Can 'Avatar' Live Up to the Hype? Imagine if It Does
2009 could end up being a year to remember in cinematic history
I would assume any 3-D skeptic such as myself isn't skeptical to the point they aren't holding out hope James Cameron's Avatar proves them wrong. The hype around the film has been bubbling for as long as I can remember and to think we are only eight months and some change away seems almost unrealistic, but on December 18 everyone is either going to be treated to a true cinematic revolution or severly let down due to too much hype or yet another example of technical expertise overshadowing story.
Considering we are talking about James Cameron I am expecting/hoping for the best but when I read a new interview at Collider with Laz Alonso who plays Tsu'Tey in the film I can't help but try and keep expectations in check.
"I believe in my heart that Avatar is going to be the revolutionary sci-fi movie for this generation, in this era," Alonso tells the site. "I am always the guy who doesn't like to oversell because, in this business, you can get so excited about something and, if it doesn't pan out, you have egg on your face. But, this is one movie that I feel very, very confident selling, standing at the top of a mountain and screaming at the top of my lungs how great this movie is because I've seen it with my own two eyes."
To my knowledge not one negative thing has been said about this film so far and to hear Alonso describe the filming process you can't help but start your brain turning, wondering what it is going to look like. "All I can say is that the technology is something that no one has ever seen or used before. We were being filmed by 197 cameras, simultaneously, in real time. It was something that took two and a half years to do, and when you see it this December, you're going to know why it took that long. It is just unrivaled by anything that my eyes have ever seen in cinema. It blew me away, when I saw some of the finished scenes."
This sounds a lot like when TIME Magazine's Josh Quittner discussed the film in glowing details and Alonso isn't done yet, "So, there's a whole ritual that takes place, at the beginning of the day, but once you get on set with Jim, you literally get transported into a different place. Once you're there, you're there, and you don't leave for the next 15 hours, until you wrap."
His excitement even in reading those few quotes is certainly contagious, but like I said I am going to monitor my expectations because nothing is worse than building up a film only to be letdown, especially if the film is actually quite good but just wasn't able to meet the lofty goals you set for it.
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Yeah the expecttaions are sky high. I am sure it will be a visual treat, as for other aspects, we'll just have to wait and see.
This living up to the hype is a complete metaphysical impossibility.
BUT if it does HOORAY!!!!!
However, like I said it’s not going to happen. And that’s not because I think that Avatar is going to be the greatest thing to ever happen and its release is going to herald world peace. How many films with big build up really come through? Let’s not restrict ourselves to new movies either, consider the flick your buddy says is F’n awesome and you watch and its just ok. How often do you see the hype fulfilled? It is unfortunately not often enough in a business where every week of the summer another film is lauded as “HUGE” or “AMAZING”.
I may be the only person on earth who is not excited about this.
I'm not sure about this film living up to all of the hype. I'll never forget when I saw "The Matrix" for the first time – I was blown away; however, what made that film so special was that prior to its release it basically flew under the radar and took everyone by surprise.
Now we have "Avatar" which, aside from "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Matrix Reloaded," is possibly the most hyped film of the decade. Hopefully, it'll knock us all off our collective-asses.
Films like "The Matrix" and "The Lord of the Rings"–considered revolutionary in their special effects–were truly great because they had an awesome story behind those effects. If "Avatar" can do that, I will give it my money 4 or 5 times, as I did with "The Dark Knight" this past summer. Anyhow, I'm finally convinced I'll need to see it at least once; past that depends on if the story is good enough to draw me in again and again.
….but you might as well hide under a rock for the next 2 months while Avatar succeeds with fans, critics, and the Box Office. I suggest vacationing in Siberia. They probably don't get a lot of U.S. movies there. Peace out.
So the movie came out already and broke box office records? It is at a 90% right now, that is not tops of the year. So is that tool going to try to prove me wrong? Have fun knowing that New Moon will have a higher opening weekend.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=2384196