Avatar: The Way of Water

[Mandible]

It’s in a bad area

When. you say a bad area, is it literally that bad that you couldn't go?

 

[jye4ever]

When. you say a bad area, is it literally that bad that you couldn't go?

We should be fine as long as we wear our kevlar vests and flak helmets.

Khev should make a line of Khevlar vests lol

 

[The Buffinator]

We should be fine as long as we wear our kevlar vests and flak helmets.

Khev should make a line of Khevlar vests lol

I could use one the next time I wade into either a PT or Snyderverse discussion lol...

 

[jye4ever]

I could use one the next time I wade into either a PT or Snyderverse discussion lol...

Snyder’s forum defender is literally called T800

 

[The Buffinator]

Snyder’s forum defender is literally called T800

Did a-dev OK that name? Regardless, I may have to resort to breaking out the big guns...

 

[Khev]

58% drop this weekend even with the blizzards so no Maverick level of ongoing success but it still held on better than most MCU films.

$881 million global so the $1 billion break even point is assured. It won't hit that $2B to cover all the sequels in one fell swoop obviously but it'll still have a respectable tally in the end.

Now that the monkey on Cameron's back of not embarrassing himself following the highest grossing film of all time is gone I can't wait to see what he gives us next.

 

[choombaz]

True Lies 2

 

[jye4ever]

58% drop this weekend even with the blizzards so no Maverick level of ongoing success but it still held on better than most MCU films.

$881 million global so the $1 billion break even point is assured. It won't hit that $2B to cover all the sequels in one fell swoop obviously but it'll still have a respectable tally in the end.

Now that the monkey on Cameron's back of not embarrassing himself following the highest grossing film of all time is gone I can't wait to see what he gives us next.

Going to HFR 3D later today

 

[Khev]

True Lies 2

True Lies 2: The Seed Bearer

 

[Khev]

Going to HFR 3D later today

 

[Khev]

People were laughing that Thor Love and Thunder had a bigger opening weekend than AWOW and yet after just one week:

AWOW: $881 million
Thor's entire global run: $760 million

 

[JMT1979]

People were laughing that Thor Love and Thunder had a bigger opening weekend than AWOW and yet after just one week:

AWOW: $881 million
Thor's entire global run: $760 million

This movie completely craps on Thor Love and Thunder, so this is a pleasing outcome.

 

[jye4ever]

People were laughing that Thor Love and Thunder had a bigger opening weekend than AWOW and yet after just one week:

AWOW: $881 million
Thor's entire global run: $760 million

Movie starts in 5 min wife got me on the popcorn line

 

[The Buffinator]

People were laughing that Thor Love and Thunder had a bigger opening weekend than AWOW and yet after just one week:

AWOW: $881 million
Thor's entire global run: $760 million

No one should have realistically thought TL&T would come close to AWOW at the global box office. It's Thor's 4th solo movie and 8th appearance overall, so between the lack of tie-in to an Infinity Stones type story line, no China release and the inevitable fatigue setting in it never was going to bank blockbuster dollars (especially after not measuring up to Ragnarok in terms of quality). In contrast, AWOW was so long overdue that fans of the original have now spawned enough offspring to guarantee its success lol...

 

[Prime Clone]

This movie completely craps on Thor Love and Thunder, so this is a pleasing outcome.

Most movies crap on TLAT (not that I've seen it). Also...

 

[JMT1979]

Most movies crap on TLAT (not that I've seen it). Also...

I didn't plan on watching TLAT, but on my recent trip to the USA, it was on the entertainment system and since it was a 12-hour flight, well, I made the sacrifice. I also watched Doctor Strange 2 which was better than I expected which I quite liked. TLAT was just bad though, and I really enjoyed Ragnarök.

 

[jye4ever]

This film is the same as Avatar 1 as a 5th generation fighter jet is to a WW2 propeller plane.

Yes both fly but that’s where their similarities end.

Review incoming.

 

[The Buffinator]

This film is the same as Avatar 1 as a 5th generation fighter jet is to a WW2 propeller plane.

Yes both fly but that’s where their similarities end.

Review incoming.

Yes, this fighter jet has new capabilities.....or did it just crash and this is another of Cameron's salvage operation movies? Does a CGI Bill Paxton show up?

 

[jye4ever]

There is James Cameron then there is everyone else.

