TRAILER PARK: Avatar

Avatar is undoubtedly one of 2009's most eagerly awaited movies, because it marks the comeback of James Cameron 12 years after Titanic swept the Oscars. The fact it's a sci-fi epic that uses revolutionary 3D filming techniques is the icing on the cake for every SF geek out there. But should we lower our expectations? That was the advice from San Diego Comic-Con a few weeks ago, where thousands of fans got to see over 20-minutes of footage and came away feeling a little deflated. The buzz wasn't BAD per se, but everyone had been led to believe Avatar will be a visual-effects landmark akin to Jurassic Park... and the footage didn't live up to that hype.

Anyway, the official trailer was released yesterday ahead of today's promotional "Avatar Day"... so, what was it like? Oh, you know by now. I bet you've seen it and have read all the negative reaction to it online. I thought it was pretty decent, but I understand people's frustrations. If you're disappointed, I suggest you watch it again. Go on, do that now. Watched it? Okay. See? It looked better that second time, didn't it. It's just nothing that'll have you counting the days till its release.

Of primary disappointment is the fact it looks SO much like a (very highly-rendered) video-game interlude -- which says a lot about the state of gaming these days. The last movie I thought that about was the Star Wars prequels, but will Avatar appear more false because it features sequences where aliens and vehicles are the only thing moving through the digital vistas? Might we soon be commending George Lucas for at least inserting HUMANS into his own CGI playground?

I think it's still too early to say if Avatar will underperform at the box-office. To be positive, it may look more artificial than many expected, but it still looks undeniably imaginative, lush, epic and exciting. I also liked the style of the trailer itself, which only had one line of dialogue and no tangible explanation of what you're seeing. I bet it will leave the mainstream audience scratching their heads, but aware that a big deal is about to hit multiplexes -- if only because it looks expensive and comes from the director of Titanic.

And if you're disappointed by the FX, I suggest you think again. Once you get past the initial thought that the human/Na'vi crossbreed "avatars" look cat-like and "goofy", you warm to their design. The last beats of the trailer (a montage of action in the jungles of the planet Pandora) look gorgeous, too. I'm sure we'll be transported to another world while watching this movie at Christmas, particularly if you're watching a 3D presentation -- which is the intention behind the marketing and the director's preference.

We've had plenty of 3D movies released over the past few years, but Avatar is supposedly going the most immersive and indicative of where 3D cinema is headed. A 2D trailer can't take you into this world the same way a gigantic IMAX 3D screen can, obviously. But will Joe Public be compelled to travelled great distances to their nearest IMAX? Er, no. Thankfully most cinema chains have at least one 3D screen these days (albeit of regular size), but there will still be a huge proportion of people settling for a traditional screening. So, the movie has to work without relying on people getting the full-on 3D spectacle.

Hopefully, HOW you see Avatar won't matter if the characters and story are strong. There wasn't much of that in his trailer, but I suspect the next one will be more explanatory. I read Cameron's fabled scriptment in the '90s and it certainly had potential to be quite emotional (yes, there's a typical Cameron love-story as a throughline) with a clear environmental message, but it was ultimately a sprawling, imaginative, epic and expensive-sounding wet dream for SF/action lovers. I'm sure that's what we'll get in the end, but maybe this won't be the game-changer it's been hyped as...

But ask yourself this: dare you prematurely snub a sci-fi epic from the director of The Terminator, Aliens, Terminator 2, True Lies and Titanic, that isn't a sequel, isn't based on some toys, isn't relying on any celebs, and isn't inspired by a theme park ride? I think James Cameron has earned the benefit of the doubt from his audience, don't you?

Released: 17 December 2009 (AUS), 18 December (US/UK)
HD Downloads: 480P (20MB) 720P (100MB) 1080P (166MB)