Avatar has been a hard film to wrestle with. When those first looks at this winter’s 3-D spectacular-spectacular dropped a couple of months ago — the teaser trailer and Fox’s Avatar Day — the footage was met with either huzzahs or harrumphs. James Cameron’s return to sci-fi filmmaking is so eagerly anticipated that everyone pounced on the first morsels of Pandorian goodness, trying to process it in one large bite, myself included.
Now that we know, to a certain degree, what we’re in for — blue aliens on a lush world doing battle with humans with big guns — it’s possible to take in the newest trailer and make some more reasoned judgments.
Like, it seems as if Giovanni Ribisi is playing the Carter J. Burke role from Aliens — the corporate stooge willing to do anything for a profit margin. And that Stephen Lang, as the jarhead in charge of the invading human forces, would make a pretty awesome Nick Fury. And that Cameron still knows how to blow stuff up — to orchestrate chaos — with the best of ‘em.
There’s no way to know if Avatar’s going to be as triumphant as we want it to be or if it’ll give truth to the statement Cameron made in The New Yorker’s exemplary profile, “If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.” What do you think? Does this new look at Avatar make you more hopeful that you might’ve been before, or are you still in the wait-and-see camp?
More ‘Avatar’:
‘Avatar’ teaser: I mean, I guess it’s cool…right?
James Cameron talks ‘Avatar’: The Q&A
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Haven’t been that excited about this movie. But this is one impressive trailer. Now I’m excited about seeing it.
Thumbs down. This movie is going to be a monumental bust. Not groundbreaking in the least – the CGI is on par with recent star wars trilogy. Hugely disappointing.
Who is James Cameron?
So far, this is an animated film with a pretty original surface that is incredibly banal on almost every other level…but it’s a only a trailer I guess
this looks horrible
Bill is of two minds.
HAHA!!!
So now that we know the plot, we can clearly see that this movie is Dances With Wolves and Ferngully – except with spaceships and aliens. Lame.
You said it PERFECTLY.
Yeah, exactly what I was thinking. Looks like standard, preachy, patronizing fare to me.
I was thinking it just looked like crap. I noticed they don’t mention “The Abyss” and THAT’S the Cameron film it looks most like.
First of all, Dances with wolves was awesome. How dare you even bring in the insinuation that it could be anything other. Secondly the only thing it shares with ferngully is 2 seconds of footage that involve machines tearing down trees. Just watch this video and you will see that there’s no hope in trying to change my mind.
Circle gets the square. DING!
Still looks like a video game to me.
That’s exactly what I was thinking while watching it, bad CGI and all. And it looks extremely predictable.
That is what I don’t get. I’m sure this had a HUGE budget, but why do the blue things (sorry I know that makes me sound retarded but I know nothing of this movie) look so fake. It’s ridiculous. Is that on purpose or do the filmmakers really not realize how fake and stupid the blue things look?
The trailer doesn’t do justice to the IMAX 3D footage on Avatar Day. We’re watching the trailer online, and it’s two inches big. When it’s 3-stories tall, and jumping at you in 3D, and you can see every pore on the creature’s face, it’s breathtaking!
Everyone said the same thing about too-high expectations when they were marketing Titanic. And that movie flopped.
big time flop!
So floppy.
Floppy bits for all to enjoy!
floppity flop flop
Dark Knight was the only flop that could ever come close to this flop.
you’re kidding right?? titanic is still the only movie to make over a billion dollars in the box office. it’s the number 1 grossing movies of all time. that’s not a flop
yes. they are joking.
really anne??? I had NO Idea!!! thank you captain obvious, you can sit down now waldo
Anne you must have missed the day they taught sarcasm….
Take a look at the Titanic trailer on youtube. Pretty impressive. This movie looks like a big budget SMURFS.
Anyone who thinks this looks horrible is not a fan of scifi movies. Thus you opinion is irrelivant. Cameron’s body shold be enough for notonly true fans of scifi, but fans of cinema itself.
Now I’ll get off my soap box for a while.
Don’t be silly. I’m a fan of sci-fi, and I think this looks terrible. I can’t imagine even renting this one.
This trailer is sick. I didn’t like the teaser but, this one… wow. Gave me goosebumps. Looks awesome!
This trailer is sick. I didn’t like the teaser but, this one… wow. Gave me goosebumps. Looks awesome! It’s funny to see all these negative comments when I’ve been to two other websites where I have yet to see any criticism.
