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A preview of James Cameron’s Avatar
4:00 am Aug 27 - by Matt Carey – buzz Movies & TV Editor
James Cameron has always been a director who has revolutionized filmmaking with his use of special effects and technology. In The Abyss, Cameron used CGI to create a talking water tentacle, making him among the first to use special effects to create a living character. Then, with Terminator 2, there was the T-100 — the robot made of liquid metal. Now with the upcoming Avatar, it looks like James Cameron has once again changed the moviemaking industry, not only with his use of CGI, but also his use of 3-D.
After showing 25 minutes of the film the San Diego Comic-Con, Cameron announced that on Aug. 21, select Imax theaters across the globe would be showing fifteen minutes of footage from Avatar for free. After seeing only bits of the film, I know this film will blow you away.
The film takes place in the future and tells the story of Jake (Sam Worthington), a former marine who is now a quadriplegic after a battle on Earth. The army’s latest plan is to take over a planet named Pandora and the species that live on it named Na’vi. The Na’vi are blue, nine-foot tall creatures that use primitive tools but are quite skilled in combat. Since humans cannot breath the air on Pandora, they have created what they call Avatars, which are hybrids of human and Na’vi and can be controlled by linking a human’s mind to the Avatar’s body. Jake is recruited to become an Avatar and once he does, is sent down to Pandora as a scout so the army can attack later.
Using motion capture like the films Beowulf and Polar Express, James Cameron sought to make the Avatars look completely realistic and believable. While I was skeptical when I first heard of this, I now have put my complete faith behind Cameron’s vision.
The first scene we were shown was Jake before he is put into his Avatar, and a General explaining what an Avatar was. The 3-D in this scene was nothing special, which made me worry about the rest of the film. However, once Jake is dropped down to Pandora, the film looks absolutely incredible. The rainforest planet is not only beautiful, but also fully detailed in that much of it looks photoreal. Jake and the other Avatars shown also look very realistic. In some shots, it seemed like it was just an actor wearing blue makeup without special effects. I was surprised at how well the actor’s performances transferred to the Avatars, with each facial expression and nuance being fully recognized.
The 3-D is what surprised me the most about the footage. It is used to encapsulate the audience in this world, not merely as a gimmick. The way Cameron uses the 3-D for depth perception is incredible, and really makes the viewer feel as if they’re walking right alongside the characters. Other great aspects of the 3-D include insects floating around in front of you, in a rainforest-like environment.
One particular scene shown was mind-blowing. Jake befriends a tribe of Na’vi, and as a rite of passage, he must trap his own dragon-looking creature up on a cliff. The fight Jake has with the creature is heart pounding, but once he captures the dragon and takes flight, the visuals are outstanding.
Mark Dec. 18 on your calendar ladies and gentlemen, that is the day James Cameron will unleash this revolutionary science fiction epic on the world.
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