Avatar 2 was amazing! no spoilers

This movie sparked the whole aesthetics vs. text/content debate in my mind. If one is excited by and/or attracted to big visuals and amazing CGI (and also maybe if you're into playing video games), you'd love this movie. But from a story and writing perspective, this movie was pretty forgettable! To be fair, both these aspects require a LOT of effort and expertise. But Avatar (both the original and the sequel) would have been that much more iconic had they made an effort into writing a more memorable and impactful story and developing complex characters. This is probably where other franchises like Star Wars and LOTR have this franchise beat!
 
This movie sparked the whole aesthetics vs. text/content debate in my mind. If one is excited by and/or attracted to big visuals and amazing CGI (and also maybe if you're into playing video games), you'd love this movie. But from a story and writing perspective, this movie was pretty forgettable! To be fair, both these aspects require a LOT of effort and expertise. But Avatar (both the original and the sequel) would have been that much more iconic had they made an effort into writing a more memorable and impactful story and developing complex characters. This is probably where other franchises like Star Wars and LOTR have this franchise beat!
Good assessment.
 
I thought it looked really good. The plot was okay. Overall, definitely worth seeing. My ass sure hurt by the end though.
 
Bad script and most of the acting. Silly storylines, waste of time with the lengthy nonsense about the kids. Lovely to look at.
 
It's amazing what a budget can do for a competent director. I liked the first movie a great deal. Yes, it has some problems and, yes, there is some really lazy writing sitting right next to wonderful dialog - which always drives me crazy. But, overall, I felt it was a nice story which was told very well. However, it did not strike me as leaving room for a sequel.

And yet I enjoyed this sequel (as did the family) in spite of myself. Yes, it is formulaic and follows the arc of the first movie almost down to the time code hitpoints and yet it somehow succeeded in entertaining me. All I could say when my wife asked me what I thought was "I shouldn't have liked that nearly as much as I did".

As much as Avatar puzzles me, the Top Gun sequel was even more confusing. I mean the first movie was so bad it was almost funny and yet, somehow, the sequel, which not only follows the arc of the first movie but the shot sequence as well, became the movie the first one should have been.
 
saw it today, did not like the the move at all, plot was so bad even the 3d special effects could not save it for me, I left the theater feeling robbed.
I went in for the visuals....I rarely think too much about plots with these type movies. May help to use a THC vape pen before, like me.....then it is magical!
 
I went in for the visuals....I rarely think too much about plots with these type movies.
Cinema is a visual medium, yes. But it is a medium for telling stories. While I can appreciate a good visual, I think a bad plot or boring story can render the best of visuals cheap and/or disposable. Think of it like this: would you rather have a modeler that has fancy graphics and touch screens but doesn't have the best modeling technology or sounds (not naming names) or would you rather have a modeler that has decent graphics but path-breaking modeling technology and some of the best sounds? (maybe one's presence on this forum is in itself an answer to this question!)

A great example in recent times of big visuals and big character-based stories being balanced extremely well is Andor, btw. Those interested in SW and sci-fi definitely owe it to themselves to watch Andor!

P.S.- I'm not trying to police how you engage with art; just offering my perspective on the matter!
 
Cinema is a visual medium, yes. But it is a medium for telling stories. While I can appreciate a good visual, I think a bad plot or boring story can render the best of visuals cheap and/or disposable. Think of it like this: would you rather have a modeler that has fancy graphics and touch screens but doesn't have the best modeling technology or sounds (not naming names) or would you rather have a modeler that has decent graphics but path-breaking modeling technology and some of the best sounds? (maybe one's presence on this forum is in itself an answer to this question!)

A great example in recent times of big visuals and big character-based stories being balanced extremely well is Andor, btw. Those interested in SW and sci-fi definitely owe it to themselves to watch Andor!

P.S.- I'm not trying to police how you engage with art; just offering my perspective on the matter!
I guess I'm easy going on movies. I try and stay positive instead of critiquing them to death. With a Fractal analogy: use your ears and "if it sounds good, it is good". Music and art I use to make me feel a certain way. If something moves me, it does and I don't fight it or over analyze. Each their own and all good.
 
This movie sparked the whole aesthetics vs. text/content debate in my mind. If one is excited by and/or attracted to big visuals and amazing CGI (and also maybe if you're into playing video games), you'd love this movie. But from a story and writing perspective, this movie was pretty forgettable! To be fair, both these aspects require a LOT of effort and expertise. But Avatar (both the original and the sequel) would have been that much more iconic had they made an effort into writing a more memorable and impactful story and developing complex characters. This is probably where other franchises like Star Wars and LOTR have this franchise beat!
Agreed. If you watch movies in any capacity at all, you can guess literally every story beat of Avatar 2 within the first 15 minutes. It's an incredibly by the numbers movie focusing purely on visual spectacle. I feel James Cameron should have aimed way higher with the writing because there was potential in there like the main villain and the boy. It's not like Cameron doesn't have a whole lineup of past films that have better written stories, several from his own hand even.

To me the worst thing a movie can be is boring. I love bad movies that are so terrible that they are something you can watch with friends and laugh at the ridiculousness or how they are badly acted, badly made etc. That's the "so bad it's good" appeal. Avatar 2 is not really boring, but it's also something I am not really interested in watching again because it had little to keep me interested except watching the visuals. I fully expect the 3rd film will be exactly the same.
 
As much as Avatar puzzles me, the Top Gun sequel was even more confusing. I mean the first movie was so bad it was almost funny and yet, somehow, the sequel, which not only follows the arc of the first movie but the shot sequence as well, became the movie the first one should have been.

I really liked the new Top Gun: Maverick movie (especially on the big screen) and actively sought out the original Top Gun movie to watch as I've never seen it before.

I too though it was bad....just bad in so many ways. That it has gotten so many glowing accolades/reviews and is held in such high regard baffles me.
 
Glad you liked it. I thought it was awful. The storyline actually made me laugh out loud at times. This guy does a pretty good assessment (spoilers though).

 
If you have enjoyed Avatar, let's play it with the guitar !
Really nice tutorial with looper.
Enjoy !



(it is not me, just a link !)
 
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