Our theater says it's not in 3D, but i'll be back with a review in 2.5 hours.

no shows in austin

*watches trailer again*

headed to the red rock (fake)imax 3d showing in vegas.

I think today I experienced as big on a jump for film as black and white to color. I am still in awe on the footage.

really liked, forest scenes was so colorful and beautiful in 3D

Seeing the 15 minutes of footage yesterday reminded me of when I first saw Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park. It is groundbreaking and the bar has been raised. The trailer doesn't give you any idea of how amazing the footage looked on the big screen. When I saw the trailer I thought the footage looked too CG in parts but on the big screen that wasn't the case.

Everything was photo realistic and just stunning. The only thing that tricked my eye was the knowledge that what I was looking at wasn't real. I've never seen photo realistic blue aliens interact before like this.
For me, Cameron once again has taken a huge bold gamble on this film and I think it's going to pay off huge.

I did not see the 15 minutes, though I've watched the trailer a few times now. Yes, its great CGI, but in NO WAY is it 'photorealistic' and I do not believe for a second it is meant to be. It honestly does just look like an elaborate cgi cutscene from a videogame, or Beowulf 2.0. Despite the ways Cameron pitched this movie a year ago, in no way will Avatar bring an end to the uncanny valley, and I'm surprised he would even consider saying it would in the first place. The animation is what it is, but if they wanted to emphasize photo realism, they wouldn't have such manufactured lighting, glossy characters, or blasted the contrast on everything.

you have to watch the whole film, because i would have agreed with you until i saw the footage in IMAX today. it was extremely stunning and yes the CG is not photorealistic in the sense you know its created in a computer but that does not make it any less compelling. ultimately the success of this film will rely on the epic story and the sheer heart of it all that i felt in the short 15 minutes. reserve judgement until you see more than just the trailer because it does not do it justice.

I agree, even though Im not totally convinced that film will be all that great. But, yes you do have to see the film in 3D before you can completely talk about and make up your mind on the visuals.

There were points in the footage where Worthington's Na'vi character looked utterly realistic - it was only the fact that you think 'this can't be possible' that brings you back.

The detail in the forest is amazing too, the use of 3D is quite effective with small touches like insects flying in the foreground

"I did not see the 15 minutes" ...........exactly. All you saw was a compressed, internet-streamed trailer. How sad to base your judgment on that.

don't be mean, sorry some people couldn't make it to a screening

@ohnoitsgojira

i downloaded it 1080 from apple.. just because i didnt see the 15 minutes in theaters doesn't mean i cannot judge the trailer. all im saying is i could tell, VERY EASILY, when i was seeing real footage or when i was seeing cgi.

and i will not buy the excuse 'just because it is a blue alien, it reminds you it is fake'. that is not it at all. In 20 years they will have cgi that looks fucking real, no matter what is on screen, and you will not question it. but avatar is not the movie that will do it.

like i said before, which you fanboys apparently skipped over, is that I think the cgi is really great for what it is. but i don't believe it is the intention of james cameron to make this fantasy world appear as if it is a real place shot on film. it CLEARLY has an over produced, unnaturally glossy, unnaturally colorful, fantastical theme, which is a stylistic choice he made. it is NOT photorealisitc. that is not my opinion, its a fact. and it doesnt matter if I've seen the 15 minutes or not.

I do agree with your statement september11th, but I think Avatar's real strength will be based on how the CGI characters emote, not necessarily how they look.

I know that seems like a backwards statement, but I've seen the Avatar trailer at least 20 times, and the one thing that actually makes me hella excited for this movie is when Zoe Saldana's character is crying over what must be the main character's body. I dare anyone to honestly tell me that that shot doesn't convince you that a blue alien is crying rather than a computer generated character.

Was going to go to the screening in SF but I'll just go to the one in Emeryville (fake IMAX but has 3D nonetheless) which is closer to me.

Still debating whether or not to spend money on driving out there for 15 minutes of preview footage...

Umm, unless you already got tickets online a few days ago, I foresee you driving back as soon as you get there.

The day Fox was giving away preview tickets, I got my hands on tickets for both the screenings.

Had two options (one closer but in Digital 3D, the other real IMAX 3D). Lucky me.

Your foreshadowing isn't to accurate. ;)

Guess I'm gonna see you there Peter

Just got back from an hour drive. Holy crap it was amazing. Yes the effects looked a bit iffy in the trailer but that was all changed on the big screen. Yes it's a game changer and yes it was amazing!

Also Did anyone else have a half packed theater? Actually is was probably less then 1/4th...definitely not sold out...Reading, PA

Theater here in Santa Clara was only about 1/3 full maybe, was hoping to see a lot more people there.

