On December 18th, movies will never be the same…

This is what 20th Century Fox would like you to believe about the released of James Cameron’s Avatar. That the director of Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss and Titanic — one of the most prolific directors in history, has delivered a “game changer” in this gigantic, CG-filled action adventure fantasy story.

On Thursday December 10, Fox will screen the film for critics across the country (and the world), collecting quotes and blurbs for further marketing (as if they need any more). It is likely that these embargoed members of the press — including yours truly — will all be clamoring to see who breaks first. Who will be the first to Tweet, run their review or somehow display their opinion against the will of the studio. At that point, the flood-gates will likely open, spilling analysis all over the web like the floods of a Roland Emmerich opus. But until then, all there will be is the studio-controlled marketing effort — an effort that (in it’s attempt to mirror the colossal nature of the film) is getting bigger and bigger every day.

For your amusement, here are a few of the latest hits. Up first, a brand new TV spot that caught yours truly by surprise during a routine day of NFL football yesterday. Movies will never be the same… And after seeing the vibrant colors and grand scale of Avatar through this lens, they’ve almost got me convinced:

Next up, a featurette about the story, in which cast and crew explain the world of Pandora and the plight of the Na’vi over a bunch of brand new footage from the film. Again, the film has a ridiculous vibrant color palette and pace. It perhaps shows a bit too much, but remember — this is a 3-hour tour we’re about to take.

If there’s one thing that Fox has accomplished in their most recent marketing effort, including the bought-and-paid-for 30 Day Countdown over at Hero Complex (which does include a wonderful two-part interview with James Horner), it is taking the focus off of the original “photorealism” debate and reminding the world that Jim Cameron makes huge movies. Additionally, they’ve saved some of the most vibrant 2D footage for last, which should aid in the turning of opinions all over the place.

From where I’m seated, the final word on Avatar will be that of the bloggers — those of us who’ve been covering it since before we could walk. Once those reviews are in and tallied, we can start to really assess whether or not James Cameron has changed the game yet again. For now, the film does look pretty…