Avatar 2: The Way of Water

[Sad People]

2 hours ago, seminoles1 said:

Not necessarily because of the story (though I did enjoy the movie), but I've never had a better movie theater experience than seeing Avatar in IMAX 3D.

pretty much this for me, except for maybe seeing the sequel trilogy in theaters.

[seminoles1]

The world premiere is happening now in London. Social media reactions will be available later tonight. I know social media reactions usually skew super positive, but I'll be trying to read between the lines from true reviewers to try and figure out their actual thoughts.

[seminoles1]

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/avatar-2-first-reactions-james-cameron-masterpiece-1235451389/

https://collider.com/avatar-2-reactions-reviews-is-it-good/

Tried to find just the major outlets and critics that posted so far.  Most absolutely love it, some only like it.  Everyone seems to agree it's better than the 1st one, the most visually stunning movie ever, but runs a little long and the story, while an improvement, still comes up a little short.

 

[seminoles1]

The AFI named it to their top 10 movies of the year list.

[vike daddy]

Avatar: The Way of Water has a three-hour and twelve-minute runtime. I blinked my eyes and it was over. The film is enormously engrossing. The sound and visual effects are the best to date. I originally wrote three paragraphs exalting its technical glory, but superlatives are overrated. Some may find the HFR (high-speed frame rate), 48 frames-per-second enabled by TrueCut Motion smoothing, unsettling. You're missing greatness by seeing this film in standard theater formats. Allow your eyes to relax and absorb the cinematography's breathtaking magnitude. Spend the money to experience Avatar: The Way of Water on the biggest 3D screen available. This is why we go to the movies, escapism and storytelling on the grandest scale. Cameron didn't waste thirteen years goofing around. He crushes expectations.

https://movieweb.com/avatar-the-way-of-water-review/?utm_source=MW-FB-P&utm_medium=Social-Distribution&utm_campaign=MW-FB-P&fbclid=IwAR0ACZ9TZe28ch_TG4uvZizmUDmEtuck0l42XvRK30aR2dWZlqzTRMdMTyQ

[seminoles1]

2 minutes ago, vike daddy said:

Avatar: The Way of Water has a three-hour and twelve-minute runtime. I blinked my eyes and it was over. The film is enormously engrossing. The sound and visual effects are the best to date. I originally wrote three paragraphs exalting its technical glory, but superlatives are overrated. Some may find the HFR (high-speed frame rate), 48 frames-per-second enabled by TrueCut Motion smoothing, unsettling. You're missing greatness by seeing this film in standard theater formats. Allow your eyes to relax and absorb the cinematography's breathtaking magnitude. Spend the money to experience Avatar: The Way of Water on the biggest 3D screen available. This is why we go to the movies, escapism and storytelling on the grandest scale. Cameron didn't waste thirteen years goofing around. He crushes expectations.

https://movieweb.com/avatar-the-way-of-water-review/?utm_source=MW-FB-P&utm_medium=Social-Distribution&utm_campaign=MW-FB-P&fbclid=IwAR0ACZ9TZe28ch_TG4uvZizmUDmEtuck0l42XvRK30aR2dWZlqzTRMdMTyQ

Better reviews than the first one from what I'm reading. Similar RT score and lower Metacritic score, but I think the first one is slightly inflated because less people are overlooking the story issues than the first time around.

Similar issues to the first from what I've read, with some weaker characters and corny dialogue. But not on the same scale as the first.

So amazing to watch and see, but won't win any awards for it's character development or story beats.

If you liked the first one or enjoyed watching it in theaters, you'll love this one. Not too many will convert if they didn't like the first one, but it is better than the first so there's a chance you will like it even if you didn't like the first one.

[Xenos]

On 12/2/2022 at 3:48 AM, Fresh Prince said:

Apparently has to become the 2nd to 3rd highest grossing film of all time to break even.

Domestically. Not worldwide. I believe he spent like $400 million to make this one and Avatar 3.

[Xenos]

On 12/2/2022 at 7:50 AM, seminoles1 said:

*Raises hand

Not necessarily because of the story (though I did enjoy the movie), but I've never had a better movie theater experience than seeing Avatar in IMAX 3D.

I’m probably going to watch this once in IMAX 3D like the original, hopefully enjoy myself, and never watch it again.

I do appreciate Cameron’s mentality and perfectionism. He’s probably the best technical director alive right now. But yeah, I wish he did something else besides Avatar.

