|

Avatar 3D

Yes, I went out to see the you-know-what avatar. The hype is still so high that four months after its release you can’t infer immediately that the topic is about some internet forum anymore. Instead you have to think twice when someone asks you “did you see the avatar”? Even a person who had never been to a Cineplex, who had kept a record high time of abstaining from being influenced by marketing hype – like me had to come and see. Enjoying life is always the first priority :p

200px-Avatar-Teaser-PosterAvatar’s poster

I don’t want to curb my reader’s enthusiasm so soon, so the good news first: it’s good! It’s worth its 300 million funding, it’s worth your money, and if you’ve never seen a 3D film before; or have had sore eyes experiences from that old pure red / cyan glasses years ago; then this is a good time to step into the current film era. Even though I can’t say the 3D effect will bring your viewing experience to a whole new level, it’s worth trying!

The story is motivating, the action is timed just right: not too slow but not too fast either. Though it’s not that deep into the eons-old topic of love like Titanic (one of Cameroon’s previous works); it still brings you light-hearted moments in the form of subtle jokes, which I prefer to romantic scenes. I know a few people who is dying to be called skxawng too :p. Most people in the theater I was in burst into laugh when a kid from the back told his dad “Seeeee? They kissed”.

All that being said, life is not all pink; it doesn’t looks like magenta or cyan either, yet when you want to enjoy 3D in Vietnam you’ll have to accept it as such (that life is magenta and cyan) due to the projecting technology employed. Maybe that’s why the picture appears darker compared to DVDs. I’m a bit disappointed too because after 10 years in between of the 3D hypes I expected them to come up with something better, like circular polarization glasses. And they could have done a better job cleaning those glasses, I have a blur in my view the first time I tried the glasses on :(. Well, I guess I can’t really complain considering the ticket fee in Vietnam is still 3 times cheaper than in the US.

A few other reasons why 3D film isn’t perfect just yet (at least for Megastar’s current technology):

· Yes, you can see depth on the screen, but you can see depth on photos in the film too. For example the scene when Jake opened the refrigerator with an avatar’s photo stuck on to it. Maybe in the future photos will be in 3D too but for the present it looks more like an excessive application of 3D CGI.

· It’s a bit blurry when you tilt your head, but maybe it’s just what you will get sitting as near the screen as I am.

· The 3D effect let you feel the depth, but doesn’t allow your eyes to wander. It brings an artificial feel when you tried to focus on some object in the background but it’s still blurry. It’s jittering on scenes with fast action also; maybe due to the projector’s frame rate isn’t fast enough to cope with 3D projection’s requirement.

· The skin the big leopard-like creature attacking Jake from the first part of the film is just too glossy, a reminiscent of early 3D technology without texturing. It’s the only creature with such an attribute though; most others are pretty well modeled and rendered.

And finally, the 3D effect is the most enjoyable in outdoor close-up scenes, otherwise you’ll just forget it’s there fifteen minute into a dialog montage. But hey, isn’t the action the most important part of a sci-fi? :p

Though it’s not the ultimate cinematic experience those PR guy told you, I’m still glad I’ve had the chance to enjoy it (on the last day it’s shown here :”>).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *