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At the Cinema Expo in Amsterdam, James Cameron revealed 24 minutes of his very much awaited movie, Avatar. Cameron, who has always been at the forefront for bringing 3D movies to their fullest capabilities, presented the 24 minutes on a 55 foot screen using the RealID XL Cinema system.

The film stars Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana and Stephen Lang. Although the media was not allowed to discuss the Avatar images and the reviewing audience were required to sign non-disclosure agreements, there have been several brief write ups going around the web from audience members.

After reading several of these write ups, there were two things that I came away with. The first being a bit clearer on the setup of the story. Worthington plays a paraplegic ex-marine Jake Sully who is brought to the planet, Pandora inhabited by a humanoid race the Na'vi. Weaver plays Dr. Grace Augustine, a guide that explains how transporting yourself into an "Avatar" works. The rest of the screening seemed to focus on bringing Pandora to life through its environment, wildlife and 3D effects which were described as "beautiful" and "breathtaking".

Which leads me into the second point I seemed to pick up while reading the write ups. I noticed that Cameron's actual usage of the 3D was both different and very welcome. One write up on comingsoon.net says this, "Finally a director that doesn't feel the need to stick it to the audience's face with cheap tricks like pointing objects at the camera." Much of Cameron's use of the 3D effects seemed to be spent on immersing you in the actual environment through subtle yet stunning effects which seemed to leave everyone in the audience excited and wanting more.

I'm looking forward to this movie now, I'm really eager to see how Cameron uses his 3D to create Pandora and the Na'vi. Anyone else going to be waiting on this movie?