Avatar 2: The Way of Water

[IFR]

26 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

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.

I'm hoping that the wide appeal of the movie will give it a good multiplier. At the end of my showing the audience applauded. There seems to be a very high audience approval of this movie in general.

It also seems that the audience for this movie are preferentially selecting the premium types of showings. I know I refuse to watch this movie on anything less than the biggest screen immediately available and in 3D.

With word of mouth and repeat viewings, it's possible that the movie will still do as well as it needs to in order to continue the saga beyond Avatar 3.

At least I hope it does. I really like Pandora. I would like to see more of it and the adjacent moons, and also see Sully family saga continue.

This movie has motivated me to reread Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, to which I find there are a lot of similarities, in theme and tone.

[Lady Anna]

Saw it yesterday in 3d. It was fine.

The technology is impressive, it's like a seamless blend of animation and real life in a way I really haven't seen before (though i think that video games also do something like this - with motion capture - but I don't play). It's really interesting but at the end of the day not particularly, or uniquely, spectacular for me. I mean, it doesn't beat the great visuals you can also get in other movies and often in real locations. It's just different.

But to me the thing is, tech like this probably "deserved" a better story than this movie. The story is so generic and uninspired that it brings the whole thing down. It doesn't help that the story seems to be secondary to the visuals, like they would do away with it if they could (imo that's why Avatar (2009) didn't have the staying power that they probably thought it would have). It's way too much style over substance.

However, I actually felt like the characters here were a standout. I loved the kids and the Sea People. Maybe it's the good acting or maybe it's the fact that we've seen this story before so these characters are like archetypes that we're already predisposed to root for. Either way, they were the highlight for me. I loved the middle sequence where they got to develop these characters (and the world) quite well imo.

Unfortunately, the third act was sort of a disappointment. It was way too long and dragged out.  But I'd watch the sequels.

[Calibandar]

I thought it had a lot of things going for it. Mainly that it really is a wonderful visual experience.

I definitely prefer the first one, I just prefer the setting. I did like everything they did with the water tribes, the Tulkan, their water animals, it was all very well done, but though the story is decent, I was more compelled in the first one.

On a sidenote I really liked the use of the mechas in Avatar 1 and was disappointed that they didnt feature here except for in the opening shot.

 

 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

14 hours ago, Lady Anna said:

Saw it yesterday in 3d. It was fine.

The technology is impressive, it's like a seamless blend of animation and real life in a way I really haven't seen before (though i think that video games also do something like this - with motion capture - but I don't play). It's really interesting but at the end of the day not particularly, or uniquely, spectacular for me. I mean, it doesn't beat the great visuals you can also get in other movies and often in real locations. It's just different.

But to me the thing is, tech like this probably "deserved" a better story than this movie. The story is so generic and uninspired that it brings the whole thing down. It doesn't help that the story seems to be secondary to the visuals, like they would do away with it if they could (imo that's why Avatar (2009) didn't have the staying power that they probably thought it would have). It's way too much style over substance.

However, I actually felt like the characters here were a standout. I loved the kids and the Sea People. Maybe it's the good acting or maybe it's the fact that we've seen this story before so these characters are like archetypes that we're already predisposed to root for. Either way, they were the highlight for me. I loved the middle sequence where they got to develop these characters (and the world) quite well imo.

Unfortunately, the third act was sort of a disappointment. It was way too long and dragged out.  But I'd watch the sequels.

I loved the kids. Weaver is great as the 14 year old Kiri and Tuk is just so lovable. Worthington and Salanda definitely earn their money here. Everyone was great. My only complaint was that Edie Falco could have been utilized more.

That's the thing about this film that made it a bit weird to watch for me. The first act is great and more or less what you'd expect following from the first film. But the second act becomes a kind of coming of age story that almost exclusively focuses on the children. Jake and Neytiri are pushed to the background really for most of the film. Like I'm waiting for the movie to be about Jake and Neytiri and it never seems to happen. Once I wrapped my head around that it was really enjoyable. 

Spoiler

I loved the space whale. I nearly jumped out of my chair when he went all Kobiashi Maru on the sky people.

"KIDNAP MY FRIENDS??!? FUCK YOU! FUCK YOUR BOAT, MOTHERFUCKER! FUCK! YOUR! BOAT!"

...Over and over. In my mind, that's how the subtitles would read in the directors cut. 

I think I'm going to see it again at some point over the holidays. I know my niece wants to see it again. 

[Corvinus85]

8 hours ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

I loved the kids. Weaver is great as the 14 year old Kiri and Tuk is just so lovable. Worthington and Salanda definitely earn their money here. Everyone was great. My only complaint was that Edie Falco could have been utilized more.

That's the thing about this film that made it a bit weird to watch for me. The first act is great and more or less what you'd expect following from the first film. But the second act becomes a kind of coming of age story that almost exclusively focuses on the children. Jake and Neytiri are pushed to the background really for most of the film. Like I'm waiting for the movie to be about Jake and Neytiri and it never seems to happen. Once I wrapped my head around that it was really enjoyable. 

  Hide contents

I loved the space whale. I nearly jumped out of my chair when he went all Kobiashi Maru on the sky people.