You wouldn’t rent a James Cameron movie? Sorry dude, you’re no sci-fi fan.
your name is jar jar. you should have no say as to what scifi looks good.
Horrible was Jar Jar Binks, you retard! Horrible was that stupid Star Wars 1, that garbage made to childreen and retard people,loosers like you.
“Hey, you got Halo in my Warcraft!”
“No, you got Warcraft in my Halo!”
Dead on, Chris!
Haha! That comment made my day!
Definitely resembles Draenei vs. Master Chief…
I think it looks weird and fantastic. I can’t wait.
I thought the CGI was supposed to be groundbreaking?
I thought the Hulk was a more believable CGI character than these blue guys.
Why can’t anyone match or best what Peter Jackson did with Gollum?
You should do more research twit face. The technology created to shoot it is ground breaking! The Hulk…realy? Meh! And who in the hell do you think is creating the Navi? Weta Digital in Wellington, New Zealand. The same Peter Jackson owned company that did your precious Golum. Not only the same company but many of the same artist, you no talent uniformed heckler.
I think that is the point. Though it is the same tech and same artits, it still doesnt come anywhere close to matching or besting what Jackson did with Gollum….so you can only assume that is the directors fault. it’s sad such a good company is doing this work but the cgi still isnt anything better than what we have already seen. Definently not groundbreaking, I would even agree the Hulk seemed more real than what we have seen of these blue dudes so far
Dude – just face the reality. This movie is going to be a monumental bust. Not groundbreaking in the least – the CGI is on par with recent star wars trilogy. Hugely disappointing.
I agree, and I don’t quite get “informed” point. The blue guys look so fake. They might have been made by the same people that made Gollum, but Gollum was awesome, these blue guys look like terrible video game characters.
I saw LOTR III on TV the other day, and Gollum looked as CGI and fake as anything. Nowhere near as photorealistic as I remembered from the film. Same with Titanic–some of the sinking scenes that were so visually stunning in the cinema looked cartoonishly bad when I saw them later on TV. I’m not a photography/film expert but I suspect that there’s some visual downgrading that happens when you see CGI online or on TV. I suspect the Naavi or whatever they’re called will look much better in the actual theater.
But even if I never believe in them, I still want to go see it. 3D woo hoo!
Right on my friend! I saw the Avatar Day footage, and comparatively, this trailer does look fake. Watching this footage in IMAX 3D is breathtaking! This movie is going to rock!
Yeah, I’m not too jazzed about the look of the film, but the plot is intriguing. I want to like it a lot more than I do.
i love james cameron, and i was going to see this movie because that man knows how to make an experience, no matter what he’s shooting, but i hadnt been completely sold on the merchandise from the earlier trailers.
THIS changes everything. this is bloody brilliant and if you cant get by the graphics, then what kind of movie watcher are you not to admit the truly revolutionary. go and watch a movie about your boring life in the suburbs and let us who appreciate true imagination get swept away by one of the greatest filmmakers of the century.
I dont understand why, if James Cameron is shouting out the films he directed, why he left out The Abyss???? anyways- I’m excited to see anything in IMAX 3D so ill be there regardless if its good or not.
I didn’t even notice that… and I friggin love The Abyss!
I noticed that, too! I think they really plugged the films that are an integral part of popular culture — Aliens, Terminator, Titanic. But they had True Lies, too, so … I’m not sure.
I assume to enhance his “action” library… which i guess is ok but i figured he’d wanna throw the abyss in there for good measure– its not like i’m asking for Piranha 2 lol… btw- I was never a huuuge fan of James Cameron but I do gotta say, that man KNOWS action. seriously, Michael Bay & Brett ratner should take lessons… I thought the first half of Titanic was a gigantic overwrought cliche but damn that second half was amazing tense suspense. And I dont gotta even elaborate why Aliens is the best action movie ever made…
I happened to LOVE True Lies! For serious
the abyss is the most UNDERRATED of his movies. its fabulous but no one ever remembers it
It looks overly complicated. It didn’t keep my interest at all.
Hey, everyone, watch out for Bob. Bob doesn’t like complication. Keep it simple for Bob. Bob’s not interested in it. Bob.
BOB!
Why does Bob have that creepy smile on his face all the time?
Bob won’t stop staring at me.
BOB IS LELAND PALMER!
