Avatar: The Way of Water

[JMT1979]

Yeah, yeah, I was there. Saw it seven times in the theater in 1991. Equal in total theatrical viewings to ANH. I absolutely loved it and consider it a classic to this day. But AWOW was still better IMO.

T2 may never be forgotten by us, but it pretty much has been by society. When it was re-released in 3D a few years ago it made a dismal $562,000 it's opening weekend (and was gone shortly thereafter.) Compared to Avatar's re-release in September where it made 20 times that.

To be fair, a lot of people went and saw Avatar in September in preparation for seeing Avatar 2.

I was one of these people as I hadn't seen Avatar since... 2009. On the other hand, I watch T2 every 2-3 years. I do really like both Avatar movies, but I don't think I'll be watching them every couple of years like T2, Jaws, Aliens, TWS etc.

People are still enthusiastically buying Terminator 1 and 2 merchandise, just look at MAFEX's recent 1/12 figure range, and Present Toy's 1/6 range of T2 figures.

It could be a generation thing (I'm 43), but I just don't see the same level of take up and enthusiasm for Avatar from the equivalent generation (say people who are around 26 now).

 

[jedibear]

Good grief. If that Robot Head review is anywhere near the mark, it not only saved me a trip to a theater but also assured that this thing will NOT get three+ hours of my time when it hits streaming.

Mandible is right...Hollyweird really has lost the plot. This movie just looks like it could be the crescendo of all the nonsense that bought Marvel, Lucasfilm and every other franchise down. Not the wokeness this time, just the total refusal to write a good story and develop interesting characters. I'm sure this movie looks and sounds beautiful and I'm glad for the folks in here who have somehow found it worthy of their time (some more than once!). It's not for me. Not at all. And I wonder if anyone will even remember the plot or characters or much else from this a year from now.

More and more lately, with few exceptions, it feels like genre films are leaving me behind. I'm just not the audience for this stuff.
I'm waiting for the final nail in the last franchise I can still enjoy seeing the movies from once in a while. I have a sinking feeling the yucky encore for this wokey, vapid current type of entertainment is going to be the literal and figurative death of Indy.

And Avatar will probably be back treading more water after that.

 

[JMT1979]

T1 has the advantage of being low-budget (so immediate forgiveness) yet it was inventive and created a great "new" monster. I can't say I love watching it now... but I appreciate it.

The Abyss likely holds up the best in some ways. It was always "two separate movies" to me slammed together -- Cameron wanted his underwater adventure paired with Close Encounters but it just didn't mesh onscreen. But everything without the "NTIs" was so masterly handled that its always the film I say Cameron peaked on (not financially, but craftsmanship-wise).

I've never loved T1, and strongly prefer T2. T1 is good, but I just find it to me a solidly good movie, rather than great. Like you though, I do appreciate it. I haven't seen The Abyss for years, but I do remember liking it, rather than loving it, but will give it a re-watch in 2023.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I do go back and forth with ALIENS, sometimes loving it and sometimes not. Structurally, it is a perfect action/sci-fi movie... and I've always loved that Cameron took traditionally slow sci-fi horror and energized it with an action pace. There's a lot to love about Aliens. I just mean from a re-viewing position, the last time I viewed it, I was very critical for some reason.

I actually haven't been able to sit all the way through T2 in a very long time. For an action movie, it actually has surprisingly little action. The truck chase... a little confrontation in the asylum... then a long desert rest... then finally the last 40 minutes rocks. That's about all I watch now. Avatar was the same for me -- after the initial thrill wore off, I rewatched that final battle have a dozen times on tv.

I wish Cameron would make a Fury Road type movie that was just non-stop wall-to-wall action and big battles. He's so good at staging them.

 

[JMT1979]

Good grief. If that Robot Head review is anywhere near the mark, it not only saved me a trip to a theater but also assured that this thing will NOT get three+ hours of my time when it hits streaming.

Mandible is right...Hollyweird really has lost the plot. This movie just looks like it could be the crescendo of all the nonsense that bought Marvel, Lucasfilm and every other franchise down. Not the wokeness this time, just the total refusal to write a good story and develop interesting characters. I'm sure this movie looks and sounds beautiful and I'm glad for the folks in here who have somehow found it worthy of their time (some more than once!). It's not for me. Not at all. And I wonder if anyone will even remember the plot or characters or much else from this a year from now.

