Avatar : First Look At James Cameron's Sci-Fi Epic
By
Sean Lynch
Avatar - James Cameron's long awaited return to the world of Space based Science Fiction - has just been revealed to the world.
Web
Wombat Movies' Sean Lynch was first on the scene for the IMAX Melbourne
Premiere of James Cameron's Avatar, and is ready and raring to let you
know exactly what he saw.
Plus we give you a first look at the amazing new Trailer and Screen Grabs of Cameron and Sam Worthington...
Hey
guys - Lynchy here - I've just arrived back at the Web Wombat
offices from the exclusive Melbourne screening of the highly
anticipated 15 minutes of sneak preview footage from James Cameron's
new movie Avatar in IMAX 3D.
And the verdict?
Make no bones about it, this puppy looks impressive.
Nerds of the world (there was a single screening of James Cameron's Avatar
in each city... with tickets to the event going for upwards of $500
each on eBay) have shown out in force, and with good reason.
Little is known about the film, aside from the fact James Cameron has
forked out a pretty penny to get it made, and that state of the art
technologies have been used to make Avatar a truly unique experience.
Motion
capture and computerised animation have been utilised by James Cameron
in order to render the gorgeous world he has talked about for more than
two decades.
Avatar
takes audiences to a spectacular new world beyond our imagination,
where a reluctant hero (Aussie, Sam Worthington) embarks on a journey
of redemption and discovery, as he leads a heroic battle to save a
civilization.
The film was first conceived by James Cameron fourteen years ago, when the means to realise his vision did not yet exist.
Now, after four years of production work, Avatar
delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where
the revolutionary technology invented to make the film, disappears into
the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story.
[SPOILER ALERT]
Avatar : Sneak Peek - Scene One: "The Debrief"
After a brief introduction from Cameron himself (in all his 3D
glory) regarding his decision to have an "Avatar Day" (as opposed to
simply releasing the trailer online), we jump straight into the
visceral world of Avatar.
We find a crippled Sam Worthington taking in information from a rough-as-guts mission commander regarding their mission.
The first thing to jump out at you is how truly astonishing the layers and textures of this 3D environment is.
It's
really a stroke of genius on Cameron's part - showcasing a simple
dialogue based scene, so the audience can just take in and get into the
3D mode. It really feels like you're in the room.
If you were impressed by the first 15 minutes of Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince - be prepare to be dazzled.
Avatar : Sneak Peek - Scene Two: "The Change"
Here
we are introduced to a stunning Sigourney Weaver as a scientist
preparing to change the once crippled Worthington into a dazzling blue
Avatar. One that walks tall... very tall in fact... and most
importantly, WALKS.
This is our first introduction to the motion
capture "Avatar" versions of the actors. Yes, it looks kind of cool -
but occasionally rubbery. And you just know that there were more than a
few in the audience starting to think : "Uh Oh, two hours of Jar Jar
Binx?".
Avatar : Sneak Peek - Scene Three: "Forest Battles"
Here's
where the action starts. The selection of scenes from deep within a
rainforest - the ancient world of Pandora - are visually spectacular.
Again, it's not so much about the content of the story or dialogue that
jumps out at you - but the simplicity of textures and depth.
You can almost feel the dew resting on the fern leaves.
Several amazing monster battles later (yes, they are impressive - imagine actually being in The Lost World...
minus Vince Vaughn of course!). A few chase scenes, an introduction to
a stunning looking femme fatale (creepy nerds who have weird fantasies
about the animated Lara Croft... prepare yourselves for a new love
interest!) are then thrown into the mix as well.
We finish with
a Man Vs Wild situation - in which Worthington's Avatar must tame a
flying dragon (essentially, the guy has to make that dragon his
bi-atch), where again we are offered up some stunning water-fall based
scenery.
Like I said - it's all about the textures!
THE FINAL VERDICT
While the hype of "world first" may work against Avatar,
there is still quite a lot to take from this initial look at the film.
The 3D stuff is wonderful. Whether it's actually any more impressive or
advanced than, say, the aforementioned Harry Potter sequences remains to be seen.
There
is also the problem with the Avatar's themselves. While the female's
are wonderfully detailed (the expressions seen on these blue skinned
human/alien hybrids is astonishing) and almost mind blowing in their
quality, Worthington's (and the rest of the males) seem worryingly
rubbering and... a tad "we've seen it all before".
At the end of
the day, the style over substance is impressive for the time being, but
it will be the story and characters which will define whether or not
the rumoured $400M investment was worth the effort.
And while it's difficult to gather that from a 15 minute preview, because it's James F**king Cameron - you have to give Avatar the benefit of the doubt... for now.
A
triumph, with some of the most truly spectacular visual imagery you are
ever likely to see. James Cameron may have just changed the face of film forever... again!
Director: James Cameron
Stars: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez
AVATAR will explode into Australian cinemas DECEMBER 17, 2009
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