Avatar 2: The Way of Water

[polishgenius]

Aye.

I mean, I'm not fooling myself, I'll probably see it, just not at the cinema. Even if it's not like good in my opinion there's a decent chance it doesn't have the specific things about the first one that drove me totally librarian-poo and I'd still enjoy it fine.

[Corvinus85]

1 minute ago, polishgenius said:

Aye.

I mean, I'm not fooling myself, I'll probably see it, just not at the cinema. Even if it's not like good in my opinion there's a decent chance it doesn't have the specific things about the first one that drove me totally librarian-poo and I'd still enjoy it fine.

Please share. I'm curious.

The first's story is generally panned as a ripoff of Dances with Wolves and Pocahontas, so I wonder if the sequel draws heavily from other stories we've seen or tries to just make a logical leap from the first movie.

[ithanos]

Caught a midday session today. I wear glasses and wore the 3D glasses over them for the viewing - there were no issues. Interestingly, the last movie I watched in 3D was the first Avatar movie which was easily the best 3D experience at the time. This time it felt just as seamless.  I've been fortunate enough to have scuba dived in crystal clear waters and seen up close rainbows of coral, whale sharks and giant stingrays and immersion in the underwater world is simply breath taking. At times I felt like a child in wonder, thrown into the BBC's The Blue Planet.

The technical achievement in this installment is absolutely incredible. Everyone who goes to watch this movie needs to pay that army of technicians and crew some due and sit through to the end of the credits.

I thought the main action scene outdid the first.

Spoiler

Neytiri is an absolute badass.

Story wise, I had lowered my expectations so it turned out to be a little better than expected.
 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

@ithanos

Did the Oppenhiemer trailer play before the film? 

[ithanos]

 

43 minutes ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

@ithanos

Did the Oppenhiemer trailer play before the film? 

No. It was not shown in my session. We got trailers for Ant Man 3 (nothing new) and the Super Marios Bros Movie, the latter looked really good.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

So, you get to pay for a movie ticket to see a cam copy? This rocks.

https://celluloidjunkie.com/2022/12/13/russian-cinemas-set-to-screen-pirated-copies-of-avatar-the-way-of-water/

[BigFatCoward]

3 hours ago, ithanos said:

 

Everyone who goes to watch this movie needs to pay that army of technicians and crew some due and sit through to the end of the credits.

 

I don't get it?  What difference would it make to them?

Box office projections seem to keep going up and up and up.  I now won't be surprised if it breaks 3 billion.  Both his previous super blockbusters had insane legs, like pretty much no other film ever has, and there is no competition for about 6 weeks. 

Edited December 15, 2022 by BigFatCoward

[ithanos]

13 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

I don't get it?  What difference would it make to them?

I don't get it?
Its gratitude I guess. To offer an analogy, if I've enjoyed a good dinner, I may thank first and foremost, the chef for the great meal - but then sit around, letting said meal digest, and ponder on the fine ingredients and how they all came together.    

What difference will it make to them?
If I can be a little selfish, I stuck around during the credits out of my own interests simply because I was feeling "fuck that was amazing! lets see which FX studios were involved with this" at the time. They may never know and that's OK.

[SpaceChampion]

 

[BigFatCoward]

22 minutes ago, ithanos said:

I don't get it?
Its gratitude I guess. To offer an analogy, if I've enjoyed a good dinner, I may thank first and foremost, the chef for the great meal - but then sit around, letting said meal digest, and ponder on the fine ingredients and how they all came together.    

 

Yeah, but if you thank the chef, they would be aware, none of the crew have a fucking clue, nor I may venture would they give a fuck. 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

Just got back. Still processing it.

So many emotional moments for me. More than once I wanted to scream, "Kill all humans!!!" and then in one particular scene they were killing, like, a lot of humans. I turned to my niece and said, "This movie is amazing!"

[Slurktan]

Just got back as well. I'm not processing it, I've seen it many times before.  I have to admire the sheer balls of James Cameron copying Dances with Wolves not once but twice in the same series and passing it off as new. You do you Jimbo.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

My friend, you need to clean the schmutz off your glasses because that movie was nothing like Dances with Wolves.

Dune part 1 took me in its arms and spooned me for a solid 156 minutes.

Avatar 2 strapped me to the rail and took me in holes I didn't know I had. In a good way. 

Recommend. 

[AncalagonTheBlack]

My brother saw it earlier today. He found the middle part of the movie slow and boring.  He gave it 5/10.

[butterweedstrover]

On 12/14/2022 at 5:52 PM, Corvinus85 said:

Please share. I'm curious.

The first's story is generally panned as a ripoff of Dances with Wolves and Pocahontas, so I wonder if the sequel draws heavily from other stories we've seen or tries to just make a logical leap from the first movie.

It is similar to those stories. But it actually is FernGully which is funny because Cameron said he got the idea from a dream after watching some cartoon on TV. 

And without remembering the movie, we can only assume he was watching FernGully before drifting off into dream space. 

[Corvinus85]

I just saw it and I agree with the consensus that if you liked the first one, you'll like this one, if you didn't then you won't. Fortunately I quite liked the first one so I definitely enjoyed this one, too. Yes, it has its flaws. It didn't bother me that it was long, but it wasn't always tight. There were elements of the story I wish it focused more on, and other elements that could definitely have been trimmed. It directly copied some things from the first movie, like new training montages.

Visually, the fucker did it again. Just wow, and I saw it in a regular theater. I can only imagine how it must have been for those who saw it in IMAX.

 

[TheLastWolf]

That tulkun hunter Scoresby, His dark materials reference? Intermission now.over

[TheLastWolf]

Wasn't hyped so found it good enough

[IFR]

I just watched it and found it very entertaining. I plan to watch it again.

Sure, there are lots of tropes, and Cameron recycles many of his own story beats, but I think that is overshadowed by what is done well. I loved the characters and their interactions, the world of Pandora is beautiful and immersive, and the sheer experience of the movie is incredibly cinematic in a way that demands it be viewed in the movie theater. 

Usually I like movies with depth and nuance. But sometimes I want to just have fun and experience a sense of wonder, and that is what Avatar offers.

Edited December 18, 2022 by IFR

[Corvinus85]

The opening weekend has been below Disney's expectations in the US. Estimates are at about $135 mil, instead of the expected >$150 mil. That being said, its predecessor didn't have a great opening weekend either, but it picked up steam as it went along. With winter upon much of the US, I'm not surprised that the theaters weren't filled for this 3+ hour movie a week before Christmas.