Video: Atomic saw fifteen minutes of Avatar in 3D, and we were impressed with shiny aliens and jungle romance. Kinda.
So, how do you judge a film like Avatar? It's already starting a hype-cycle that's going to put Tim Burton's original Batman PR campaign to shame, and is surrounded by grand claims that it will change the way people watch cinema. Really?
Well, we've seen 15 minutes of the film - in 3D, no less - and we think there might just be something to all the guff.
A mess of sci-fi fans, journos and other related media-whores were lucky enough to catch about a half dozen spoiler-free scenes from the film's first half at Sydney's iMax theatre last Friday. We even got a special to-camera intro from the director himself, James Cameron - which was, cutely, filmed in 3D. Then straight into the film.
Most of the clips showcase the lush jungle setting of the alien world Pandora, which humanity is settling on, despite rough relations with the indigenous Na'vi. It's dense, and very colourful - as well as very dangerous. After dark, pretty much everything fluoresces, from the Na'vi themselves to the numerous predators they try to avoid.
In 3D, these locations are lush and eyecatching, almost threatening to overwhelm the action and actors on screen.
Well, they're not really actors - most of the Na'vi sequences are entirely computer generated, with the assistance of motion capture. The main premise of the film, and indeed where it takes its name, is from the practice of sending out envoys into the jungles who are essentially piloting vat-grown natives; these 'avatar's even look a little like their human counter-parts, who are linking with the bodies via high-tech control pods.
But as great as all the jungle action looks - and it truly is stunning in its crispness and colour - it's the scenes of the humans and their technology that seem the most compelling. Cameron's renowned as a high-order gearhead, and the brief glimpses of armoured marines, tilt-rotor attack craft and some very big guns are a helluva tease.
So, we're quite... curious about the final product. Cameron's on record as saying that he's essentially making Dances With Wolves in space, which is an interesting concept but... do we really need that? Good, original science fiction is pretty rare these days (thanks again Neill Blomkamp for District 9!), and the idea that this much-awaited piece of SF is going to be more fantasy than science is a little alarming.
But, at least there'll be some very pretty pictures.
Avatar will be in cinemas December this year.
Issue: 111 | April, 2010