Ever sit and watch a movie where, as the credits are rolling at its end, the audience just doesn’t want to get up and leave?
The sign of a quality movie, right?
It happened to me today—and not for a full movie.
It was 16 minutes from the forthcoming James Cameron blockbuster, Avatar.
And oh what a 16 minutes they were!
James Cameron has been a science fiction pioneer since he broke into the industry. The Terminator made us realize the true horror of what artificial intelligence could mean to our future. Aliens produced some of the most colorful characters and acting careers ever put on film and gave a level of action that was unparalleled in its day. The Abyss took CG to a whole new level and had a great literary ending about how we treat each other as well as our environment. Even movies like True Lies and Titanic, not science fiction by any standard, were written with utmost care and still bear a bit of fantasy within them.
On December 18th, after 14 years of development, Avatar will grace screens worldwide.
And be counted as a James Cameron masterpiece like the before mentioned movies.
Mark my words.
The teaser trailer for Avatar was released yesterday, to much interest. Whereas many of the viewers are questioning Cameron's use of so much CG, I loved everything I saw. It was not, however, the only great thing happening this week concerning Avatar. While the trailer release is very cool all by itself—it showed a great deal of the movie and what the moviegoer can expect in December—the truly interesting part of the recent marketing schedule happened today. Cameron released 16 minutes taken from several different points in the movie. More than 300 theaters around the world showcased the footage for what has been coined Avatar Day.
I jumped at the chance to view those minutes. When tickets became available I snatched two up and today went to the 3D IMAX. The theater, which I learned holds 270 people, was only about half full but everyone had their 3D glasses ready.
The lights dimmed. The footgae began to roll. And after James Cameron gave a brief opening statement about the setting of the movie, Avatar came onto the screen.
The story appears to be a very old one. Like Dances With Wolves and The Last Samurai before, Avatar at its heart is about a broken man severed from his decadent society and indoctrinated into a society alien from all he knows—and one that eventually makes more sense to him.
But what makes Avatar very different is its setting. The trailer opened with Sam Worthington's paralyzed character arriving on the foreign planet of Pandora. He is part of a contingent of Marines who have been sent to quell the Na'vi, an alien species on the planet. Upon his debriefing, the grizzled drill instructor with three long claw-mark scars across his face notifies those who have landed that his job is to keep them alive... and he will not succeed.
Thus started the first part of the 16 minutes.
I won't go into the specifics of what comes next. I do not want to spoil anyone about this movie if they do not wish to be. What I will say it is very slick and very well directed. The writing was just as solid as any of Cameron's prior films. The action sequences had me on the edge of my seat, especially a forest chase scene. And the imagination that went into this movie—from the world's environment and creatures to the culture of the Na'vi to the relationship Worthington's character shares with those around him—left me thirsting for more.
Like those sitting in the theater, I didn't want to leave.
The mark of a great movie.
Avatar is going to be that movie.
Remember. I said it here.
Until they make a remake that actually casts Asians as Asians, I won't see the movie.
Are the Na'vi supposed to be based on an Asianic people? To me, they seemed more derivative of Native Americans or even Mayans.
Until this post, I never realized he was part of True Lies, which to this day I still feel is a great popcorn government vs. terrorists movie.