The man stands alone.

The man just understands machinery.

Lets get the technical review out of the way.

What i’m about to say is actually GOOD not bad!

You don’t need to see this in 3D.

This movie will not do to 3D what A1 did which means no resurgence.

3D was more about depth than pop out this time it ultimately was unnecessary.

HFR was more of a big deal because it’s the FIRST time we are all seeing smooth motion WITHOUT the artifacts that we get on our TV when being utilized.

The HFR was super real and vibrant and 3 dimensional in its own way and oddly enough it worked perfectly at maintaining a cinematic feel I know I KNOW crazy talk but it’s true.

I’m now Team 48 lol

So good news in the sense that seeing this in 2D Dolby Cinema with HDR AND HFR will be sufficient enough for the full immersion no need for 3D. The HDR in Dolby Cinema will more than likely make up for the loss of 3D.

The 3D is definitely more subtle than the first which is odd…

BUT that’s the thing the movie DOESN’T NEED the tech stuff as a crutch like the first one was accused of needing for it to be enjoyed it’s the quality of the STORY that drives the movie this time NOT the technology!

In 2009 the world would’ve freaked out with HFR more than with the 3D they would’ve burned the movie like a Salem witch lol

Story wise.

Had this been the first Avatar it would’ve made 4 billion not 2.9 billion lol

The characters are given much more depth and like it has been mentioned already the family dynamics is what makes this movie stronger than the first.

Yes the

Spoiler

death of the older son was very emotionally impactful which is a testament to the quality of the writing and world character building.

The family stuff just worked wonders it was the driving force of the narrative such a great “FATHER” movie across the board and Neytiri was also well utilized as the center focus on the burden of purpose and grief.

Now the negatives in what really are not negatives…well maybe.

Plot wise I don’t buy that Quaritch

Spoiler

would’ve cared about his son enough for it to derail his mission like that. Besides when did he even have this kid I don’t remember that from the first one so I had no attachment to that relationship whatsoever and that’s a problem because the entire finale is dependent on that relationship including Spider saving his father ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I also felt that it needed more Avatar vs Machine scenes. What was there was great but I desired more.

Also I question the replay ability that’s the million dollar question now isn’t it.

With that out of the way.

This movie is an improvement and a super worthy follow up and entry to a franchise that was supposedly DOA!

My son said this and TGM are his 2 favorite movies not just for this year but ever!

My son has good taste lol

If I was James Cameron I would immediately release a new poster that says:

“EVEN OTOMOFAN LIKED THIS YES THAT OTOMOFAN!”

The ball is in your court now Wor-Garvatar

 

[Khev]

There is James Cameron then there is everyone else.

The man stands alone.

The man just understands machinery.

Lets get the technical review out of the way.

What i’m about to say is actually GOOD not bad!

You don’t need to see this in 3D.

This movie will not do to 3D what A1 did which means no resurgence.

3D was more about depth than pop out this time it ultimately was unnecessary.

HFR was more of a big deal because it’s the FIRST time we are all seeing smooth motion WITHOUT the artifacts that we get on our TV when being utilized.

The HFR was super real and vibrant and 3 dimensional in its own way and oddly enough it worked perfectly at maintaining a cinematic feel I know I KNOW crazy talk but it’s true.

I’m now Team 48 lol

So good news in the sense that seeing this in 2D Dolby Cinema with HDR AND HFR will be sufficient enough for the full immersion no need for 3D. The HDR in Dolby Cinema will more than likely make up for the loss of 3D.

The 3D is definitely more subtle than the first which is odd…

BUT that’s the thing the movie DOESN’T NEED the tech stuff as a crutch like the first one was accused of needing for it to be enjoyed it’s the quality of the STORY that drives the movie this time NOT the technology!

In 2009 the world would’ve freaked out with HFR more than with the 3D they would’ve burned the movie like a Salem witch lol

Story wise.

Had this been the first Avatar it would’ve made 4 billion not 2.9 billion lol

The characters are given much more depth and like it has been mentioned already the family dynamics is what makes this movie stronger than the first.

Yes the

Spoiler

death of the older son was very emotionally impactful which is a testament to the quality of the writing and world character building.

The family stuff just worked wonders it was the driving force of the narrative such a great “FATHER” movie across the board and Neytiri was also well utilized as the center focus on the burden of purpose and grief.

