'Avatar' preview footage wows in Amsterdam

James Cameron screened 24 minutes of his upcoming sci-fi blockbuster Avatar to a standing ovation at the Cinema Expo in Amsterdam, reports say.

Cameron, who has not released a feature film since 1997's Titanic, appeared alongside stars Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana and Stephen Lang to present the 3D footage to an audience of film industry workers.

"Three years ago, I stood up here and said the 3D renaissance is coming," The Hollywood Reporter quotes Cameron as saying. "And from what we've seen in the business, we can now say it has arrived."

The Avatar preview showed scenes from the first third of the movie, with Cameron admitting that the last third contained relentless action. The tightly-guarded story centres on a disabled ex-marine who fights a battle against an alien race on the planet Pandora.

Writing to website ComingSoon.net, one audience member who saw the footage said: "I'm still feeling the after effects of this jaw-dropping experience."

"[It] may be the first movie where 3-D is properly utilised," they added.

"Footage from Avatar was stunning, literally jaw-dropping," another industry worker wrote on their Twitter page. "Amazing visuals unlike any before seen, with incredible detail."

20th Century Fox will release Avatar on December 18.