After 15 years of gestation and an estimated $300+ million budget, director James Cameron’s latest sci-fi opus Avatar was officially unveiled to the public with a screening of roughly 15 minutes of selected footage.  This free IMAX 3D screening, with tickets given away online, was not my first taste of the film, given the release of the teaser trailer this past Thursday, but I anxious to see what was in store.

For years, the film had been spoken in hushed tones amongst film fans.  Jim Cameron’s grand return to Sci-Fi filmmaking, using “hyperreal” CGI and 3D cameras so advanced, they had to spend millions of dollars to develop them!  But what was it really?  The teaser gave only the vaguest of clues, and unfortunately, the footage shown, while impressive, did not illuminate as to what we’ll be seeing in December.

Starting with a military debriefing on the dangerous alien planet Pandora, continuing to Marine Jake Sully’s integration into an alien body (the titular “avatar”), and then featuring some action packed sequences in Pandora, these scenes gave no overall sense of scope, and only a taste of what is to be.  But there is one thing this footage did: impressed.

The CGI is unlike anything I’ve seen before, and while mid-range shots look almost plasticine at times, the close ups and long distance shots truly look almost photo real.  But the real star was the environments.  The landscape of Pandora is 100% CG, and left me breathless with how real it felt, helped greatly by masterful use of the most recent 3D technology, adding depth and scale to the proceedings.

Overall, I feel the audience walked away just as I did. Audibly excited during an extended chase sequence, we were riveted! And with a final montage of the native Pandorian creatures battling an armored military force, it looks like the truly great sequences were being kept just out of reach. I cannot say we were any smarter as to how Avatar will play out on screen later this year, but we were in awe of what it might be. And it just might be a classic in the making.