Avatar Day

Friday was officially dubbed "Avatar Day" by geek/fans all around the world. Some ask "what is this new thing called Avatar? What does it have to do with me? Why can't I get a decent pomegranate in the summer?"

Well the answer to all these questions is that Avatar is the first feature film being directed by James Cameron in over a decade. He finished filming this little independent film called Titanic and we haven't heard from him since.

A few days before, if you went online you could put your name in to RSVP for tickets to a special preview screening. There were only a limited amount of screenings and even fewer cities that they were screening at. I had submitted my RSVP and received an email confirmation that I printed out. The theater that I was able to reserve tickets at was CityWalk AMC at Universal Studios Hollywood.

When the day came, Tiffany and I decided to travel down and make a date of it. We planned to get our tickets and then go eat. We found the table where they were giving out the tickets and I handed the lady my printout. Oh crap...they had sent a second email telling me that the system had crashed and I needed to re-RSVP for a time. I had no idea since I hadn't checked that particular email. We're screwed right?

Fortunately the woman was extremely nice and she got us into the next available showing which still had seats. But we had to run because it was starting soon. We arrived right after the announcement and found our seats in the dark. As we sat, the awesomeness began.

***Movie Spoilers***
The film is about a group of military personnel that find themselves volunteered for the scientific task of having their minds transfused into the bodies of a humanoid (and blue) alien race called the Na'Vi. Once inside the alien body, Jake (who was paraplegic) is sent to the Na'Vi's home planet Pandora. Once he has become acclimated into the group of alien beings, Jake finds himself involved in a conflict that includes groups of humans and the Na'Vi. What takes place is what I am guessing will be totally epic and dazzling sequences of battle during the war. Oh and there will also be a love story with Jake and a young Na'Vi that he meets.


So this here is what I saw on Friday:
This is all from my memory, which might be a bit rusty. But if you couldn't make it then you could never know if I left anything out.

The first thing we saw on a giant IMAX screen (with 3D glasses) was a large cafeteria-like room filled with military personnel. Jake (played by Sam Worthington) wheeled in on his wheelchair (he is paraplegic) during a heartfelt speech by a commander.

Next was a medical bay. Jake was asked by Dr. Augustine (played by Sigourney Weaver) to lay down. He positioned himself in a catscan-like pod where Dr. Augustine was trying to get him to lie still while she affixed him with a crazy mind trap-thing.

The next part was pretty cool, 3-D-wise. It was the transference of Jake's brain into the large Na'Vi body. Several floating screens were flicked around and picked up. It was very cool looking.

And then, Jake wakes up. He starts to get used to his new body. It is very exciting for him even though it is a bit new. He stumbles around the room despite the pleading from everyone to lie down. He finally decides to go for a stroll and escapes out the door.

This next part took place on the planet of Pandora. It was an action-packed scene where the newly avatared group of marines were confronted by some strange beasts. For some reason my mind traveled to the first time I saw Jurassic Park...

Next was Jake being overtaken by a group of ravenous dogs. A lovely Na'Vi woman came to his aid - Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). Yup, you guessed it - she becomes the love interest. She then continues to fight with him about having to kill one of the dogs to save his life. She insists that the dog did not need to die.

The next scene was really cool, it was Jake becoming acquanted with a dragon-like creature that he was able to infuse himself to in some mystical way. The creature then took off flying and he had to learn to control it while it spun out of control down a deep ravine. Very intense.

Finally was a group of quick cuts supported by a booming soundtrack. Fight scenes, romance scenes, and other various clips. Basically what you can see in the teaser trailer.

***End Spoilers***

It only lasted about fifteen minutes in total which was disappointing but not surprising. The bass was booming and the audio was perfect. The 3-D effects were impressive but a bit difficult to adjust your eyes to. I believe that if we were sitting in better seats (3/4 back, middle of the row) than it would have been much clearer.

They did however give us a coupon for movie tickets at matinee prices. Since we had nothing else to do and we had already paid for parking, we decided to go see 500 Days of Summer. We got some Panda Express and then headed to the movie.

The movie was excellent btw, even if the audience was absolutely terrible. I hate that theater.