More and more lately, with few exceptions, it feels like genre films are leaving me behind. I'm just not the audience for this stuff.
I'm waiting for the final nail in the last franchise I can still enjoy seeing the movies from once in a while. I have a sinking feeling the yucky encore for this wokey, vapid current type of entertainment is going to be the literal and figurative death of Indy.

And Avatar will probably be back treading more water after that.

Honestly, it's a film you need to see for yourself. I was a bit worried about the lack of story, but while watching it in 3D, I found I was caught up in the world and the development of the new characters (not ground-breaking by any means, but more than adequate for the movie). Most of the timeframe of the movie was spent letting the scenes just breathe. I liked the movie, but didn't love it.

That said, RobotHead was 100% right about the logical gaps in the movie.

If you think you'll ever watch the movie, seeing it in the cinema in 3D is the way to go.

 

[Khev]

To be fair, a lot of people went and saw Avatar in September in preparation for seeing Avatar 2.

I was one of these people as I hadn't seen Avatar since... 2009. On the other hand, I watch T2 every 2-3 years. I do really like both Avatar movies, but I don't think I'll be watching them every couple of years like T2, Jaws, Aliens, TWS etc.

People are still enthusiastically buying Terminator 1 and 2 merchandise, just look at MAFEX's recent 1/12 figure range, and Present Toy's 1/6 range of T2 figures.

It could be a generation thing (I'm 43), but I just don't see the same level of take up and enthusiasm for Avatar from the equivalent generation (say people who are around 26 now).

I absolutely believe it's a generational thing. You say people are "still" buying T1 and T2 merchandise and you're right, those of us in our 40's and older who have been purchasing movie tie-in figures since the SW Kenner days. We just upgraded to high end Hot Toys and expensive statues as our incomes allowed.

But kids today? It's pretty well known that they don't desire toys for the movies they love like we did back in the day and therefore won't have any desire to "upgrade" their collections as they get older like us. So while I agree that kids today probably won't grow up to buy $1000 dollar Avatar statues I believe that that's just because they won't be caring about any such memorabilia for any movie when they're older.

Time will tell obviously.

 

[JMT1979]

I absolutely believe it's a generational thing. You say people are "still" buying T1 and T2 merchandise and you're right, those of us in our 40's and older who have been purchasing movie tie-in figures since the SW Kenner days. We just upgraded to high end Hot Toys and expensive statues as our income allowed.

But kids today? It's pretty well known that they don't desire toys for the movies they love like we did back in the day and therefore won't have any desire to "upgrade" their collections as they get older like us. So while I agree that kids today probably won't grow up to buy $1000 dollar Avatar statues I believe that that's just because they won't be caring about any such memorabilia for any movie when they're older.

Yeah, that's a good point. Kids don't give a **** about action figures these days - if it isn't on a screen, they don't care.

It's pretty sad that they can just move on to the next thing with such ease. From a materialism perspective it is probably a good thing, but it makes me wonder what they do value and what they do get nostalgic value from.

 

[Khev]

Yeah, that's a good point. Kids don't give a **** about action figures these days - if it isn't on a screen, they don't care.

It's pretty sad that they can just move on to the next thing with such ease. From a materialism perspective it is probably a good thing, but it makes me wonder what they do value and what they do get nostalgic value from.

Yeah, my own son loves movies but was much more interested in spending his money on upgrades to his Roblox and Fortnite characters than any real life toys. Out of a desire to pass on my love of action figures to him I even bought him some Fortnite and Roblox figures and he was all what the hell am I supposed to do with these, lol.

He did make an exception for Legos though but even that didn't last.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I'd be so much better off with a "virtual" collection.

 

[KitbashOfficer]

I can understand that. I've spoken with many fans of ALIEN who thought that ALIENS was just lowest common denominator dreck that sacriligeously dumbed down the lore by turning the original's "perfect organism" into cannon fodder "bugs."

Well of course ALIENS turned them into cannon fodder. It was against a whole infestation of xenomorphs whereas ALIEN only had one for the crew to deal with.

 

[Khev]

There is just nothing to hate in this movie that I experienced..

I totally agree, my criticisms are minor nitpicks at best. It doesn't even have a single "Maverick ejecting at Mach 10" moment of silliness during the entire 3 hour runtime.

 

[Khev]

I'd be so much better off with a "virtual" collection.

