!

From what Roger Ebert said it seems that you need to sit in the middle to get the best out of the 3D, he saw it twice once near the back and once in the middle.

 

[Bad Bishop]

It sounds very much like the 20 minutes worth that was played at Comic-Con. I thought the footage was spectacular. And I was even impressed with the 3-D glasses they handed out; they are far better than the crappy ones I last tried (from TV Guide magazine for a special episode of Medium).

 

[bigdaddy]

Here is Ebert's review of the footage. He gives it zero stars:

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090819/REVIEWS/908219995

I think he's perhaps a bit too harsh on story logic, as we've only seen 15 min. of footage not placed in context, so there really isn't a complete story yet to critique.

He's also much more negative on the 3d aspect than I am. I thought the 3d effects were really quite breathtaking. But I can't really argue with any other criticisms he has.

He was too busy eating to give it any stars.

And really, do we need trailer ratings now... sheesh....

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I still don't think they should have cast white kids as Aang and Katara.

 

[firehawk12]

Is that a joke post?
Although, I suppose it's unfortunate that two genre movies are coming out at the same time with the same name.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

Is that a joke post?
Although, I suppose it's unfortunate that two genre movies are coming out at the same time with the same name.

Actually the live action version of Avatar: The Last Air Bender is just called The Last Air Bender.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Is that a joke post?

That was the intention though I'm sure some would dispute whether my humor qualifies as a joke.

 

[chrisspringob]

Here's a transcript of the footage:

http://www.latinoreview.com/news/a-look-at-avatar-day-including-footage-transcipt-7797

 

[Blue_Trek]

Another review

Ok, so because I got there so early I was actually the first in line at the Dallas Texas IMAX showing. It was fun talking with other fans in line about what we were about to see.
The footage was..... Breathtaking. Totally realistic and totally incredible. I bought every second of it. Now I loved the trailer in the first place, and I can understand some peoples opinions of how some shots looked CG. but seeing more interaction between the characters definitely raises the bar to the next level and doesn't come close to the trailer. The fluidity and motion was of Jake's Avatar was PERFECT. The bio luminescent forest was beautiful. My brother actually got chocked up for a second on more than one scene seeing how beautiful it was! Someone else said "this is going to be the best movie of all time". The music that plays on the Avatar website is what is playing when Jake lays onto the lab bed, just something I noticed. Amazing facial animation, you experience what they experience and feel what they feel. The overall depth of the movie is crazy. It just feels like another world completely and its hard to describe, so I wont lol Seeing him wrestle with the banshee had me on edge for some reason. I don't know it just sort of draws you in to the scene cause it feels incredibly real.
I can say 100% now in full honesty, that all the haters out there calling it cartoony and fake and "Epic Fail" are literally, and I mean literally wrong. There is no such thing as opinion on this subject, there is only fact, and the fact is that this movie will be awesome. Oh yeah, the 3d was outstanding lol. I totally forgot about it cause there was so much to look at and take in.
James Cameron has done it again. But this time, at least from the 15 minute footage, It is a perfect emotional masterpiece that I cant wait to experience again : )

ps. Saw G.I Joe afterwards because we were already at the theater with nothing better to do. Ill say this much, after seeing Avatar, G.I Joe is what I used to wipe my butt after Avatar made me crap my pants

Sounds good

 

[Barbados Slim]

The most amazing part of the 3D is the sense of perspective. It wasn't the CG stuff that wow'd me most but a shot of the Sgt. briefing marines on Pandora and it felt like I was actually in the room, sitting at the table.

The CG stuff was impressive. They did improve the facial animation and they're even closer to getting eyes right, human eye expression to me is the holy grail of CG animation.

The action is fairly exciting, it reminded me of the Skull Island stuff in King Kong. Although I'm not a fan of the Pocahantas/Dances With Wolves/The Last Samurai story of white man gets some hot native pie and goes rogue, I was interested in this.

My only negative criticism is the fact that with everything being CGI, it doesn't matter how impressive the 3D or colors or facial expressions, there's still that part of the brain that goes "I'm watching a really fancy cartoon."

 

[trevanian]

BARBADOS, your comment on feeling like you're in the room sounds like stuff I heard about Trumbull's showscan process in the late 70s and 80s. The depth from shooting and projecting at 60fps gave a looking through a window feel, very immersive, but not in a inyourface way, except when that was specifically needed for a shot.

I never saw anything in Showscan, but it sounded like a niche application, not for all kinds of narratives. Personally, I think the blur in filmmaking is a big part of what makes the images work for us, and the switch to digital (and to no-blur shutters in some photochemical shooting) is counterintuitive and a step away from what works. Cameron seems hugely committed to the no-blur thing from what I've read, which makes me think he is definitely moving in the wrong direciton. Then again, most CG is a step away from photo-realism, and yet today's viewers eat it up, so it could be this IS the way of the future ... I just HOPE that's not the case.

 

[melancholymecha]

I havent seen a 3d flm since Body Wars at Epcot in the early 90's. I have no idea if I'll actually bother to watch this in 3d, but Im tempted. I have avoided the current 3d films b/c its seems from what Ive heard that its really immersive & in your face. I get easily distracted & overstimulated by different things going on around me at the same time(thanks to Asperger's.) I dont know if I could handle almost 3 hours of that!