I don't have any interest in it other than the spectacle, and at that, I'm not motivated enough to see it in the theater, which is the whole point, I'll probably never see it. To keep this thread-related, I am happy to read everyone's opinions and spoilers here so I know what I'm missing.

I'm with you. I think spectacle must be the reason for the first film's success. I didn't see it theatrically and have never been able to sit through a full viewing at home. I always assumed it was the novelty of a well-produced 3D film that drove up the box office $ for the first film but I just don't care enough to go see the new one. I love the Disney World ride though!

I wonder if it's the shape of my nose. It's not big but maybe it slopes just right. At least the IMAX glasses are big.

My ears start bother me about halfway through wearing the Imax glasses. I actually have to tilt them slightly so that the arms don't sit on top of my ears when that happens. It gets very uncomfortable after awhile.

Saw it today in IMAX 3D. I really don’t prefer 3D but no 2D IMAX showings. Overall I liked it, which was a surprise as I really didn’t have a “need” to see it but had a day off today.

Some thoughts:
- no mentions of unobtanium and now we’ve moved to shark brain goo that stops aging, alrighthy then.

- can they only do one download of your mind? If not, seems like Quaritch/anyone could come back from that download time an unlimited number of times. Subject to avatar body availability?

- agree with above, so stupid to not give Quaritch a 100% death blow/shot. And jungle boy saves his dad which I’m sure will lead to countless more deaths.

- we got a sequel to Titanic!

In defense of Jake Sully not taking a fatal shot he saw Quaritch pass out under water and he himself had to figure out how to extricate himself from that situation. He did look to make sure he was passed out and probably figured he would drown. Didn't look like there was anyone else around to save him so while I usually hate characters not finalizing an enemy just out of plot convenience it does actually kind of make sense in this case.

Is the name Jake Sully said an alarming amount of times?

Went to a 10am show at AMC IMAX/3D 4/5 for me.

HFR - I didn't realize so much of the film was like this, and am relieved to hear it won't be for home releases. (maybe a D+ exclusive?) It's effective for some handheld POV shots and underwater - but otherwise scenes lose their sense of weight and scale imo.

The scale of the set pieces here just didn't feel as big/numerous as the first. I didn't mind it, you could certainly still see the budget on screen...but this one definitely felt smaller in scope to me. Initial impression is it's very good, but not as great as the first. Definitely will see it again in a few weeks.

Also the environments - the coastal region is just not as visually interesting as the forest for me. I had expected us to go much deeper underwater (like The Abyss) but that never really happened, also the Kelp Forest could've really been pushed further as it's own biome. Not as much air/water particles as I expected... locations looked a little too clean/artificial to me in general. (I know this is super nitpicky, but it's just the things I look for)

James Cameron Cut Out 10 Minutes of ‘Avatar 2’ Gun Violence Because It Made His Stomach Sick: ‘I Don’t Want to Fetishize Guns’ Anymore

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...153228175.html

There's a moment in this film where one of the kids says "I can't believe I'm tied up again!" and that's exactly how I felt by that point. In the three hour running time, the plot device of the kids disobeying, running off, getting captured, being somewhere they are not supposed to be, etc. is used more than Kim Bauer was kidnapped in the first season of 24

That's great. I mentioned it about the MCU movies. Violence has diminishing returns. I lose interest quickly in watching people fight. It worked better in a different era.

I was going to post the exact same thing.

Kid screws up - life threatening event - parent gets mad - repeat (over & over & over .....)

Seriously! It's hard to recall Zoe Saldaña in this flick this time out outside of stern looks given to Sully or the kids for the aforementioned screwing up.

My understanding is that Cameron got an exception from the Writer's Guild to have 5 writers credited as they were all involved in plotting this one as well as the sequels, so there were extenuating circumstances.

I liked the movie OK but it definitely felt like three hours--and personally I love a good long epic film. Even trimming a half hour would have served it well (as others have said, maybe drop the kids getting themselves in trouble once).

One of the sequels has to involve the Na'vi finding and assuming human avatars somehow and going to Earth to take the fight to us human scum, right? Just think of all the motion capture they could save on.

I went to the late showing last night. I am a fan of the first movie and I was not disappointed by this one. The visuals are spectacular-- kind of overwhelming even in the ocean scenes because there is so much to look at. Aside from the obvious fantastical element of it all, it all looks so photorealistic that it's easy to get immersed (heh) in the story/action and forget that the vast majority of what you're seeing is animation.

The plot is very basic and there are are a lot of themes and story beats that are rehashed from the first movie. Bringing the marines from the first movie back as Avatars felt quite contrived, but Stephen Lang does make a good villain. Not sure his concern for Spider near the end was totally earned, but it does add a little depth to his character and makes me wonder if he's going to have a redemption arc over the rest of the saga.

