Trailer Breakdown: Avatar

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Our take on James Cameron's game-changer...

So, the Avatar trailer has finally arrived. You can see it here .

The hype machine has been so hypnotising, we were genuinely expecting our eyeballs to melt down our faces in a big mess of gloopy gawp glee.

But our excitement levels have been officially checked. Avatar doesn't seem to be the next evolution in cinema we were hoping for.

But it does look like a none-more-epic thrill-flick. Here’s our first take on the different aspects of the trailer...

The Military

The Aliens

Despite early hype/reports, Cameron hasn’t completely defeated the uncanny valley effect, with certain sequences looking distinctly videogamey.

If we didn't know better, we'd think it was a Final Fantasy sequel.

But there are still moments that make us do slight double-takes, particularly when Worthington’s Avatar is running through the jungle...

We're hoping the 3D will add a sheen of realism to proceedings. And those Avatar feet are just awesome.
















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The Tech

Cameron’s military fetish is present and correct. But, again, we’re reminded of other movies when we were hoping for something truly new and mind-blowing.

Those robotic mecha-suits look a lot like the robotic mecha-suits from The Matrix Reloaded , which is never a good thing.

But we’re sure once all those dragons and helicopters are having a massive scrap in the sky, we’ll be too giddy to notice details like that.

Also, we really like the 2001 -style bit where all the colours are flashing.

We assume that's when Jake Sulley's consciousness is floating into his Avatar . Trippy - and lovely.

















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The Creatures

We knew that Cameron’s alien terrain would be populated by weird creatures, but we didn’t expect them to look like cast-offs from The Phantom Menace .

Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh – we love the Venus Flytrap thing that whips the soldier out of the helicopter spaceship.









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The Alien World

The planet landscape is, as expected, a massive jungle.

Combined with the presence of pointy-eared inhabitants, it - unfortunately - reminds us of Ferngully: The Last Rainforest.

But - staypositive, staypositive... - we can’t wait to slip on those 3D glasses and fight the instinct to push branches out of our faces.







Sam Ashurst

Sam Ashurst is a London-based film maker, journalist, and podcast host. He's the director of Frankenstein's Creature, A Little More Flesh + A Little More Flesh 2, and co-hosts the Arrow Podcast. His words have appeared on HuffPost, MSN, The Independent, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, and many more, as well as of course for us here at GamesRadar+.