Yesterday, James Cameron’s ‘Avatar Day’ brought a preview of the much hyped 3-D animated film to IMAX theaters all over the country.  I got myself a pair of tickets to see the preview and actually got there 45 minutes before show time as it was suggested on the ticket.

Even getting there that early, there was already a line forming up (30-ish people) outside the theater.  I was surprised that they actually checked IDs for all the people with tickets!  The line was quiet and people were patient to be let into the theater.  I was surprised that the theater was not even half full even though the website said that the showing was sold out.

Quick summary of the storyline of “Avatar” from IMDB:

Jake Sully (Worthington) is a paraplegic war veteran who is brought to the planet Pandora to participate in a program designed to help him walk again. The program introduces him to his avatar, a creature whose genetics are half human and half Na’vi, a sentient humanoid race who inhabit Pandora. In time, Jake will find himself in the middle of an escalating conflict between the two races.

The trailer that was released on Thursday looked better on the IMAX screen and in 3D.  The footage was richer and the 3D illusion of depth added to the detail of the scenes, but it was the 16 minutes of actual scenes from the beginning of the movie that we were all there for.  The scenes previewed were these:

• Orientation meeting for humans just arriving onto base on alien planet
• Melding of Sam Worthington’s character’s mind to the alien body in lab
• An encounter with native (and dangerous) wildlife and subsequent chase scene
• Sam Worthington’s avatar meeting Zoe Saldana’s character and seeing her in action
• Wrangling and bonding with a winged creature as a warrior rite of passage of the natives

The 3D graphics were done extremely well- the lush colors, life-like movement of the animals and insects, and foliage set an incredible stage for the “Avatar” story.  The way the alien race is rendered is really impressive.  You could really believe that they are real creatures!  The scenes where there are humans and the aliens in the same room give you that level of believability.

However, the 3D failed in scenes where there was fast-moving camera action.  It simply moves too quickly for you to catch any level of detail and it is hard to focus your eyes on the 3D parts of the action.  I didn’t get a headache from this short preview, but a whole movie of fast-moving action might make your head hurt from trying to focus your eyes!

That said, when there are scenes with slower camera action, you can appreciate the work they put into this film.  There is a scene where you get a close-up of Sam Worthington’s avatar’s face and it is just like looking into the eyes of a real creature.  The attention to this level of detail and generation of life into these characters is what will make this film a success on a technical level.

While I can really appreciate the level of artistry that went into the animation of “Avatar”, will the acting and the story hold up?

Honestly though, I think this Avatar Day was more hype than the preview delivered.  Yes, it was visually impressive, but there was a lack of something more to really “Wow” me. Not to mention there was a total lack of swag!  The only thing offered was the opportunity to buy your ticket for the midnight showing of the film a day earlier than the rest of the public, but I didn’t see a rush of people going to buy their tickets four months in advance. Avatar Day was more like Avatar-16-minutes-plus-45-minutes-of-waiting-in-line.

I was more caught off guard by the 3D “Alice in Wonderland” trailer that preceded the footage.  The Cheshire cat was something to behold!  How it was rendered really knocked my socks off!  Seeing it emerge to visibility though the forest and smoke while coming towards you really took my breath away.  James Cameron, Tim Burton may have one-up-ed you!

Click here to see Jason’s take on the “Avatar” preview and see the new trailer!