I'm moving toward that myself. Speaking about "outgrowing" things I think I've finally come to a point where I'm done with all but the most minimalist collection of movie memorabilia. It just doesn't bring me the same joy these days and more and more I'm starting to see it as clutter and a future headache for my kids to deal with when I'm gone.

 

[JMT1979]

Yeah, my own son loves movies but was much more interested in spending his money on upgrades to his Roblox and Fortnite characters than any real life toys. Out of a desire to pass on my love of action figures to him I even bought him some Fortnite and Roblox figures and he was all what the hell am I supposed to do with these, lol.

He did make an exception for Legos though but even that didn't last.

Ah, thanks for the insight into the younger generation. At least we buy tangible things, rather than virtual stuff.

I've only just started getting into Lego to a limited extent as something creative to spend my time on.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I'm moving toward that myself. Speaking about "outgrowing" things I think I've finally come to a point where I'm done with all but the most minimalist collection of movie memorabilia. It just doesn't bring me the same joy these days and more and more I'm starting to see it as clutter and a future headache for my kids to deal with when I'm gone.

True. Sadly, once someone leaves, almost everything they leave behind is, sadly, someone else's "trash" save for a few mementos... and you never really know what someone else will decide is a memento of you.

But I can guarantee, it will not be any dolls.

 

[jedibear]

I'd be so much better off with a "virtual" collection.

I'd never have to dust again!

 

[JMT1979]

I'd never have to dust again!

As long as they don't invent virtual dust that you'll have to pay a virtual maid to "dust".

 

[ironwez20]

My nephew loves toys. I guess it’s just varies from kid to kid. Cause toys are still around movies are still being made to sell toys. It’s just kids have more access to so many things that toys aren’t the only thing to use for there imagination

 

[Mandible]

Good grief. If that Robot Head review is anywhere near the mark, it not only saved me a trip to a theater but also assured that this thing will NOT get three+ hours of my time when it hits streaming.

Mandible is right...Hollyweird really has lost the plot. This movie just looks like it could be the crescendo of all the nonsense that bought Marvel, Lucasfilm and every other franchise down. Not the wokeness this time, just the total refusal to write a good story and develop interesting characters. I'm sure this movie looks and sounds beautiful and I'm glad for the folks in here who have somehow found it worthy of their time (some more than once!). It's not for me. Not at all. And I wonder if anyone will even remember the plot or characters or much else from this a year from now.

More and more lately, with few exceptions, it feels like genre films are leaving me behind. I'm just not the audience for this stuff.
I'm waiting for the final nail in the last franchise I can still enjoy seeing the movies from once in a while. I have a sinking feeling the yucky encore for this wokey, vapid current type of entertainment is going to be the literal and figurative death of Indy.

And Avatar will probably be back treading more water after that.

Give me those and I'll dance the jig naked down the street (not that anyone would want to see that!).

Good stories and characters that effortlessly flow from A to Z and don't do lore breaking (or stupid) ****. Characters that grow, learn, and become better people for their journey. Stories that teach the audience as much as the characters.

So many life lessons I learnt through film when I was young. Now every character is perfect and everything just gets handed to them on platter. I'm not a great animation fan, but the story of Mulan (for me) is pretty much perfect - it's basic concepts that have been handed down for millennia. Compare that to the ******* remake...

AWOW didn't teach me anything except knowing that I wanted more than what it delivered.

 

[jaztermareal]

As long as they don't invent virtual dust that you'll have to pay a virtual maid to "dust".

Funnily enough I think virtual toys that can be printed to make them physical is the future of collecting. Toy companies have already been selling physical toys with digital dlc for years now and as home 3D printing becomes more ubiquitous the trend of dlc will grow. Imagine buying a figure then downloading all sorts of add ons like extra guns/helmets etc to print at home. That will eventually lead to all digital toys that you save to your VR museum with the option to print at home or via a paid service so you can have physical versions of your favourite display pieces. Those same digital figures will be usable in video games. In fact, game companies will likely start including 3D printable assets as extras more often as time goes on. Imagine collecting a doomguy doll in doom then selecting "print" so can collect the physical piece.



I will always prefer physical myself but the market for digital is I think where we are headed, for better or for worse.

 

[Nailz]

Avatar 1 was 2h and 42m

I don't know a single famous movie quote line from it

Avatar way of water is 3h 42m

Any movie quote line that will be cemented in history or time?

"Its mini me" is know by more people that a 3 billion dollar 2 part film