Avatar (2009)Sci-Fi; USA
December 18, 2009
I was lucky enough to see one of the 3D IMAX screenings of the 15 minute extended preview for James Cameron's long awaited film "Avatar" yesterday. There has been a fair amount of hype regarding this film, it's use of 3D technology and it's advancements in CGI and I can safely say that the hype is mostly deserved. I say only mostly because it's incredibly hard to describe the effect of "Avatar" without overselling it. It's amazing, awe-inspiring and engrossing, but when you say that to someone it's like they expect that it's going to cure baby orphans of cancer or something. It doesn't. But it did suck me in like no movie ever has before.
If you've only seen the 2D trailer on the internet, it's easy to dismiss the film as looking cartoony, video gamey and "cool, but nothing revolutionary". Watching it in 3D, however, is a whole other experience. The Na'vi look like real creatures inhabiting real space. The environments are spectacular and photo-realistic (as photo-realistic as an alien planet with bio-luminescent plantlife can be) - aside from the parts you know must be CGI because nothing like them exists in real life, you don't even think about the fact that this whole planet is a green screen. The character CGI is truly impressive. You can see every single pore on the Na'vi's skin, every hair on their heads. You could see every iridescent scale on the dragon-like creature's body and the subtle contours of every tooth in their mouths. Did it look real? No, but that's because all of these things are obviously not real - but they looked pretty fucking cool! Obviously it still looked like a movie, not like virtual reality, but there are moments when you forget that it's a movie because of how used to seeing things in 2D we've become. It tricks your mind, if even for a second.
The only problem I had with the experience was the 3D glasses provided by IMAX. They reuse the motherfuckers so the lenses are kinda warped a little, which created a weird bloom effect with the edges of really bright objects. A few people I talked to experienced the same thing. Hopefully they'll produce their own glasses for the movie's release.
Otherwise, I officially have a full-on boner for this movie and can't wait until December 18th. James Cameron is one of the best genre filmmakers in the world and so far I've been nothing but impressed by what I've seen of "Avatar". I'm hoping more than anything that this movie will light a fire under people's asses and get them to step up their game.
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