Avatar preview coming tonight - updated

In case you missed the announcement, today is Avatar Day: cinemas around the world are screening 15 minutes worth of footage from Terminator director James Cameron's latest 3D blockbuster Avatar as excitement surrounding it grows to fever pitch.

Yesterday saw the first trailer appear online, which, while pretty action packed, doesn't really do the film justice.

I saw a few minutes of 3D footage last week and it looks impressive on the big screen - I'll report back tonight after I've seen the new footage with more details about what to expect come the release date of 18 December.

Updated 10.20pm: I'm pleased to say that the scenes I saw at the weekend weren't just a flash in the pan - Avatar does look great in 3D.

The colours are vibrant and Cameron has clearly put his time and money on the screen with the action scenes. The 3D isn't obtrusive but offers depth to the picture missing from traditional films.

The depiction of the lead characters - Jake Worthington and Sigourney Weaver both play human characters and CGI "Avatars" - is still sketchy so I won't go into detail about them here. It'll be interesting to see how much of the flesh and blood versions we see in the finished film.

So all in all I'm positive about the picture, even if I can't quite agree yet with the "future of filmmaking" label being attached to it.

This being a James Cameron film I have very high expectations - here's hoping it meets them this December.