Here in Seattle it was about 1/3 full as well, kind of disappointing

To be honest how many of you had problems getting the tickets originally. I believe we all did. How many of you didn't get a confirmation email or were sure if it went through when you clicked the rsvp button. That happened to me several times, Yes, several times. Because there was no way I wasn't going to get a ticket because Fox screwed up. So Yes I ended up confirming at least 10 to 12 tickets which I ended up only using 4 of. I was surprised after 6-8 hrs later when I finally got a email confirmation for all of them. How many of you did the same?

I had the same problem daman. just not as with many tickets as you had. the funny thing was though..the theater crew that was checking our I.D. and email confirmations learned that the numbers written down on their sheets were in fact the old ones Fox told us to throw out!! So there was a bit of a hold up to get in us the theater, but not that bad.

Maybe they didn't want to give away a full theatre? Just a possibility.

I went to the 6:40 in reading and I was amazed at how few people were there. I think peopel got a bunch of tickets hoping to scalp them. Then realized that they needed ID.

I was at the Reading screening too. Both of them. Very surprised it wasn't more packed, which has me a bit worried honestly.

honestly, how many people did you expect? it's a free screening for a fifteen minute clip from a movie that no one outside of the internet blog circle has heard about and it wasn't even advertised commercially. And it was on a friday night.

Yeah I was at reading too. Not a full crowd at all. I do have to say, the 3d is stunning. The dark knight prologue screening two years ago was mind blowing. This was cool, but nothing made feel like "I need to see this movie now!" did you notice the reporters though?

I did not notice reporters but I did notice that there were several representatives from Fox wearing these cool "official" Avatar badges.

Yeah the Columbus, OH AMC was maybe 1/3 full, and they removed all the reserved seats for the press and said none were coming :( It was pretty sweet tho, I enjoyed it. The CGI isn't gamechanging or lifelike, but it's really good. Like Peter said after he saw it at Comic Con, after a few minutes you forget it's CG and just accept it as being awesome. Anyone else notice the bit of FPS gunning when the giant creature was chasing him? Brought bad memories of Doom, haha.

AMAZING!

The trailer doesn't do it justice.

This is truly a theatre experience.

Saw the 15 min footage 7 hours ago in Glasgow. Completely different from the trailer. The 3D is amazing. The forest scenes with the glowing plants are just spectacular. Really hope there is a decent story to live up to the visuals.

I'm annoyed because Basterds ended 5mins to late. They wouldn't let me in to see it so I'm a bit upset. I really can't wait to see this movie though.

Just saw it and while some of the creature effects were a bit too glossy an animated looking. Buttttt the navi were amazing I believe they are real. And the environment was crazyyyyy

Just got home from the 15 minute viewing and it was stunning. I can't stop thinking about the depth, the colors, the sound...the 3D....oh man the 3D is just incredible. Most scenes felt as though I was in the damn environment. Just crazy. The theater I was in was packed. You heard ooooos and aaaaaaas and wows, "stunning", "incredible" and "beautiful" out loud. The clapping from the audience at the end was ear shattering but well deserved. I can't even fathom what the full movie will be like.

For those that didn't like what you saw in the trailer, I promise you...you are missing out. Give the IMAX 3D a shot come December. Cameron intended AVATAR for pure IMAX 3D glory and he nailed it.

December can't get here fast enough. I've only been treated to a taste. I can't wait for the whole meal.

It's going to be one hell of a ride.

P.S. - yes, this movie IS A GAME CHANGER

i was really excited and hyped for this movie and really want to like it, so im not a hater, but...well, after seeing the 15 minute preview, i'm way less excited now. i was disappointed with the trailer from yesterday, and am generally against the idea that "oh, you have to see the movie in 3d to really appreciate it." if it's not good without 3d, then it's probably not going to be a good movie period, plus the whole 3d thing looks really gimmicky, and cameron has basically said that. and i saw it in 3d, and it just doesn't look like a great movie.

first off, the 3d was okay, not mind blowing, and to be completely honest, a little distracting. the dialogue was pretty corny. i really liked the scenes with the creatures on pandora, but hate the character designs of the na'vi themselves. they do not look photo realistic. the cg is great, but there were times when i felt like i was watching a kid's movie. and that sums up how i felt about what i saw. pretty impressive, but not captivating or "game changing." as great as it might look, there's nothing about this movie that's gonna "change the way we experience cinema." i hope cameron doesn't think 3d is here to stay because avatar is gonna make a billion dollars just off of his name.

basically, a pretty nice looking kid's movie.

I watched the 15 minutes at IMAX in Melbourne - fully blown film IMAX mind you, on the full 8-story (or however many) high screen.