"KIDNAP MY FRIENDS??!? FUCK YOU! FUCK YOUR BOAT, MOTHERFUCKER! FUCK! YOUR! BOAT!"

...Over and over. In my mind, that's how the subtitles would read in the directors cut. 

I think I'm going to see it again at some point over the holidays. I know my niece wants to see it again. 

The whales were a great addition to this universe and specifically

Spoiler

the outcast whale is the best character in the movie.

I do need to watch it with subtitles because Kiri is the only new name I fully understood during my viewing.

[butterweedstrover]

I haven’t seen it yet but I remember watching the first Avatar as a kid and being unimpressed. Then today I watched this video and started to think Cameron’s storytelling (and not just his visuals) might be incredibly underrated. 
 

 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

11 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

the outcast whale is the best character in the movie.

Spoiler

He fucked their boats. 

I loved how he's slowly destroying parts of it. These subs? Fuck your subs. This guy in a mech suit? Fuck that guy. This catwalk? Fuck that noise. Even as he's crawling off the boat there's big yellow jib crane next to him and on his way out he flicks his tail and just wrecks it. The lack of respect is stunning.

[Lady Anna]

You know, the more I think about the movie the more I like it lol

[DaveSumm]

Just got back. Yea it looks amazing, of course it does. But there’s an awful lot of sequel set up here, if they focused on just this story you could trim an hour at least out of it. Overall the story feels exactly as you think it would; massive amounts of stalling so Cameron can make 5 movies when there’s enough story for a trilogy at absolute max. 

Spoiler

The situation doesn’t actually change a huge amount over the course of the film. Sky people are still coming, as they would’ve assumed they were before this film. Douchebag McArmy Guy is still around, Jake realises that the Navi aren’t gonna move (kinda like they were saying throughout the first movie). This whole movie feels like a preamble to the next one.

Spider spent a lot of the movie standing around waiting to be relevant in the sequel. Sigourney Weavers mystery didn’t resolve (and they threw in some false jeopardy of ‘she’ll die if she does it again! Oh she didn’t.’) Carmella Soprano does nothing. 

And probably most problematically for the plot; the whole idea of them going for Jake Sully just didn’t make sense. They only wanted him to start with because he’s the leader; once he left they should’ve just started massacring the Forest Navi (and Jake should know that and therefore not leave). So it’s basically all a revenge project just so army douche can kill his nemesis, except he can accost a practically infinite amount of military resources to do it.

So much like the first one, it looked great and I’m glad I watched it at the cinema in 3D, but I fully expect the next one to roll around and realise I never rewatched it. I watched the first film for the first time since the cinema this morning, for some reason subjecting myself to 6 hours of Avatar in one day.

[Shaun Snow]

Thoroughly average movie with above average CGI. Nothing with a budget that high should be that forgettable.

[Lady Anna]

On 12/23/2022 at 7:35 PM, Shaun Snow said:

Thoroughly average movie with above average CGI. Nothing with a budget that high should be that forgettable.

I feel that this is exactly what I was trying to say with my original post.

[mcbigski]

So let's just say there was a geeky guy dating a geeky girl back when the first Avatar movie came out.  And the guy in question, despite the girl saying the move was worth watching, just didn't like the whole Pocahatas vibe.  Maybe he was an insecure guy with a tiny penis, maybe he was secure guy not into self flagellation over shit that happened centuries earlier.  With an at least proportional penis and also well over six feet.

I've heard it's technically brilliant.  But apart from that is there a reason to see this?  Star Wars was technically brilliant for its time.  Quite amazing special effects apart from the simulation of the trench attack.  Is there any there there?

Edited December 25, 2022 by mcbigski

[Tyrosh Lannister]

I watched it in 4D . Enjoyed it 

[DaveSumm]

31 minutes ago, Tyrosh Lannister said:

I watched it in 4D . Enjoyed it 

4DX? I’m trying to read up on what it is, but there’s an awful lot of puff around it … ‘feel the water along with Jake’ … what does that actually mean? Are you submerged? Splashed? Just a a bit of vapour?

[Tyrosh Lannister]

16 minutes ago, DaveSumm said:

4DX? I’m trying to read up on what it is, but there’s an awful lot of puff around it … ‘feel the water along with Jake’ … what does that actually mean? Are you submerged? Splashed? Just a a bit of vapour?

Sprayed on my face by water, air. Chair also rocks, moves, rotates and shakes. Air spray near my feet. When arrows or bullets are fired , you can feel them whizz past your ears (air). When someone is shot, a portion of the chair sticks up against your back to give the feeling of being shot in the chest/back 

Edited December 25, 2022 by Tyrosh Lannister

[Argonath Diver]

Sounds like something only a manchild would enjoy. You should grow up and enjoy more somber, grounded entertainment.

[IlyaP]

*coughs*

*stands up properly*

PAPYRUS! 

[Luzifer's right hand]

22 hours ago, Tyrosh Lannister said:

I watched it in 4D . Enjoyed it 

Me too.

But 4DX or maybe IMAX 3D are the main reasons I go to cinema nowadays. I kinda stopped going to cinema for movies that are no special effect heavy. I still watch a lot of other movies at home though.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

https://youtu.be/8UN-kQTP9dw

 

[DireWolfSpirit]

Doing this in 3D tommorow afternoon.