AVATAR 2: THE WAY OF WATER (2022)

Well, nothing new under the Sun people:rolleyes: Pregnant women defending the family nucleus as in "Mama Bear"...puh lease :sleep::sleep:
Thanks for the critique HSMwolfe; I'll have to re-think my opinion about that movie.
I think that the audience's reaction of the first Avatar is simply that, at the time, the CGI was really good and that everyone wanted to live in that type of World (not me). I don't know if, with this second installment, the same will happen :unsure:
 
Saw the first showing here (IMAX 3D) Thursday afternoon. Will be going again this coming Wednesday night. Visually stunning. It does for ocean/reef biomes what the original Avatar did for rain forests - if it doesn't make you want to get out to the natural world and enjoy the wonder of the biological miracle of a planet we live on right here then I don't know what to tell you...

It seems fashionable here to dump on this franchise. I will speak from the other end of the reactions, at least to the original - Avatar was a profound experience for me, catapulting my digital 'career' (I'm a mere hobbiest but I was inspired enough by Avatar to get good enough from starting from scratch to having television credits for my digital work in just a few years) and strengthening and reaffirming my deep love of exploring all things natural and remote outdoors. Complain all you want about plot minutia but that movie struck a deep chord globally, and not because of the mere 'gimmick' of 3D tech - it's the latter point I just made from my own experience that I think hit home to so many people 'trapped' in a crowded world so cut off from our rightful heritage of the beauty of the natural world.

Dan
 
“Fashionable to dump on Avatar” implies people only hate the movie because it’s popular, not because they have valid criticisms of a spectacularly vapid movie and its equally shallow sequel. Nothing wrong with liking Avatar. It’s just, well, a pretty dumb movie. Like Pacific Rim, or Godzilla, or any number of CG-eye candy films that have nothing else going on.
 
it is fashionable to dump on avatar, especially in this thread, you had made your mind up to hate the movie before you went, so forgive me if i don't listen to your put downs, i went and saw the movie and really enjoyed it, as i'm guessing a lot of people will, i personally enjoyed the story, so yeah another like for the movie here
 
For me, it's easy. I have zero interest in seeing it. I'm not going to run around saying how bad it is, I just don't care. I thought the first one was crap, it isn't aimed at people like me who value quality of story over eye-candy, so...

Screw it.
 
I dunno whether I will see it. I want some feedback from people I know in real life.


Cameron's stuff is never BAD but he seems to be falling into the common late-career habits. The world-building & tech subjects get more elaborate. The characters & dialogue get worse. The long running times seem less justified. Etc. (see also: Star Wars prequels, Michael Crichton stuff, etc.)

These types of creators tend to fall farther into the extremes of their patterns. Their early strengths get better (or just more extreme) but their early weaknesses keep getting worse.
 
I don't think Cameron is bad, I just don't think he has any originality in him anymore. His old stuff wasn't just eye-candy, it was groundbreaking storytelling and directing. Now, it's just... blah. It's made for people who want to turn off their brains for 2-3 hours.

That's not me.
 
I thought the original was okay, I was never inclined to watch it a second time. The CGI was pretty cool but still looked like an incredibly detailed animation. Never could buy into it being "real", I did really like the concept of the humans being "alien invaders" instead of the classic trope we usually see in invasion movies.
Since turning 50 I'm pretty cautious about how many of my limited hours left on earth are dedicated to films, I don't think this is one I want to donate to.
Not saying it's bad, just not my cup of tea.
 
For those of you who have seen it, I have a question unrelated to the story…

Does the film LOOK like it’s entirely animated?

I don’t remember feeling like the first one looked like a Pixar movie, if you will. I seem to remember thinking “this is pretty decent CG that I feel is very ‘real’ looking.”

But all of the trailers I’ve seen for this one make it look like it’s basically just entirely CG and it seems to have lost the “this could pass for real” look.
 
Gimpdiggity said:
For those of you who have seen it, I have a question unrelated to the story…

Does the film LOOK like it’s entirely animated?

