Brack

It can't be any more silly than "300."

Brack

I think he means "live-action" real.

slop101

I think that's the disconnect for me. The characters fall into that "Uncanny Valley", and are a little too close to being real without being real to look anything but creepy. If they went just a little bit the other direction, maybe they'd look like they had some life in them, but right now, they just look like mannequins - it's mostly in their dead eyes.

Also, what I feel is it's drab look, isn't a knock against it's technical achievements, which I'm sure are second to none, but a subjective reaction to it's art-design which just looks boring to me - almost like their using cheap props and sets for a Sci-Fi Channel original, only in expensive CG...

cungar

He certainly doesn't look like Ray Winstone. You'd have to add about 75 pounds.

Giles

how true...

Brack

The first time I saw the trailer, I had no idea they were motion captured.

Daytripper

I didn't either. Except Robin Wright Penn didn't look....right. The more clips I see of her, she looks cross eyed.

Lara Means

I think Beowulf looks better than this.

slop101

I think the Beowulf characters have deader eyes.

But the characters weren't even my point - I think the settings and the overall art-design in the FF movies look more impressive than those of Beowulf's, especially considering that Beowulf is so much more advanced.

Seantn

That's the thing with these CGI characters in these types of movies - They can't give them true life in the eyes, and that is what makes them almost like humans, but it makes it seem...off. It's like they're trying to be human, but they haven't quite got it down.

chris_sc77

Those pics confirm that Final Fantasy looked a lot better than Beowolf.

Drop

It's not even close to me, Beowulf looks miles better. The art direction alone is miles better, and technically speaking it's even further apart. And I don't see the dead eyes thing at all. We've seen like 30 seconds of eyes in the film, how can you judge that? Seriously the dead eyes argument really isn't even a valid complaint yet, unless you've seen the film. Even actual living humans in a photograph can have dead eyes.

Uncanny Valley is utter crap to me. It's just a trendy idea that people seem to hold as absolute truth. I've never felt it. If that was the case then people would've been using that same idea but directed at portraits a few hundred years ago, afterall they're close but not perfect approximations of humans.

I've said it before but I'll say it again they're not trying to replicate humans 100%, it's meant to be stylized just like a painting. I think it works for the film because it is a myth, you know myths aren't real, but you imagine them and see them in your mind as real. There should be a disconnect from reality, it excentuates the mythic quality.

But, I guess, when it comes down to it's just opinion, and you can't really say a person is wrong.

Here are some of my favorite stills:
I think Hopkins eyes look great here, notice the texture of the skin and the hair.

I think this looks like a painting, very stylized

The colors here are what works so well, also the hair, and the eyes do not look dead, they may be the most striking part.

canaryfarmer

They look pretty glazed over to me.

argh923

Agreed. FF looks tons better.

slop101

Yeah, it's probably just a subjective thing, but I ain't feelin' it - especially in the pictures posted above. It just looks really drab and lifeless to me, both the characters and their surroundings. It also looks like there's a fog-filter or something, which makes everything look dull and washed out, which I'm sure is a stylistic choice, just not one I think looks good.

Brack

It's not so much the eyes that look dead, but the detail around the eyes that's dead.

The guy's eyes in the Final Fantasy pic looks good, while the girl's does really. The Beowulf pics don't really show that aspect except for Anthony Hopskins, which looks good, while the last pic with the woman does not look too good.

Giles

maybe we should actually judge the movie once we've seen the final product - seems like folk here are "judging a book by it's cover" - 'Final Fantasy' had such a muddled mess of a plot - here, I would hope it has a better story structure than FF.

Seantn

Welcome to the online.

BravesMG

The IMAX preview I saw for this looked almost unbelievably good. The first shot of the burning cross was so good, I was stunned when they transitioned into the animation and I realized the cross was animated as well.

I'm just sad that they turned the whole thing into a 3D IMAX experience. The 3d inevitably doesn't look as good and gives me a blinding headache about 20 minutes in.

Giles

newsflash - it was always intended as a 3D Imax experience and 3D DLP release.

Steve Phillips

You shouldn't be getting a headache if the projection is correct.

One tip for 3-D newbees: avoid the front rows and extreme sides. The best place is dead center and towards the back. I'll probably check out both IMAX and Digital 3-D versions, but I confess I usually prefer the Digital presentations if for no other reason that the auditoriums are much deeper. With the IMAX theaters in my area, if you aren't in the back row, you're too close, 3-D or not.

Dr. DVD

I will definitely see this, but I don't think it will be a hit. It's a dark fantasy movie with animation that too many people think looks like a video game. While it has PG-13, it also has to deal with lots of family fare over the Thanksgiving Holiday, and I think stuff like Fred Claus and Enchanted will draw more interest.
Interesting shot of Mrs. Jolie-Pitt with her yellow butt patch.

animatedude

how long is the movie btw?

NitroJMS

Since this thing cost $150, why wasn't it just done 300/Sin City/Sky Captain style and have actors blended with digital sets? It would certainly look more natural than what the trailers have shown.

chris_sc77

Be sure to put million after that $150. It cost $150 million to make. it only looks like it cost $150(.00).
i did just get the screenplay book for this and started reading it. Seems to be well-written at least.