[Xenos]

On 11/3/2022 at 2:00 AM, 43M said:

Why does it seem like CG is going backwards in recent years?

I think you don’t have to worry about that with Cameron. I would be disappointed if it did. But I’m confident the film would look great at least.

[43M]

2 hours ago, Xenos said:

I think you don’t have to worry about that with Cameron. I would be disappointed if it did. But I’m confident the film would look great at least.

It probably looks better on the big screen.    Its like the first movie....looked amazing in theaters, but the home release was a little underwhelming.

[y*so*blu]

I thought the first Avatar film in 2009 was clunky, preachy, poorly written, and bereft of soul. I doubt any of those things has been improved on in the intervening 13 years. Hard pass.

[seminoles1]

Well, doesn't look like China is going to be the savior people thought it would be. Initial projections were for close to a $200 million opening there, but with the COVID-19 outbreak it looks like $50 million might even be a stretch now.

[Mox]

Didn't care for the first. I'd say this one is really good. The world looks incredible and makes you want to experience more of it. A few nitpicky things but overall a real good time and 3:15 felt more like 2:30

[seminoles1]

1 hour ago, Bullet Club said:

Didn't care for the first. I'd say this one is really good. The world looks incredible and makes you want to experience more of it. A few nitpicky things but overall a real good time and 3:15 felt more like 2:30

Overall I agree.  Another great moviegoing experience.

Pros
-The visuals.  I can't say enough good things about the VFX.  The combo of 3D and the high frame rate did get spotty a couple of times, but overall this is the most incredible looking film I've seen.  Blows the visuals from the DCEU, MCU, Star Wars, etc. out of the water
-More emotionally effective story.  You care more about the characters in this film compared to the first. While there still are no super memorable characters, it was an improvement for sure
-I liked that less is more.  It wasn't a battle for the planet, but a more intimate and focused narrative
-Great world-building without hurting the story for this one. Lots of breadcrumbs for the future of the franchise and where it can go without sacrificing the climax for this at all
-The last hour is legitimately amazing.  A fantastic 3rd act and climax that isn't hurt by writing like some of the rest of the movie.  Hits every story beat you'd want from an action blockbuster with emotional stakes. Off the top of my head, only Rogue One and Endgame can compare from the last 10 years
-You don't really feel the runtime.  Yeah, some parts could probably be cut without hurting the story or pacing too much, but it was worth it for the visual journey

Cons
-While it's a more emotional story, it's not necessarily an improvement to me. I very much enjoyed learning about Pandora and Eywa in the first one.  Learning about the Metkayina and their way of life was great, but not sure I enjoyed it more than the first from a story perspective
-The script, once again, came up short. This is by far the most disappointing aspect of the movie considering who Cameron brought on to his writing team.  I would never guess the writers of the recent Planet of the Apes trilogy had their hands on this.  Cameron has lost his touch for script-writing and it seems like this was all him
-They did not give enough time in this one for the human side. The villains are once again incredibly one-dimensional and while general audiences still probably prefer easy to follow "Good vs. Bad" character arcs, really good movies can create more complex villains without challenging the audience too much to turn them off. They did do a better job with one character and I hope they can continue to develop them in the next one
-They say "family", "bro", and "cuz" more than all the Fast & Furious movies combined

Overall
I wanted to love this, but the story didn't live up to my expectations with the new writers and Cameron's (admittedly very dated) amazing success with sci-fi sequels.  Still a solid movie and without a doubt and absolutely worth seeing in theaters even if you didn't like the story in Avatar, but not the improvement over the first one I was expecting. If you enjoyed the first one, even if just for the visuals, you'll enjoy this one as well.  If you hated the first one, then I doubt you'll like this one...though I'd still give it a shot.

6.5-7/10 for story
10/10 for theater experience

[FinneasGage]

i didn't remember **** about the first one. went into this with super low expectations thinking it was gonna be a big whatever. it was a little better than that i'd say. definitely impressive. crazy sequences. emotional parts came off kinda trite to me. spoiler in the next sentence so don't read if you don't wanna know...spider saving the villain and then just ditching him was lame to me. kinda over this dude being the villain. what are we gonna do? the same plot in 3? kinda giggled to myself picturing james cameron writing "bro" into the script like 90 times. it was alright. pretty much what i was expecting from it. theater was going crazy, which definitely added to it.