'Avatar: The Way Of Water' Is Not Great | NON-SPOILER Movie Review
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- Опубликовано: 12 дек 2022
- David Chen reviews 'Avatar: The Way of Water.'
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Spot on. Huge issues here, classic case of a highly successful filmmaker out of practice and in an environment where nobody tells him 'no'.
Since when has James Cameron ever been in a position where people told him 'no'?
@@tronam Terminator. He wanted O.J Simpson. Fought hard to get him. Was given a big No. Arnold came in, the rest was history.
This film was incredible
You described the dynamic HFR situation perfectly. 👌🏻👍🏻 I had the same experience as you did. Do HFR or do not! Because this was the worst way to do it. You didn't know how the next shot would look. Like you said, it even changed during scenes. If JC had just used it for the underwater stuff then an argument could be made about "visual Storytelling".
People who complained about the story in the first one will get a wake up call. This one isn't better. Like you pointed out, it's more or less the "same" . And way too much (5) kids stuff for my taste. Nevertheless still good for me. 7/10 But better than the first? No!
I remember you loving "The Force Awakens" ... Avatar never got a chance .
He also liked the eternals
@@jordancoswell oh christ
He didnt understand the insidious anti human and anti masculine "messaging" in the SW sequels.
He loved force awakens?!
That reduces the credibility lol
🤷♂️
He loved force awakens?!
That reduces the credibility lol
🤷♂️
Totally agree that the high framerate situation was an issue. Not only was the ramping up and down between scenes jarring, the high frame rate scenes involving vehicles really took the "weight" out of them for me. Lots of motion above water at high frame rate felt sped up or with extraneous motion in the characters that did not feel natural. For those who haven't watched, try to catch it in 3D but no high framerate. I think that'll provide the best experience...
Nailed it David, every point you make mirrors my own.
I might add a little that may differ.
The underwater hfr looked great because the camera stopped wiggling so much, the lower contrast and thick atmosphere of the water softened the whole experience, it was stunning... but all the other hfr made me feel nauseated, with unmotivated extreme shaky cam, high speed shutter (as well) and exaggerated depth of field. Uugghhh, often it was horrible, compared to Avatar 1 which was an all-round better time. I would have loved to see it in plain 24 frames with the 3d.
There was this thing with almost fish eye wides cutting with more of the same and the composition of elements withing the 3d space was actually repetitive sometimes.
The effects and creatures were astounding (though I was confused about the fish tattoos) but the camera and story disappointed.
All the reviewers saying it look fantastic but not all the scenes were crystal clear, maybe my movie theature just sucked? The first part of the movie seemed to have some motion blur filter or something but once they got out of the water tribe it got much better.
This is a fantastic spoiler free review, hope to talk movies with you one day David!
This is the best no spoiler video I have ever watched. You did a perfect job not spoiling anything but you gave us such a great explanation that I could really picture how the movie is presented
Out of all The Batman reviews on RUclips, I agreed with yours the most…that said, your Avatar 2 review further convinced me to save my money and time and not watch it
If you look at this like a TV show, Avatar 1 was the pilot episode. Avatar 2 is actually the first film of the "series", so I want to say it might be the spiritual reboot of the first one, meaning the 3rd film will be the real sequel Dave is waiting for.
This is actually a great analogy.
I think it has more to do with James Cameron's strength nowadays lies in his ability to create advance CGI. But when it comes to Story, he's lost.
Would not surprise me if the 3rd film is a repeat of the 2nd. But with a spin..Red tribe people?
@@konggigthat be cool to see a fire tribe
On the bright side, the title's font is no longer Papyrus.
but the subtitles are! 😀
Water feels wet in a place like this
As soon as we pay for visuals only there will be no good story. People are not demanding at all.
I think I am the only guy who loves and loves the first movie. Excited to check the next one out. Thanks for letting me know that the action scenes and VFX do t disappoint.
You are not the only one. There's just this vitriol around it ever since Avangers Endgame brought lots of haters. The movie is good, and the sequel is better imo.
You won't get to see the Godfather with it, just a very entertaining film, which is why we go to the theater in the first place.
