Spoilers Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) - Full Spoiler & Review Thread
- Thread starter Kai "the spy"
- Start date
Jake bitch-slaps Quaritch - "You keep my mate's name outta your goddamn mouth!"Like we watch the Oscars for the awards. We watch them for the fights.
TWOW should pass Infinity War this week to become the all-time number five film, and within the next two weeks bump off Star Wars - The Force Awakens to land in fourth place.
Just for the fun of it, I hunted up a piece of early Na'vi concept art that was on the Internet in 2007:
![avatarlady2[1].jpg](https://www.trekbbs.com/data/attachments/31/31838-335225b8738fc3f52f927c7ef3de0ecd.jpg "avatarlady2[1].jpg")
Just for the fun of it, I hunted up a piece of early Na'vi concept art that was on the Internet in 2007:
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While obviously The Way of Water is the big box office story right now, Puss in Boots is actually doing really well. Babylon, though, is an utter disaster for the studio.
I keep finding movies with multiple sequels where I thought I've seen them all and then I realize at some point I haven't. The latest being I don't think I've ever seen the third Night at the Museum movie. I found I hadn't seen the second Ant-Man movie until recently but if you asked me if I had seen all the MCU movies I would've said yes.
According to the Hollywood Reporter,
Box Office: ‘Avatar 2‘ Sets Sights on Scuttling ‘Titanic’ (msn.com)
Box Office: ‘Avatar 2‘ Sets Sights on Scuttling ‘Titanic’ (msn.com)
Well, this definitely proves that James Cameron can turn garbage into gold. He's kind of like Michael Bay in that way, making movies that are pretty mediocre to bad story wise but make money off being expensive special effects shows, except less creepy and he obviously makes even more money off of a similar gimmick.
I do wonder if shorter wait times between entries (presumably Avatar 3, being already shot from what I read, won't take over a decade to come out) might wear the shine off a bit and make a bit less money as people get more used to his style of special effects extravaganza becoming more common. Its not like the story or characters are going to draw people in, its having mind blowing special effects that seem to be doing a great job of filling theaters, and if that happens more often it will probably start feeling less special.
Still, its obviously not smart to count out James Cameron, even though I'm sure that the Avatar franchise isn't going to be able to keep topping itself every time if they actually make 5+ movies. I'll never watch the sequels, or rewatch the first movie, but they're definitely making Disney a lot of money.
I do wonder if shorter wait times between entries (presumably Avatar 3, being already shot from what I read, won't take over a decade to come out) might wear the shine off a bit and make a bit less money as people get more used to his style of special effects extravaganza becoming more common. Its not like the story or characters are going to draw people in, its having mind blowing special effects that seem to be doing a great job of filling theaters, and if that happens more often it will probably start feeling less special.
Still, its obviously not smart to count out James Cameron, even though I'm sure that the Avatar franchise isn't going to be able to keep topping itself every time if they actually make 5+ movies. I'll never watch the sequels, or rewatch the first movie, but they're definitely making Disney a lot of money.
The simplest stories are the ones that resonate the most with a large audience. For people who don't like these stories, there are other stories, other films, available. They just don't make as much money.
For me, the special effects of this movie are used to enhance the simple story and worldbuilding. I care about these characters, and I am invested emotionally in their stories.
For me, the special effects of this movie are used to enhance the simple story and worldbuilding. I care about these characters, and I am invested emotionally in their stories.
For me, Avatar reminds me very much of Star Wars--a simple story based on universal themes -- but modernized with contemporary action and effects. But this has been the same for all of Cameron's movies Terminator (and T2), True Lies, Aliens, Titanic and the Abyss onward. Avatar's story is similar in scope and depth.
Cameron is like a rock band that lasts for decades but doesn't change its style very much. If you like ACDC, chances are you're going to like their next album--but if you don't, you really can't complain that the new album is not to your liking.
Cameron is like a rock band that lasts for decades but doesn't change its style very much. If you like ACDC, chances are you're going to like their next album--but if you don't, you really can't complain that the new album is not to your liking.
That's true. But I've never liked that description put on just because it was simple and easy to follow for the audience, and because it didn't bombard us with mysteries, surprises that come out of nowhere, unexpected twists, open ends and plot complexity where we didn't ask for it.
I don't think what came out simple, enjoyable and entertaining to us was simple to write story-wise at all. First film's one a perfectly sustained emotional roller-coaster ride that only put everything you could think comes together and doesn't miss a beat, on top of it did an allegory for colonialism where it maintained that short of a miracle a technically superior oppressor is unbeatable, and you lose over and over, and yet maintained a bittersweet happy ending that was still believable. That's crazy. I haven't the faintest idea how you put together a story like that. Second one's... forget the character story as whole for a second, there's a build-up where the audience is slowly pulled into cheering for a murderous rampage, then pulled out of it and reminded we've gone a little bit too far, but without going through with anything the audience didn't already cheer on. I'm sure it ain't easy to write that.
When I was a teenager, I got obsessed with listening to music having crazy tempo changes, arpeggios, and what not. Someone would send me a beautiful catchy simple song, I would like it, then tell the person I didn't because it was too simple for me. Avatar commentary to me sometimes feel's like someone put out a song that's both catchy and easy listen, and having the crazy time signatures at the same time, and people went “Nah, I don't like it, it's obviously 4/4”.
(P.S. And I know people who didn't find it easy to follow the way both films quickly skimmed over huge parts of their stories to get to the good part. But that's another matter.)
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Having just rewatched the first Avatar I was surprisingly reminded of just how perfectly the script itself works as the structure for the film, however familiar the story may be. The first fifteen minutes are solid exposition, and yet intriguing as hell - Cameron hands the set-up deftly from Sully to Quaritch to Grace in such a way that the audience knows everything about the human characters, what their motives and conflicts with one another are, and our culture in the 22nd century that we need to know for the next five or six hours of two movies. 
