Friday, January 1, 2010
"Keep on walking that road, and I'll follow"
So, we watched Avatar. I'm sitting here typing my thoughts, with the popcorn farts. £10 each to see the film, and £9 for a large Sprite, a large popcorn, and a small hot-dog. The question is, was the £30 outlay worth it?
In a word - Yes. Avatar is worth seeing in 3D. It's quite a spectacle. It's also a film that for once really made me think. The story was "ok" and nothing new. The effects were stunning. I found myself forgetting that I was watching CGI. You basically couldn't tell what was real and what was computer generated. The character animation and faces was astounding. It really was something. The biggest surprise was the use of 3D. For once, it wasn't gimmicky. By that, I mean there were none of the 3D chicles that you often see. It was used in a really really clever way. One scene that stands out is a fight where machine guns were being fired and the tracers were coming out of the screen, with bullet casings flying through the air at you.
So - I asked myself, what would I have thought about the film if it was just a pixar animation a la Toy Story. Probably not that much. But the addition of the 3D elements and breathtaking CGI work really do make this a film that you need to see if you are into cinema. Right now, my only regret is that I didn't see it in IMAX.
If this is the future of cinema (i.e. all future movies will be shot in this sort of form) then sign me up. Watching films is gonna get a hell of a lot more fun.
What was even more interesting is that Sky TV had an ad before the film saying they are launching 3D TV this year with exisiting HD set-top boxes. You just need to shell out for a 3D ready TV! I'm still trying to work out how Super Sunday is going to work in 3D but it should be a laugh...
