152 Comments

1. 1
   

   Rozar Corazon says:
   Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:05am

   http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/avatar/

   but it doesn’t work
2. 2
   

   Kubrickan says:
   Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:13am

   Perhaps the server crashed from everyone trying to watch it?
3. 3
   

   Ryan Adams says:
   Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:22am

   Not just the server. Avatar ate my Firefox.

   Where’s that little prawn kid? He’s good at this tech stuff.
4. 4
   

   Kubrickan says:
   Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:22am

   Here’s a link that works…

   http://specials.divertissements.fr.msn.com/cinema/avatar/default.aspx
5. 5
   

   JAB says:
   Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:26am

   it looks great… until they turn blue.
6. 6
   

   cameronfan says:
   Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:27am

   Looks like an ok cartoon. Oh wait
7. 7
   

   Hunter says:
   Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:29am

   Let’s hope it plays better in 3D. It looked like a trailer for a video game.
8. 8
   

   Joolz says:
   Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:30am

   A little underwhelmed. The detailing looks intense, but the planet and the aliens just look like a cartoon, like an excellent PIXAR type thing. I was under the impression that they would be photo-realistic.

   Having said that, this is the man who made Aliens and Terminator & T2 so I trust him when it comes to delivering sci-fi.
9. 9
   

   Joolz says:
   Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:32am

   OK, so how about this. District 9 turns out to be a greater movie in every aspect than Avatar.

   Any takers?
10. 10
    

    Ryan Adams says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:35am

    I think there might be an intrinsic conflict between photorealistic representations of things that aren’t real. Oxymoron, or Catch-22 or just plain mutually exclusive.
11. 11
    

    OmarS says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:36am

    I think underwhelmed is the right word to describe this trailer. It seems alright until the Avatar’s themselves appear, then it just seem mundane. As describe above, the trailer for a videogame.

    BUT! James Cameron is no dumby. So we’ll have to wait and watch…
12. 12
    

    Ryan Adams says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:39am

    On the photorealism scale:

    Prawn > Avatar > Ponyo
13. 13
    

    Joolz says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:41am

    Ryan, I know what you mean. But the whole thing that was being hyped was that the detail and rendering is so amazing and revolutionary and game changing that there is no seam between actor and CGI.

    I was expecting it to look as real as an elephant or a crocodile filmed for the cinema screen. Strange looking animals, but created as life. That is what months and months of teases and gasping glimpses from gobsmacked groupies made me think.

    I’m not dissing it, I still think it will be great entertainment, because the detailing is intense, and James Cameron invariably delivers. Just a little underwhelmed is all.
14. 14
    

    Jake G. says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:41am

    er, let’s go watch the Wolfman trailer.
15. 15
    

    sister says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:43am

    seems like a video game.

    :/
16. 16
    

    Ryan Adams says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:43am

    You and I are in complete agreement, Joolz. I’m just trying to put my finger on the problem. From what I see, the creatures are too outlandish to be perceived as “real” — hopefully in the context of the film we’ll be swept up, hypnotized, and convinced.

    But what do I know? I’m a mere human.
17. 17
    

    Afrika says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:44am

    Hahahahahahahahhahaha THAT WAS HORRIBLE!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

    Fanboys, please! don’t slit your wrists. LOL LMAO LOL
18. 18
    

    Bob H says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:45am

    I agree with the commentary about how it looks…it just looks fake! I think the big problem with thinking about this like a Pixar film is that Pixar is purposefully making an animated world full of animated people…and that can make it look how they want. Here, by planting animated people in a (relatively) photorealistic world, the disproportionate, CGI-laced creatures look fake…like I’m watching a movie. Which I don’t think is the point.
19. 19
    

    Gustavo H.R. says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:45am

    Underwhelming, yes, but cool nonetheless. Maybe they chose the worst parts in the movie to make this preview.
20. 20
    

    ghuaos says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:47am

    Awful trailer.

    So, is Star Trek sweeping the tech wins or is this trash going to cheat Trek out of it’s much deserved sweep?
21. 21
    

    Ryan Adams says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:48am

    I wonder if it’s too late to add some STRONG REAL SEX, BLOODY VIOLENCE AND SELF-MUTILATION.
22. 22
    

    LurBur says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:49am

    Why would I go see that when I can just play an Xbox game at home and it’ll look the same?
23. 23
    

    Joolz says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:49am

    But the whole thing is made for IMAX and the scope of it all will be the selling thing, right? Deeper, darker, lighter, texture. Stereoscopic camerawork and new diddly 3-D i or whatever. Action scenes look grand and exciting.
24. 24
    

    LurBur says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:52am

    How many people actually get to see movies on IMAX though? Not many in the grand scale of things.
25. 25
    

    Craig Kennedy says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:52am

    My eye cancer has been cured.
26. 26
    

    Joolz says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:52am

    Seriously, do you think James Cameron hit the bottle after seeing District 9?
27. 27
    

    Nick K. says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:54am

    The blue things were obviously fake, but the lighting and expression wasn’t so bad. But I was hoping Cameron would actually put out a trailer that told the story, but instead, it was just as I predicted. Sans Terrence and Phillip.

    If it fails, that’s $300 million we’re never getting back.
28. 28
    

    TAC says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:01am

    Didn’t care about it before the trailer. Don’t care now.
29. 29
    

    ghuaos says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:12am

    I thought this was a movie site, not a videogame site???
30. 30
    

    Mark says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:12am

    I think the biggest flaw is the design of the Avatar. Half blue-man half jar-jar binks. If they are trying to pull off intimate moments and romantic scenes, they have to be with characters who we feel sympathetic for and not some crazy George Lucas creation.
31. 31
    

    Cliff says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:16am

    please don’t compare the CGI to pixar. that’s insulting to pixar.
32. 32
    

    Kevin Klaw says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:18am

    Wow. I didn’t expect there to be any anti-Cameron backlash until AFTER the movie was released.