I thought I am the only one 😂
Good to know there are people who love the film
so many people love the first movie, including me, the people who don't are just louder
I love it too. Many do. You're not alone. It's just a movie lol People complain about everything.
You’re not. It was amazing.
I think in TikTok era, most people especially young audience will enjoy the higher frame rate even if they don't know it's happening 😆
It doesn't matter if you like/don't like high frame rate. The awfulness is that it keeps switching back and forth seemingly randomly.
Films being available in 3D has been an on again/off again thing since the first Avatar in 2009 and I just decided that after watching Avatar in 3d when it came out that I wasn't going to watch any movies that way. I watched Way of Water in 2d at my local theater and I thought the film was great.
So basically it's typical Cameron style. Gorgeous scenery and visuals, dumb screenplay.
The variable framerate is really jarring in 3D
Appreciate ur honesty.It's very hard to find on social media platforms these days. Subscribed !
Just saw it at a Dolby Cinema and that variable frame rate was unforgivable. I heard the IMAX presentation wasn't as noticable but no way I'm sitting for 3 hours in those upright IMAX seats
Which frame rate did you enjoyed better? Which frame rate would you prefer this movie stick with?
its made for the braindead hordes they'll love it
The movie was boring. Thank God I saw it online. No need for an Avatar 3.
So you're basically saying "Pocahontas the Last Samurai Who Dances with Wolves on District 9 of Ferngully" is basically "Pocahontas the Last Samurai who Dances with Wolves on District 9 of Ferngully Schlitterbahn edition"?
Sweet! Thanks for saving me $15
Youre still gonna see it.
@@Mactastic25 whatever you say, pal
could the back and forth of the higher frame rate be an artifact of the tech that they were originally planning, 3d w no glasses?
He’s talking about them rendering the Movie in HFR
Thank you for the honest review, felt like spin off of first one
Yea not certain why more people haven’t picked up on this. Makes the story pretty cringe- worthy throughout and almost as if James Cameron underestimated his audience and what they can pick up on?
Avatar gets so much undeserved hate and I'll never understand why.
The first honest review I’ve seen. Thank you!
This movie made me realize how dumb the general public is. The fact that a bland movie such as this received such high praise - both critically and publically, is reason why one should not always trust the majority. Worst 3 hours of my life. The Mc'Donalds with my friends after made up for it, but will judge them differently going forwards.
This Filmcast is gonna be awesome
I feel like the idea of a smaller-scale, lower-stakes conflict could work in concept. They could just make a very focused, simple story that’s centered around characters we love rather than a grand scale conflict, but it doesn’t sound like that’s what this is. You have to actually have good characters to pull that off, which. Well, this is an Avatar movie, after all.
Stupid. You're inherently biased and haven't watched this new one yet. The characters are definitely interesting if you pay attention.
It's 4 am here in Sweden and I have just gotten home after being on the world premiere of Avatar The Way of Water and I 100% agree with you David. I went into the movie having gone on a full media blackout for it except for the scene I saw that was tagged on to the re-release of Avatar and I was not impressed. The script felt really undercooked which was surprising considering how long he had time to write the script.
I will be shocked if this become the no 1 movie of all time because I doubt many will want to see it more than once. There were 400 people in my screening and there was 1(!) person who started to clap when the credits roll. My impression of the audience in the theater is that they was about as impressed as I was with the movie.
And the variable framerate intercutting was jarring and disastrous.
I am really looking forward to the filmcast review and how annoyed I will be at Devindra loving it and Jeff gushing over it 😂
Bullshit I already saw it twice.
@@CaesFinest That's great! My second viewing will be when it hits Disney+ at the earliest.
David, I see you. ;) I’m also one of those people who found the variable HFR distracting and it actually took me out of the experience at times. A locked 24fps was so much more enjoyable on my 2nd viewing that it even made the sacrifice of Dolby Vision completely worth it. I thought my initial criticisms would be amplified seeing it again, but strangely I actually appreciated it more the second time around. There is something moving about the sheer amount of artistic craft on display that I managed to get sucked in again and as much as I resisted, that final scene had me weeping like an idiot. Regarding the score, the lack of James Horner was definitely felt and it's sad that he's gone. I've purchased so many of his soundtracks over the years. Even so, I do think there are a few standout tracks from TWOW by Simon Franglen such as From Darkness to Light. It is truly beautiful. Hopefully as the series continues both James Cameron and Simon keep honing their craft.