I don’t remember feeling like the first one looked like a Pixar movie, if you will. I seem to remember thinking “this is pretty decent CG that I feel is very ‘real’ looking.”

But all of the trailers I’ve seen for this one make it look like it’s basically just entirely CG and it seems to have lost the “this could pass for real” look.
Click to expand...
There wasn’t very much I thought looked “real”, but most of that I think can be attributed to it looking more “staged” than “CG”. You know, perfect lighting, perfect shadows, perfect color of the sunset, et cetera. CG’s fine. And I’ve already mentioned how much I dislike CG cinematography that whips the camera around or zooms quickly like it’s some kind of documentary, that makes it look less real to me. I suppose there are also huge chunks of the film where they aren’t interacting with anything that was shot physically, so there’s no real comparison between what’s real and what’s not. When it does happen, though, it’s mostly solid. No “empty hands” holding things or weird sight lines.
 
Gimpdiggity said:
I don’t remember feeling like the first one looked like a Pixar movie, if you will. I seem to remember thinking “this is pretty decent CG that I feel is very ‘real’ looking.”

But all of the trailers I’ve seen for this one make it look like it’s basically just entirely CG and it seems to have lost the “this could pass for real” look.
Click to expand...
Same here. I remember being quite pleasantly surprised by Avatar; it didn't make my "favorite movies" list, but I thought the visuals - especially in 3D - were truly immersive and paid off on the hype enough for me to leave the theater impressed overall. In fact, perhaps more than Avatar itself, I remember being severely disappointed with my next 3D film, which paled in comparison. [Though I will say the next one after that was the fully-animated How To Train Your Dragon, and I found that thrilling regardless.]

So I anticipated that this sequel would up the ante at least visually (and hopefully also plot-wise); the only reason for my misgivings is on account of what felt like mediocre advertising. It's of course impossible to sell a 3D experience in a 2D ad, but I just re-watched the original Avatar trailers, and for whatever reason I find them a lot more compelling.

Now I'm even more confused - though in a way, also curious - by the gulf between viewers finding it spectacular and enthralling on the one hand and deathly dull on the other. I understand that disparity for something like Blade Runner (the former for me) or Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (the latter for me), but it seems odd for an action blockbuster. In any case, I'm grateful for any and all reviews on both sides.
 
I just saw in 3D with the whole family tonight and everyone enjoyed it. Visually stunning. The story was very good as well. Even though it was over 3 hours long, the story kept moving and there was really never a dull moment. The 3d effects were pretty well done, and they didn't seem contrived.

TazMan2000
 
Just read it's near the $500 million mark world wide for opening weekend. Only reason that's important is how Disney keeps 100% of theater revinue for the first weeks or even month of a films release.
 
Bigdaddy said:
I thought the original was okay, I was never inclined to watch it a second time. The CGI was pretty cool but still looked like an incredibly detailed animation. Never could buy into it being "real", I did really like the concept of the humans being "alien invaders" instead of the classic trope we usually see in invasion movies.
Since turning 50 I'm pretty cautious about how many of my limited hours left on earth are dedicated to films, I don't think this is one I want to donate to.
Not saying it's bad, just not my cup of tea.
Click to expand...
I feel 100% exactly the same. I saw the first one, it was fine, but I didn't love it and I've never seen it again after the first viewing. I'm not against watching the sequel but I don't have any energy to go see it either. If I'm eventually able to watch it for free at home on a streaming service I will but I know I won't see it in the theater.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Vespertil1o
The Batman cowl adjustment
Replies
1
Views
201
laellee
laellee
L
[Avatar] Matanza CARB Assault Rifle - Recoil Motor?
Replies
0
Views
354
LV426C137
L
Nerdywan01
More Stunt/dueling lightsaber props from Kenobi
Replies
6
Views
1,085
Halliwax
Halliwax
BritishBatman
The Batman - Epinephrine / Adrenaline Pen
Replies
0
Views
487
BritishBatman
BritishBatman
Rook 3
Did anyone ever model the Orichalcum knife from the Netflix Spriggan (2022) series?
Replies
0
Views
515
Rook 3
Rook 3
Back
Top