James Cameron’s Avatar

Comic Con Avatar banner

This is probably one of the biggest films to come out of the Hollywood machine in a long time. There are numerous reports that the budget of the film exceeded $300 million. James Cameron doesn’t do anything small. Considering that Titanic was one of the biggest films ever made for it’s time, it’s quite obvious that Cameron is moving on to bigger things. 

I was one of the fortunates that got to see 25 minutes of footage screened at Comic Con 2009 in San Diego, California. Like most of the people/geeks there, I was super excited to see what Cameron was bringing to us. 

The movie is filled with an all-star cast and extreme detail was taken to create the fictional planet and culture of Pandora, where the majority of the film takes place. Everyone worked super hard on the film and it was an undertaking that was 10 years in the making. It’s filled with the cutting edge of CGI technology, blah, blah, blah. 

After watching the footage, the crowd was in an uproar of excitement. I sat there completely perplexed because I nearly fell asleep during the 25 minutes of CGI 3D footage. 

This movement in Hollywood to use CGI and 3D is getting very tired very fast. Technology is a great thing, don’t get me wrong. It’s these computer generated images that bring places and creatures to life that could only exist in our imaginations. However, they should be used to supplement the story. At the end of the day, if you don’t have a strong story you don’t have anything at all. George Lucas is more guilty of this than anyone. He over saturated the new Star Wars films with all of the pretty things he could do with his computers and completely neglected the characters and the story. 

I fear that Avatar may fall victim to the same fate. The movie is 40% live action and 60% photo-realistic CGI. Please bare in mind, there is never going to be a moment in the film where you are tricked in believing that it is “real” and NOT computer generated. Yes, the effects look great, but you’ll never forget that it’s CGI.

James Cameron

There is seems to be a lot of care that went into the creation of the world and the technology that is applied, but nothing to the characters or the story. The only thing they mention about this story is the plot to save and destroy Pandora. I just hope that the movie has a strong emotional kick to it that makes it worth watching, because based on the footage I saw there is nothing engrossing or interesting about the characters.

This is what seriously worries me about the project. Cameron is planning on releasing footage to theaters across the country in 3D is help “raise awareness” of the film. These mini screenings will even be free of charge. Honestly, this sounds like  BIG RED FLAG. It appears the studio is nervous about the film and are afraid people won’t know about it. Massive buzz is already surrounding the movie. If you have a movie on your hands that’s directed by one of the biggest names in Hollywood and it’s as amazing as you claim it to be, what are you raising awareness for? It’s called advertising. Cut together a good trailer. Everyone and their mother will see this movie and anyone who misses it on opening weekend will see it after word of mouth gets around that it is so great. Not to mention, the true die hards will return for multiple viewings. The mini screenings feel like a bad publicity stunt and I think that this movie could turn out to be a huge flop.

I’d love for this movie to be amazing, but based on the footage I’ve seen I’ve been left with nothing but skepticism. I will keep an open mind as there may be more to this than meets the eye.

Share on Facebook