Now the negatives in what really are not negatives…well maybe.

Plot wise I don’t buy that Quaritch

Spoiler

would’ve cared about his son enough for it to derail his mission like that. Besides when did he even have this kid I don’t remember that from the first one so I had no attachment to that relationship whatsoever and that’s a problem because the entire finale is dependent on that relationship including Spider saving his father ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I also felt that it needed more Avatar vs Machine scenes. What was there was great but I desired more.

Also I question the replay ability that’s the million dollar question now isn’t it.

With that out of the way.

This movie is an improvement and a super worthy follow up and entry to a franchise that was supposedly DOA!

My son said this and TGM are his 2 favorite movies not just for this year but ever!

My son has good taste lol

If I was James Cameron I would immediately release a new poster that says:

“EVEN OTOMOFAN LIKED THIS YES THAT OTOMOFAN!”

The ball is in your court now Wor-Garvatar

Woohoo!

I can't speak for anyone else's take on rewatchability but I saw this three times in one week (9 hours! ) so yes it definitely holds up for me, lol.

I'm not going to bother with spoiler warnings since it's been two full weekends now so if you haven't seen it (and haven't let the whole movie be spoiled by YouTube parodies which is just crazy to me) then continue reading at your own risk.

I did like that Quaritch yielded for the sake of Spider. IMO they planted the seeds for that with him interrupting the mind probe interrogation and continued it with their growing camaraderie throughout the film. In fact I thought they had established it so well that I was actually surprised when he first acted like he didn't care if Spider died. I was even a little disappointed that they were seemingly taking the easy road of making him a one-dimensional "evil" villain. But when he showed his cards and yielded I immediately realized that to me he is an absolutely awesome character and easily the best movie villain of the year.

Obviously Spider's existence is a retcon to expand the story (more on retcons later, a couple of them are strikes against the movie) but I think that introducing him in a seeming vacuum with no connection whatsoever to his father as portrayed in the previous film actually allowed the audience to see him as nu-Quaritch did. Just a kid with an intellectual connection to the character (implanted memories) but not actually by blood and with no real history to speak of. But Spider's character was so well written and so well portrayed by the actor that I found it very easy to believe that Quaritch would allow his mental awareness of Spider's connection to his previous life to develop into a real bond. And of course it offers another facet to the overarching theme that fathers protect their kids at the expense of all else.

And this might be the single most pro-father movie we've seen in a generation! Two dads willing to give up everything to protect even their adopted kids (Kiri and Spider) while Neytiri was willing to sacrifice both! A father portrayed as logical and pragmatic and a mother portrayed as emotional to a fault? What year is this again?? lol

Going back to Quaritch though I didn't realize it at first but I also love that we're getting an evolution of the "Uncle Bob" thematics. You take the villain from the first movie, put all of his intelligence/knowledge onto a little rectangular CPU, put it in a new body that can learn on its own and voila, Uncle Bob "Avatar" style. And it was awesome!

And yeah, I can't say enough about the kids. I finally learned the girls' names after three showings (Kiri and Tuk) but I'm still working on the brothers, lol. The younger brother was pretty much the main character of this movie and man did he do an unbelievable job of carrying his scenes. The acting across the board was just on a whole other level compared to the first, especially Sam Worthington. He conveyed so much even in silence when reacting to everything that was going on around him. I got emotional all three times he "visited" his son at the end.

My only nitpicks are what I consider to be some minor dumbing down of the lore to make way for the new direction he is taking the story. Things like the super isolated sea Na'vi already knowing English when the first film was quite clear that the only Na'vi who spoke it were the ones educated at Grace's school. Also the viperwolves ignoring Quaritch's team on account of them being avatars contradicts the pack that attacked Jake his first night in the woods. But that's pretty much it and on the scale of "headcanon tweaks" are pretty easy to justify. I'll just assume that in the 15 or so years since the first movie Jake used his Tarok Motko status to get the word out on learning the Sky People's language and I guess I'll have to assume that the viperwolves attacked Jake because they were annoyed by his fire, lol.

This movie was an epic rollercoaster of both thrills and emotions, I can't believe Cameron is now 3/3 when it comes to directing sequels and kudos to him for bringing the new Planet of the Apes writers on board to help with the script because it was much more solid than the first.