It is to be officially released onto Apple's trailers site in just over 8 hours (10am EST, 7am PST), but io9.com has gotten their hands on it early.

OK, maybe not.

Nice! Incredible CG

The real one is up!

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

Doesn't seem to be working
says URL not valid : (

What an anti-climax.
Countdown to the release of a trailer, then it doesn't work.
Someone's job is probably on the line.

^ Trailer worked for me.

It looks awesome! Can't wait to see this in 3D! Sadly, the free IMAX preview isn't going to be anywhere near me.

Apple's site is getting absolutely hammered right now, so you'll probably have to just keep trying.

You can see it on the French website: http://specials.divertissements.fr.msn. ... fault.aspx

I'm feeling "eh" about the trailer...Hopefully, when I see the 15 minute IMAX trailer tomorrow, it'll change my mind.

W.O.W vs some new military game's cut scene is what it felt like

Couldn't agree more. Halo 6 at best!

The designs for the creatures and mecha seem so cliche. Great CG maybe, but man it's wasted on boring design work. Looks like they skimped on the basics, and just got someone to do an homage to L. Ron Hubbard book covers.

Watching on a computer screen vs on a IMAX screen in 3D isn't even comparable.

It will blow your mind!

Not really. It looks like a huge videogame cut-scene and the stuff that doesn’t look like a cut-scene looks like rehashes of scenes from other Cameron sci-fi.

The hype-mahcine behind this thing is interesting. Otherwise, bleagh.

Its been a long time that I got excited just from seeing a trailer. Plus it didn't reveal too much of the film so it must be very promising. Yes!!!

I dug it. I'll definitely be in line on opening night to check it out.

I think it looks incredible! Bring it on.
No matter what it turns out to be like... it's going to be an experience. Can't wait.

I'm sure the 3d imax shit will be pretty cool but the movie itself looks incredibly lame.

Eh. I was about 2/3s of the way through the trailer before I realized it wasn't that airbending movie or whatever. I couldn't care less. It does look like a video game, and the aliens look like the Native Martians from Futurama.

The concept of the 3d just seems so 80's to me. I want to see a well written movie without the gimmicks of having things "jump" out at me.

This movie doesn't look like anything inventive and the aliens look terrible.

Plus I agree that a lot of it looks like animated bomb DELGO.

I had permanently erased Zoobilee Zoo from my brain until this moment; years of therapy undone in an instant....

"magic and wonder are waiting for you"

Pretty pretty pretty but the hybrid alien (or whatever it is) design reminds me way too much of the glut of amateur Poser (the 3D app) art out there. Not sure how to avoid that if you want to do sexy furries with bows and arrows. At least Hollywood gets the biggest toys.

Whatever. It's Cameron. Everyone will see it and many will see it repeatedly and Cameron will become even richer and even more of a megalomaniac and we will all be talking about it during the winter holidays.

Give me "The Road." That's the year-end picture I'm waiting for.

ICE PIRATES IN 3D! Oh, man, I haven't thought about that movie in years. Space herpes!

Trust me, the way 3D is used in Avatar is nothing like the 80's gimmickry. This really is a significant technological step forward. It's the closest I've ever felt to actually being in a movie environment while watching it.




I'm going to selectively parse your post, grab the 'Great CG' comment, and pass it on to some of the other folks here at Weta.

--
jJ

I work in technology and that phrase makes me cringe. The quality of tech and the quality of storytelling are two different things. And (for example) despite CGI technology being astonishing, that couldn't save the Star Wars prequels from being just utter crap.

They digitally recreated Yoda but you now what? That rubber puppet on a sound-stage being voiced by the same guy who did the Cookie Monster was far more of a believable character than the CGI incarnations.

And on the Star Wars and technology front, 20th Century Fox believed that Damnation Alley was going to be their big 1977 blockbuster with it's hi-tech effetcs:


The big thing I see with Avatar is direct video game tie-ins—since the plot really lends itself to it—and even online virtual worlds/games like WoW that will cash this in even further.

Avatar isn't a film, but a new money-making model for the studios; that's the real big deal here.

I didn't attempt to say that they weren't. I was responding to the 80's 3D reference. The visuals are there to support the story, period. But this is an advancement that does help the break down the barrier between audience and environment. I work in technology, too, and even being the skeptical bastard that I am, I have to admit this is a very different experience from any previous 3D attempts.



It is that, but not in the way you're describing. The game tie-in/merchandising/Happy Meal vehicle thing is standard fare, not the acception. Every movie is out there for one reason: to make money.

The change here is the hope that 3D will be a game changer because it can't currently be replicated in a home theater environment. It's something to bring the audiences back to the theaters.

--
jJ

I will be seeing this. Don't get me wrong but the main difference between this and a movie like District 9...is that while watching District 9..I never thought I was watching human actors interacting with cgi or costumes. Same with a movie like Jurassic park. The dinosaurs were so believable that you didn't think twice.

With Avatar..It clearly looks the opposite. Instead of humans in the forefront...it looks like they are trying to balance the human actors with cgi except that for me...the aliens look too cartoony. It's almost like i'm watching a video game. They just look like elongated blue elves.

I long for the day that Cameron takes on Alien Legion. It was a badass comic and he'd nail it.