Avatar Trailer for 2009's Biggest Movie
James Cameron's First Movie Since Titanic Has A Weak Teaser
Sep 3, 2009
The realization of Avatar has taken more than a decade and resulted in a film that is widely expected to change the future of cinema. Director James Cameron had to wait several years for imaging technology to evolve to a point that he felt it could accurately present his vision. Filming and post-production have been underway for more than four years. The film’s budget has surpassed the $200 million mark.
The 3-D imaging and technological innovations are said to be mind-blowing. A screening of selected scenes at Comic-Con was said to have left viewers with their tongues on the floor. Not since the final installment in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy has such anticipation preceded a film of which the viewing public had not yet seen a single frame. That first look came with the release of the Avatar trailer on August 21st, 2009.
The Confusing Trailer for James Cameron's Avatar, 2009's Most Anticipated Movie
The teaser opens with a shot of a spacecraft orbiting an alien world. A smaller transport craft is seen jettisoning and descending into the atmosphere and landing in the middle of a military base. A wheelchair-bound ex-Marine, played by Sam Worthington, is seen exiting the craft amid a number of heavily armed guards. He enters an on-base lab and is shown the submerged, inanimate, dark blue body he will control for the majority of the film.
This is the avatar, the incarnation of a God that in this film is assumed by human beings. Pandora is inhabited by an indigenous species of tall, blue, intelligent aliens who, while not as technologically advanced as man, are possessed of tenacious survival instincts. The trailer does not specify the object of this avatar program.
A conspicuous lack of dialogue accompanies the trailer. The total verbiage amounts to three words. "This is great," is said by Worthington after he assumes control of the avatar. From that point the trailer follows a chaotic path, flashing between beautiful shots of a pristine alien wilderness and frenzied battle scenes between the human military and Pandora's natives. The Navi, as their called, react violently to the exploitation of their world's natural resources by mankind and launch a war to save what is left. This, also, is not explained in the trailer.
The Revolutionary Special Effects Expected In Avatar Are Absent from the Film's Trailer
The most anticipated aspect of Avatar is its supposedly revolutionary three-dimensional imaging. The lucky few who were shown a portion of the film at Comic-Con were provided with special glasses that allowed for the enjoyment of this feature of the film. However, the trailer does not indicate to the viewer that 3-D glasses are required to experience the full effect of the film. If it did, how many people have a pair lying around the house?
Avatar will not be released for another 3 months. The trailer currently being used to promote it will not help its numbers at the box office. To understand what was happening would require additional research that many people would be unwilling to undertake. Many of those viewing the trailer will already have an understanding of the film's plot, but they were going to see the film regardless of the quality of the trailer.
Those viewers simply curious about the film, without the benefit of special 3-D goggles and prior knowledge of the story, will likely be turned off by the presumptiveness of the trailer. Cameron’s epic runs the risk of being seen as just another science fiction movie by those whose knowledge of the film does not extend beyond what they see in the trailer. The box office receipts it takes in on opening weekend could certainly be higher with a trailer that does not alienate a significant portion of the viewing public.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