Erm…I loved Terminator & Titanic but this looks…unoriginal. Yeah blue aliens- Ooh! But this is like when the white settlers took the land from the ’savage’ Native Americans. And the whole love story seems a tad bit too familiar(hello John Smith & Pocahontas) I thought the CGI would be amazing- like when we see the avatars laying on the tables(primarly seeing their feet) and as they are flying on the creatures- awesome, but close ups looks..fake. The eyes look cartoonish. And, I’m sorry, but Sam Worthington cannot hide his Aussie accent. I’m not excited to see this, but if the word of mouth is excellent then I’ll change my mind. But I think they are trying to overhype a movie that may end up disappointing. My opinion anyways.
Finally saw the trailer Tuesday night and it really good. Can’t wait for it to come out in December…definately going to see it.
I’m in the wait and see camp. This movie isn’t at all in the dark tone of Terminator or Aliens, my two favorite Cameron movies. Seems more in the tone of Titanic.
AAARRRGGHHHH!! In Canada and when I click the trailer it says “not available in your area”. Stupid Canada!! Help!! Any other links?
Not the slightest bit interested. Come on, folks, isn’t this CGI fantasy crap getting old? When are we going to grow up and move on to something new, something different, something original? Filmmaking hasn’t advanced in 20+ years; meanwhile, the same old hands trot out the same old crap, just dressed up better because computers are getting more powerful and cheaper. Hollywood is more lazy than Detroit.
I didn’t like the teaser but, this one… wow. Gave me goosebumps. Looks awesome! It’s funny to see all these negative comments when I’ve been to two other websites where I have yet to see any criticism.
Saw it. Review: meh.
Terminator, Abyss, Aliens, True Lies, Terminator 2, Titanic….The man makes films exciting. He finds way of pushing the envelope beyond where we thought cinema could go. Despite “seeing” everything I imagine there are some tricks in this movie that we are not privy to in the trailers. Whether you’re a fan of blue aliens or not, the scale of this movie is HUGE. It may have a video game quality, but I think it’s going to be quite a sight to behold on the screen.
I had no interest in seeing the movie at all, but wow..I was impressed with this trailer. It was fascinating and completely different from anything that’s out there. James cameron has never disappointed me before.. from terminator to titanic and this movie looks like it is not going to disappoint. Visually I am already impressed.
The more I see of this film the more I’m interested in it. I continue to be cautiously intrigued.
This trailer definitely helped take the movie from “Nerd Alert” to “Ticket Please” for me. But still… blue-sparkle fairy people?
This looks incredible. The teaser trailer didn’t do it justice. I saw it over the weekend in front of Amelia and on the big screen, it’s amazing. I don’t think I breathed during the entire thing.
Belittle the plot/effects/whatever if you want, but history shows that people underestimate Cameron at their peril. Remember when Titanic was supposed to be the biggest bomb ever? Yeah.
That’s what worries me. There’s no arguing that Titanic was and is a huge success, but it was still a standard love story with some very vomit-inducing dialogue.
It was overall an OK film, but not good, and that’s what I’m worried about when seeing this trailer. It leans more towards Titanic rather than Cameron’s more truly awsome piecies of work like Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator, etc.
I get your point, but I wasn’t speaking about Titanic’s quality as movie, per se. What I was saying is that, regardless of what you think of Titanic, it’s still the highest-grossing film of all time (not counting inflation, of course), and before it came out, people said it was going to BOMB. So I pointed out that, going on precedent, Cameron is underestimated at your peril.
Titanic’s dilague was snore inducing, projectile vomiting, suicide pondering, ridiculata… still a damn great second half though…
I really hope the experience trumps the story line, because, from what I can tell right now, it looks like a bit of a retread. Maybe Cameron’s been away too long. We will see.
And Aliens was just another “macho marines run into more than they bargained for” for story when you get right down to it, but so what? You can simplify any movie plot like that, but it’s the details that matter, and Cameron always elevates his material. Gonna be awesome.
It may end up being a spectacular turd, but I’ll still go see it. Spectacular is still spectacular…just ask Spiderman.
Looks awesome to me. Only movie to really surprise me this year was District 9. Vaguely disappointed in most everything else. Hoping this will blow me away. Cameron is a great story teller with an eye for action. Can’t wait!
I thought the CGI looked bad in the first teaser trailer when I saw it. Then I got to see the 15 minute IMAX sneak peak they did back in August. Let me tell you, it looks so real it is scary. I could not believe I was watching some of the same clips from the teaser trailer. you have to see this in 3D. I was so blown away from the 15 minutes I saw. It was one of the most beautiful looking films I have ever seen. Trust me. It will blow you away when you see it in 3D.
yaaaaawn.