Cinema Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) - James Cameron Plays in the Water for 2 1/2 Hours

[Arnox]

Rating

3.00 star(s)

Yes, yes... I GOT IT, Cameron! Humans, bad, Nav'i good. Now go look at something shiny for a while!

...

Ok, fine. Maybe I need to write a little more than that.

So, after over 12 years of who knows what, James Cameron FINALLY releases the second Avatar. And I gotta tell ya'... It wasn't worth the wait. Oh sure, it looks pretty. There's no doubt about that whatsoever. I also notice that they kept the motion blur to an absolute minimum, which I'm kinda torn on. On one hand, it makes the action look less real, but it also makes every frame a potential screenshot. I guess it's up to you as to whether you like that approach better or not.

In any case, many people, including me, were hoping that after the basic ass story and message of the first movie, we would explore the themes and world of Pandora much more in the second movie and look at its nuances and its mysteries and the consequences of what happened. And not just explore Pandora more, but also look more at the human civilization. There was an interesting theory, for example, that the Hometree was actually brainwashing the Nav'i. Is that true? I have no idea, but it was certainly possible, and it was something interesting to be answered one way or another. Another interesting take was this image that made the rounds on the internet for a little while:



Is that take true? Maybe. Kinda. But do we see this addressed in the second movie? Do we see ANY of these interesting questions addressed? Nope... We barely get any of that. Just more, "humans bad, Nav'i good". But this time with family! Family's important, guys. Woo! Families stick together! What a message! Was Vin Diesel a co-writer for this movie?

Ok, you know what, I'm starting to be a little too harsh here so I'll tone it back, but damn, man. I just can't help but feel like I had my time wasted watching James Cameron indulge in his CGI water fetish for over two hours of runtime instead of focusing on delivering a compelling storyline, and at this point, I'm kinda short on patience here. There are many legitimately good parts in the movie, and some parts really are emotional, but it's hard to get invested when you constantly feel like you're watching a PSA from Greenpeace with a side of family. This movie could have been so much more than that, but it was instead wasted with the same old shit we've seen before. Whatever.

But hey, third time's a charm maybe?

 

[Drathnoxis]

When I read this thread title I thought that the terrible Last Airbender movie got a sequel. But then I remembered the other Avatar movie, which was almost as bad.

 

[Battousai]

I remember watching the first one over a decade ago and thinking the special effects looked neat, but the story itself was meh and I lost interest over this whole thing. Now he came back 13 years later with a sequel few people wanted and exactly as meh as the previous one, not really worth much of a watch.

 

[Gauche]

I remember watching the first one over a decade ago and thinking the special effects looked neat, but the story itself was meh and I lost interest over this whole thing. Now he came back 13 years later with a sequel few people wanted and exactly as meh as the previous one, not really worth much of a watch.

I heard James was approved/funded for a trilogy a while ago so look forward to more meh from him

 

[Gauche]

When I read this thread title I thought that the terrible Last Airbender movie got a sequel. But then I remembered the other Avatar movie, which was almost as bad.

The air bender one was hella racist yo - all the main characters were casted as white actors while every single extra was asian
People were legit justified to protest that shit movie

Just walking around the neighborhood holding up a factual statement about a fictional character

 

[gaijinkaiju]

I heard James was approved/funded for a trilogy a while ago so look forward to more meh from him

not the case. unfortunately he's got 3 more films planned for this franchise. Avatar 3 panned for december 2024, something to do with volcanoes and ash people, Avatar 4 for december 2026, and Avatar 5 for december 2028, supposedly taking place on earth.

 

[Gauche]

not the case. unfortunately he's got 3 more films planned for this franchise. Avatar 3 panned for december 2024, something to do with volcanoes and ash people, Avatar 4 for december 2026, and Avatar 5 for december 2028, supposedly taking place on earth.

>Insert Metkayina most compatible breeding copypasta here

 

[Battousai]

not the case. unfortunately he's got 3 more films planned for this franchise. Avatar 3 panned for december 2024, something to do with volcanoes and ash people, Avatar 4 for december 2026, and Avatar 5 for december 2028, supposedly taking place on earth.

Who the fuck thought financing all that train wreck was gonna be profitable and successful in the long run? The people who agreed to this have probably not seen any of Cameron's movies since the mid 1990's since he actually used to be a hit director back then.

 

[Arnox]

Who the fuck thought financing all that train wreck was gonna be profitable and successful in the long run? The people who agreed to this have probably not seen any of Cameron's movies since the mid 1990's since he actually used to be a hit director back then.

You know what, I just don't get it, man. Terminator 2 was masterful. One of my favorite films of all time. Aliens was great. True Lies was awesome. When the fuck did he go wrong here? Is this one of those Duke Nukem Forever situations where the creators slowly just get lost in all the money and their own ass?

 

[Gauche]

creators slowly just get lost

Cameron holds the record for the deepest solo dive

 

[Battousai]

You know what, I just don't get it, man. Terminator 2 was masterful. One of my favorite films of all time. Aliens was great. True Lies was awesome. When the fuck did he go wrong here? Is this one of those Duke Nukem Forever situations where the creators slowly just get lost in all the money and their own ass?

I think he just lost his touch, he took 12 years to direct again after Titanic and that was Avatar. Then after that it was another 13 years until he did it again and that was Avatar 2. The man lost his mojo or some shit like that. He was also involved in Terminator: Dark Fate in 2019 as a writer and that was really bad.

Pay in mind this is just about his films, he has done documentaries and television too, but in terms of directing movies the man has lost it. Also apparently the whole avatar story is his magnum opus or something like that, but it feels extremely weak to be a magnum opus.

 

[Arnox]

Also apparently the whole avatar story is his magnum opus or something like that, but it feels extremely weak to be a magnum opus.

Actually, I think I know what this is. Oftentimes, creators get so enamored with their world and they make so much material for it, but they also get way too lost in the details and forget to, you know, insert a compelling story. They're putting this work out there and all they can see are all the little details they put in. And sure, maybe this spaceship has everything down to the struts explained and diagramed, but the audience is not gonna notice any of that, and especially not the first time they watch the movie. They're going to focus on the story.

This is also a lot like when fantasy writers spend WAY too much time developing the world's magic system, almost as if they're making a TTRPG, and they also completely lose sight of the actual plot and the characters.