    I think the trailer looks great! The CGI (it is almost entirely CGI) environments are incredible!
33. 33
    

    Tero Heikkinen says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:33am

    Where’s Sigourney Weaver? I’m not sold with this teaser at all, Weaver’s presence might have helped.
34. 34
    

    Ryan says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:37am

    I’ll admit after viewing the trailer that I agree with many here that it looks a little cartoonish…but then I just watched it again and got over it. I’m sure it will be great.

    The trailer really doesn’t give us much information about the movie anyways, thank God.
35. 35
    

    RRA is the Sausage King of Chicago says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:43am

    Am I the only here who was interested in AVATAR not for the supposed “revolutionary” FX but for maybe a decent story/picture from overall a good filmmaker?

    Because in the end thats what always prevails. You think anyone would give a fuck about the “revolutionary “CGI in Terminator 2 from back in the day if the script (or thrills for that matter) weren’t worth spit?
36. 36
    

    Jake G. says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:46am

    just now realized Avatar is a remake.
    http://whatthecrap.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/ferngully_the_last_rainforest_ver1.jpg
37. 37
    

    LurBur says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:50am

    LMFAO. I loved Ferngully.
38. 38
    

    Noah R. says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:01am

    The biggest flaw with the trailer is not the trailer itself; it’s the hype. Obviously if you make people think you’ve made the greatest movie in the world ever, the expectations are going to be unrealistically high. But hey, it’s only a trailer.
39. 39
    

    Aaron Leggo says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:02am

    Well, count me among those lost somewhere in the middle. The early imagery is incredibly sharp and deeply detailed, which is awesome. But then the Na’Vi show up and, well… it’s not so much that the CGI isn’t top notch (it’s decent, but not exactly ground-breaking based on this footage), but rather that the Na’Vi designs look laughable to me. I can’t take it seriously when they’re on screen.

    I really didn’t expect this. I guess 12-foot-tall blue aliens are going to look a bit odd, but the design of these things is hugely uninteresting for me. Until now, we had only seen the face image on the poster and then that unexciting official still that came out about a week ago. None of that impressed me a whole lot on the design front, but it wasn’t terrible, either. Now, I’m kind of pissed off that the movie is going to be stuffed with this lanky smurf creatures. Damn.

    But with all of that said, this is Cameron, whose previous forays into science fiction have given us some of the greatest cinematic thrill rides of all time. I have faith in the guy, but those damn blue aliens are getting on my nerves.
40. 40
    

    Ryan Griffin says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:07am

    My initial thought was that I was underwhelmed, but still incredibly excited. There was no way the actual footage was going to live up to what people had envisioned in their minds. The fact is, it’s still fantastic CG, it really looked beautiful. People saying it looks no better than a videogame are really selling it short. It IS some of the best CGI I’ve seen, it IS now a leading contender for visual effects. Don’t forget here that not only are all the Navi and creatures CG, but EVERYTHING YOU’RE SEEING on Pandora. And that longer dolly shot of Sam Worthington looking at his avatar in the tank is spine tingling.

    I have to agree with Kris Tapley at In Contention when he says, “But I imagine the avatars will catch many off guard. This is such a vibrant, unique new vision that the instinct is, interestingly enough, to recoil. But settle in and try to feel the vibe.”
41. 41
    

    Brett M. says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:09am

    Looks like Jimmy has become a little too obsessed with his World of Warcraft night elf avatar.
42. 42
    

    ALTENNEEN says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:12am

    It looks GREAT in HD!! Much different!!!
43. 43
    

    Tufas says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:12am

    Oh wow… I was ready to dismiss Avatar completely but now I am hooked. Beautiful photography, great effects, haunting score.. and a great Epic feel to it.

    Now THIS is how you edit a trailer. Take notice, Hollywood studios.

    Avatar might not go on to win anything Oscar night, but I will be attending the premiere here

    Welcome back, Jim

    T.
44. 44
    

    Mark says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:18am

    This could be a trailer for another World of Warcraft expansion.

    This is what all the wait has been for? Meh.
45. 45
    

    LurBur says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:20am

    Now THIS is how you edit a trailer. Take notice, Hollywood studios.

    Really? Forgetting the hokey effects and whatnot, the trailer itself in terms of building it up and making people excited is a huge fail. There is absolutely no drama whatsoever in that thing, it’s just a bunch of clips smushed together.
46. 46
    

    JR says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:44am

    So what was the hype all about???

    I’ll say meh too.

    Can we go back to talking about District 9 now.
47. 47
    

    Bernardo S says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:44am

    The environment looks quite nice. The avatars look like bloody Flash animations.
48. 48
    

    George says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:45am

    Don’t forget that we’re also not seeing this in the new 3-D style they developed.
49. 49
    

    Noah R. says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:46am

    I agree with LurBur. Where the Wild Things Are, Nine, and A Serious Man are all trailers that do a better job at setting the audience up than Avatar. Those are the trailers Hollywood should take real notice of. This is just…okay.
50. 50
    

    Alfredo - Often Imitated Never Duplicated says:
    Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:47am

    I’m gonna take sides with those are underwhelmed. I understand that these creatures aren’t real but guess what Christopher and his son in District 9 weren’t real either and I didn’t sit there thinking for a second man those things look cartoonish. Instead I sat there in total belief that these are real creatures interacting with humans never once got the feeling it was a video game. I know I haven’t seen Avatar yet so I guess I’ll save my official critique of the film for later but as of right now, the trailer has me expecting a film something on the level of “9″