The movie spends a lot of time in the middle just showing Sully's family integrating into the water tribe. That drags a bit, but I didn't mind because it's such a visual feast. The one thing in the movie that bothered me most was Edie Falco as the general because whenever she was on screen I just reflexively thought, "that's Edie Falco" and it took me out of the movie. Thankfully it was a small role, but all the more reason to get less of a name actor for it. On the other hand, I liked the inclusion of Sigourney Weaver again as Kiri and her character is kind of a classic archetype. The discussion of who her father might be was funny.

The big final act was very well done. The whole whaling ship rig was a cool concept--loved the crab mechs and mini-subs. The captain of the ship made a good secondary villain/capitalist pig with a satisfying on-screen death (necessary since we don't get that satisfaction with Quaritch). The immortality juice is an eye-roller hearkening back to the unobtanium from the first movie, but it's just a hand-wavy plot device (the bigger reveal was that since Earth is becoming unlivable they want to make Pandora the new home of humans). Definitely some echoes of Titanic and The Abyss in the scenes with the Sully family trapped in the sinking ship. Neytiri was pretty badass in the final assault on the ship to get their girls back.

So I liked it a lot for the same reasons I like the first movie--spectacular visual imagery and exciting action scenes. This is actually the first time I've been to a movie theater since probably late 2019, before the pandemic started. Well worth it and I may catch a repeat of this before it leaves theaters.

Wooof. That was like watching 3 hours of the travel channel. Pretty to look at but thats all.

Me and my brother just got back on seeing it and we both enjoyed it. The 3D were fantastic.

Saw this again last night in IMAX 3D and after having seen it in Dolby Cinema opening weekend, I would say that DC is the way to go. In fact, I don't even think my IMAX 3D had HFR, either that, or I adapted to it and it doesn't affect me anymore.

Finally saw this yesterday. Lots of story elements I didn’t get, had meant to rewatch the first movie beforehand but just didn’t have time.

The constant switching of frame rates, often from shot to shot, was distracting. They should have just stuck with one. Having it go from traditional to high frame rate reminded me of a film a friend of mine made where he intentionally shot it on super 8 because he hated the look of video, but then was forced to finish it on video to get it done on time so some parts are on grainy film and then cut to clear video.

And I'm sure your friend's film was considerably shorter than AVATAR 2.

Got back from a 3D HFR showing and will give this 4 stars. 5 for the visuals.. 3 for story (which is generous considering Cameron lifts so much from his other films).

There's no sense of peril for Quaritch and his crew, but I get why Spider chose to save him. And, forget Unobtanium because it's now about colonization and the fountain of youth using Tulkun brain stem cells? Not sure why anyone would want to colonize someplace that's uninhabitable (needing oxygen masks).

Gave it three stars. My son and I watched the original yesterday (his first time) and it was definitely better than that movie (which is extremely boring).

This was way too long. I could cut an hour, easy. You can only see so many underwater scenes with the exact same content before they all blend together.

If the next movie is just Stephen Lang attacking a Na’vi settlement again, I’ll know that Cameron has no good ideas for this franchise. The evils of whaling wasn’t enough for me here just like the evils of cutting down the rainforest wasn’t enough for the first movie.

I think this movie is primarily doing well because there is literally nothing else in the theater right now and everyone was on vacation. They definitely nailed the release date. “Avatar” will continue to have no effect on pop culture which is WILD to me. Like who’s your favorite Na’vi? The fact no one has that answer is incredible to me. I doubt the average moviegoer knows any of their names besides maybe Jake Sully (because they say it 1 million times in both films).

I went with the kid and their mom, on their suggestion, and you pretty much nailed it as far as I'm concerned. Stunning visuals, an hour too long, and nothing really much more to say about it. (As an aside, it's possible the bloated run-time helps viewers come to relate to the Na'avi as people, rather than tall, sort-of-cool, weird looking aliens that you don't particularly feel connected to.) I guess I hope that Cameron's eco-messages etc. land in some people's heads, but I'd be happier if he donated half the gross to eco charities.

Also this was fresh on my mind after watching the first movie but I can’t believe that 16+ years later the humans still haven’t come up with cockpit glass that can stop an arrow

We said the same thing on the way out. Fuck cloning, make some stronger glass next time.

I saw it with a group of 8 and we all walked out saying it was too long and not as good as the first.

And let me say if the whales (sorry Cameron) can stop aging, there would not be a single one alive, period. A lot more people hunting that that one boat.
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