My biggest issue is probably going to be accepting the CGI/MoCap creatures as the good guys. They look good, but not revolutionary, and I’m pretty forgiving when the CGI characters are the baddies or supporting characters like Gollum, Zombies and Pirates but I’m not sure I can get connected to a CGI main character, and definitely not a CGI love story. I want to get emotionally attached to the humans and I want to see them bone, not some blue furries.
I will say that the CGI landscapes were utterly amazing, especially the distant panoramas and if they absolutely nail the creation of a CGI world it could be a must-see movie.
Jackson’s King Kong, perhaps? Christopher in District 9? I’m sure there’s more examples.
Fuck, are we all forgeting not 25 years ago, we we’re watching puppets… PUPPETS! and fell in love with them. Yoda, ferchristssake. Not to mention Stop animation. CGI is an artform, but for some reason, everyone expects to see photorealism that’s indistinguishible from reality. That’s just not where we’re at now. At least with organic characters. This is the state of the art, and if someone told you to expect some watershed moment in CG (which was Jurassic Park back in '93, IMHO) from this movie, you weren’t really being discerning and you fell for the hype. Shame on you. CG has greatly improved, as well as how far we can push the realism, due to advances in software and hardware, but it’s still not perfect, and won’t be for a while. What it will be though, is enough to be impressed by most of it. It’s still a tool to illustrate story elements, and in the right hands, can create magic.
Look, it’s a fantacy/action/scifi. The story will have all the usual epic elements and conflict. Cameron knows how to tell a story and comes up with great characters, (although sometimes caricatures). He’s the anti-Bay. I give him the benefit of the doubt based on his track record on this one. He’s taking a huge risk, and I think he knows it. But the devil will be in the details, and we won’t see those, until we see the entire film as it’s meant to be seen.
It’s my bet, that the aliens will be jarring at first, but will eventually grow on you, until you find yourself totally buying them, and thinking of them as real beings. The teaser is putting all that out of context. Anyway, I have yet to walk away from a Cameron film screening with the sensation of wanting to turn right back around and see it again.
I saw Avatar’s preview when I went to see District 9, and I’m decidedly meh about it. I doubt I’ll see it in the theater - other than graphics, the preview didn’t give me any reason to want to see it. I’ve no feel for what the story’s about, and I’m not interested in CGI for CGI’s sake. What I saw was pretty, but definitely rendered and plasticy. And I think he really lost me with the blue aliens.
In short, I just didn’t care. Maybe I’ll see it if word of mouth is good, but the preview did nothing for me.
Now the preview for Zombieland? **That **I’m seeing!
In general, I do like Cameron’s films, but I tend to lump him in with Michael Bay - over the top action stories with tons of explosions and chases. Which are fine in and of themselves, but sometimes aren’t what I’m looking for. Oh, and in Cameron’s case, add in leaving his wife to bang the starlet in the new film. While I’ve liked a number of his films, having Cameron’s name on it alone doesn’t make me want to see it. There’s got to be a good story there, and I’m not seeing one with Avatar.
The thing is, movies like Titanic, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings strike some sort of chord with the audiences. People go to see them again and again. They become cultural icons. In many cases like Shrek or Pirates of the Carribean, it sort of happens accidently. I don’t know if I see that in Avatar. It could be a decent enough film, but I don’t know if it’s going to blow my mind or anything.
Sorry, but it’s true. He’s definitely in the over-budget summer blockbuster camp for me, long on effects but not so great on story. It’s been a long time since Aliens.
