Avatar: The Way of Water

Movie exceeds all the CGI anyone can possibly expect, but the storyline fails to overwhelm the audience. Id say 70% of the film is about family bonding and descriptions of culture on Pandora. Had it been on Discovery or Nat Geo, itd have been awesome. But thats not what people going in to watch the movie would want to see in a 3 hr movie.

The action starts out at the beginning and in the end with detailsed description of the life of the Naavi comprising the major chunk of the film in the middle.

Personally I was unable to sit through the movie in one go. Finished it in 3 sittings while skipping through many scenes I felt were totally unnecessary.

With over a decade of technology improvement, the movie provides even better visuals, more believable CGI(not that the first one didn't), it also continues the beautiful cinematography.

But, the script is far inferior to the last one. The movie tries to focus on "family", and with Jake and Neytiri already had a movie, this one focus heavily on the children. But most of the plot lines fall into the trap of being a set-up for sequels. A few plots left unanswer in the end and a few plots begin after the mid point and already wrap after just after being introduced. Some of the charcaters are downgraded into 1 dimensional and some do not learn anything meaningful throughout the story. And the focus of the movie shifts completely once entered the third act which diminishes all the set-up from before.

In conclusion, definitely a must watch, better visuals but slightly worst script.

James Cameron does it again. Creates a beautiful, vibrant world with a basic, paint by numbers plot. If someone had stepped in and cut this movie an hour shorter, we might have been okay but instead I was getting bored, checked my watch and saw I still had 45 minutes to go.

Is the world beautiful? Yes, absolutely. Does the adjusted frame rate work? No, action scenes feel like a cut scene from a video game. How's the story? Mediocre. The overarching story gets lost and forgotten because James Cameron wants to paint the whole world. As he does that, he fills it in with random cliché side plots to distract you until you remember, oh yeah, there's a big bad villain out there. The story feels like something my 6 year old niece would write. Bouncing from one thought to the next.

Rough synopsis: Oh the *Insert character/Group* is in trouble! Lets go save them. How could you do that? You know better. Here's a beautiful CGI thing to look at. Rinse/repeat.

Major themes carry over from the first one. Humanity is bad except for "our" white savior. He's the good guy. Here's a new group of Navi that don't trust us at first but they'll come around after a scary moment.

The story feels like Cameron kept adding on one story trope after another and no one walked into the room to knock the pen out of his hand. If you end up watching it, do yourself a favor and get up to pee halfway through. Grab some popcorn and a drink. Maybe taking a break from Pandora will make it not so insufferably long.

I watched the movie by pausing it at certain intervals and sometimes letting it play in the background while I did other things. The main reason for this approach was that the film lacked a strong screenplay and the story failed to captivate me. The narrative felt disjointed and lacked a cohesive flow, making it difficult for me to stay fully engaged.

While the film excelled in its visual presentation, aiming to enchant the audience with its stunning imagery, it relied heavily on this aspect alone. The visuals were undeniably breathtaking, and the cinematography was top-notch. Each frame was meticulously crafted to create a visually immersive experience. However, the reliance on visuals seemed to overshadow the importance of a well-developed and compelling storyline.

In comparison to its predecessor, this film fell short in terms of narrative depth and character development. The first installment of the series had a captivating story that kept me on the edge of my seat, whereas this sequel seemed to prioritize style over substance. The lack of a strong, engaging plot left me wanting more, as the film failed to deliver the same level of excitement and emotional investment.

Although I had high expectations for this film, considering the visual enchantment it promised, I was ultimately disappointed by its shallow storytelling. It left me yearning for a more substantial narrative that would have complemented its mesmerizing visuals. Overall, I found this film to be a letdown, as it didn't live up to the potential set by its predecessor and left me longing for a more well-rounded cinematic experience.

I decided to rewatch the first Avatar last night before watching Avatar 2 and I am always in awe of how stunning the visuals are; it was a crowd-pleaser and more agreeable for the general audience. However, with the first Avatar, the story was basic and simple---it was rather forgettable. The thing is, the Avatar franchise has a simple story but it was told grandly. 'Avatar: The Way of Water' was a captivating visual feast, with every attempt beautifully framed via painstakingly flawless CGI, but the message about protecting your loved ones is not new to us, but it was ingenious. James Cameron's level of perfectionism translates to the audience; the details of every frame are precise and I can't help but wonder how on earth he has done that. It is the simple plot accompanied by such technical achievement that has always been the formula for almost all of Cameron's movies, not just Avatar. Simplicity is not a bad thing.

Just like in the first Avatar, characters are established a lot, and there is not much emotional attachment during the first half. However, the thrill and excitement peaked during the second act were worth it---This is the trick for most highly-budget films, they will entice you with visual and technical achievement, but the story is not that grand nor special for the audience to keep talking about it in the next 5 years. The Pandora world Cameron takes us to is excellent and magnificently conceptualized, but the story is missing the emotional draw that made this film a pretentious masterpiece. Though the visuals are still magnificent, it's difficult this time not to recognize the repetition of the story and the limited character arcs the movie presented. You will remember Avatar---aside from blue people---as a movie with impeccable and out-of-this-world visuals, but the story remains forgettable.

Some films are just pure escapism and sometimes that's what audiences need, and this is what Avatar 2 delivered. Avatar 2 doesn't necessarily check all those boxes to become a great film, but what it does right will offer viewers moments of astonishment, full-body immersion, and beauty. You can easily watch the movie and points out its mistakes and flaws, but it is hard to resist the fun and adventure the film delivers throughout its 192 minutes runtime. It is clear that James Cameron is making this movie for a general audience, and while imperfect, it certainly seems to serve its purpose.