My impression right after the images stopped was: god, James Cameron has done it. I have been waiting to see this since I heard he was actually going ahead with "project 880" which turned out to be Avatar, or Battle Angle, or some mars journey. Whatever it was I wanted to see it, because I wanted to see what the liquid metal man had morphed into after 19 years of technological advances, in the mind of James Cameron.

I did watch the trailer beforehand, and despite feeling that the negative reactions to that were - for the most part - irrational ("video game", WTF?) I was a little let down because like every other fanboy, my expectations were through the roof, and no amount of film making excellence could have met those expectations.

When I watched the preview, I knew I had just experienced all that I was hoping for. This film was made for this medium.

This film is something new; it is a qualitative leap forward, and I think looking back in 10 years it will be viewed as a milestone in cinema.

Groundreaking? Bar-raising? As big a jump as from black and white to color? Seriously folks? Time to steady that hyperbole.

The footage was decent, but far, far from the game-changer this film has been hyped up to be. The dino-chase was ass kickingly awesome and I would've plunked $15 down to see the rest of the movie right then and there, but other than that everything else ranged from "meh" to "pretty good."

It seems like the audience agreed with me. No one seemed to walk out jazzed, everyone kind of moped out. And not in a dazed "holy shit what did I just watch?" way. In a "wow, that was it?" slump. One dude behind me said "I'd rather eat Lysol than watch that film." Now, that's just bullshit - it seems like an exciting enough ride and more than worth a few bucks and hours, but I don't think this is quite the "Avatar Day" Fox and Cameron had in mind.

And Worthington saying "whatchu got" and "that's right, bitch" to the dino? Eye rolling. I longed for the days of Will Smith's "aw hell naw."

I guess the crowds are different here in Phoenix because everyone was talking about how amazing it was when I left. You honestly thought that the scene where he gets that flying creature wasn't awesome? Or the glowing plants? Each their own.

I don't know if it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, but it's close.

i feel sorry for you.

I saw it at the IMAX at Darling Harbour, Sydney... (proper Imax)... and I thought it looked fantastic, the CG is so much more effective on the huge screen and in 3D. I thought the trailer looked great, but the preview blew it out of the water. The chase scene in the forest was awesome and I really liked the hammerhead triceratops creature at the beginning of that scene... wow.

I cannot close my mouth, that's how cool it is. Pure Movie Magic >.<

oh gosh, totally hey?

Singapore can watch twice in 3D if u can stand a long Q and I watched twice xD, thought CGIs a little suck on 2D trailers, but it's a wow on 3D.

i thought it was pretty awesome. the effects were great, but more than that i was very interested to see what was going to happen next and learn more about the world. the framing was awesome, beautifully shot, just all around well done.

an interesting tidbit, they showed an alice in wonderland trailer in 3d before the footage, and the 3d was HORRENDOUS compared to avatar. i think that may be why i was so impressed, because i had something to base it off of. i thought the 3d was very impressive, and liked how it used depth as opposed to throwing things at the screen.

ps, also had a 1/2 packed theater in neshaminy, pa

I can't wait to see this in 3D, but here's my question. Does the fact that the 3-D effect was obviously such a strong influence on your positive comments below even matter in the long run? If you were to watch this at home on Blu Ray, would the movie have as big an impact on you without the 3D? I am glad that Cameron did this, trying to get people back into theaters to experience something they can't even think of at home.

Just got back from the 6:00 PM showing in Houston (had to drive across town to get to the theater). I got to see it in3D on an IMAX screen, and it was worth it. Whatever misgivings I had when I saw the trailer on my computer (even in 420 HD resolution) were totally erased after this. The world and people are unbelievably detailed and life like. It really does feel like Cameron flew to another planet and took a camera with him. Now I see why it's been said that this one NEEDS to be seen on a big screen; it's absolutely gorgeous to behold, as well as immersive thanks to the 3D and the camera work.

The only caveat? I wanted MORE when it was over, and now December 18th feels really far away.

that's exactly how I feel, I can understand why people were a bit 'meh' with the trailer - expectations too high perhaps?... however, that experience at the imax totally sold me on the film. I think it'll also look great on a regular screen in 3D..

No shows in St. Louis either... Seems so far that reaction is positive even with a few nitpicks. I agree about the trailer though. Nothing special.

I went a long to the 15 minutes (or so) of Avatar at my local Cineworld Cinema at 6pm tonight and it was surprisingly busy (the first screening, which I was in, was around 3/4ths full and after we left there were around 50 people, atleast, waiting in line patiently for the next screening)!

Anyway, personally I thought it was visually stunning and beautiful, the scene in which we get to see the lake (?) being lit up by alien-fireflies and what-not was brilliant and the scenery of Pandora was simply stunning! The 15 minutes (or so) gave little away, a part from the fact that there will be plenty of action in the two-hour+ running time of Avatar and that James Cameron could be on to another winner here!