But was it a good sit?
The changing frame rate reminds me of the awful way Michael Bay used changing aspect ratios in Transformers 5. Literally changing it between two shots of characters in a conversation, sounds like avatar 2 weirdly did something similar. Disappointing
The frame rate shifting is way worse than an aspect ratio shift.
The first movie was Dances with Wolves...on LSD
I'm there for the 3D and the visuals. Nothing more. I know what I'm getting. Haven't been to a movie EXPERIENCE since Top Gun. Need more of these. Tired of streaming stuff.
This. It's escapism in it's purest form. Don't overthink it; just shut your brain off and enjoy.
I felt burned by that other 3 hour movie Wakanda forever. Sure the genre is different but not far off. I'm so so on this avatar. It's like do I want to spend the money?
So the only good part was the visuals that they paid millions of dollars on and spent over a decade working on…makes sense.
Or you could watch it and think for yourself if it's good or bad
@@fanimegames I don’t want to watch it
@@KidAzar You sure want to comment on it though.
@@fanimegames I don’t see why I can’t
@@KidAzarIts not but saying the only good part about anything you haven’t seen based on a negative review out of hundreds of positive reviews seems strange. Almost like you want to not like it.
It was such a boring and dull movie that I haven't even notice the frame rate changes. I also can't find CGI movies real. I always notice the CG, always. It also bothered me that the water culture was just a copy of Maori culture. All he animals were just copies of animals here on Earth. I find it super lazy.
I saw it at 24fps, in 2D, didn't want to be distracted while watching it
This is everything I needed to know to decide whether to see it or not. Thank you!
still great for me. an 8 as a film, but going to pandora is always a 10/10 experience.
Went to see this yesterday with family and thought it was an amazing cinematic experience. We all loved it.
I went with my family (14, 22, 29 and 30) and we all found it absurdly bloated and lacking anything resembling a compelling story. My sister went to sleep and the rest of us just started making jokes to keep ourselves entertained
As soon as I saw the trailer I knew it was a rehash of Avatar 2009.
If you could do a more in depth (spoiler) review of A2 I'd appreciate it.
I loved Avatar 1. This movie while visually stunning, was a train wreck.
My guess is that the 3rd movie will focus on the bad guy teaming up with outcasted Blue smurf to defeat the hero.
Of which the hero and his family have to leave there home to escape to A tribe that lives near the desert..
A desert created by human progress
Friends of mine who aren’t really into films bought tickets and invited me to go with them. Turned out it was standard def and the visuals were not that “mind-blowing” experience everyone was hyping up which sucked cause that was the only reason I wanted the see this film. Ended up suffering through 3 hours of cringey dialogue and boring characters. I liked the whale. That was it.
The medium of film can be taken in two opposite directions: spectacle or art.
The viewer's opinion of "Avatar 2" will largely be determined by which of those two alternative experiences they favor.
Ugh, the mixed framerate sounds HORRIBLE. That's a nope for me. Maybe I'll watch it on Disney+ next year. Hopefully it will be a consistent 24fps for digital.
You pay for D+? Gross.
It's only for 3D BTW. Regular showings are at 24fps from what I've heard. High fps is just to smooth out things in 3D so it doesn't feel so unnatural
@@gotworc problem is that the framerate varies in some instances in a single shot. Or there might be cuts back and forth between two different angles where one is in HFR and the other one isn't. I found it really jarring.
I don't think the frame rate change is going to bother me. While a slightly different subject, I certainly remember movie goers complaining about how "Brainstorm" switched back & fourth between what almost looked like a 1.66:1 ratio to 2.40:1 ratio, but I found it quite interesting especially on a huge screen ( bigger than today's IMAX screens ). Very excited to see "Avatar: The Way Of Water". I would never bet against James Cameron.
The frame rate change is WAY more jarring than an aspect ratio shift. Felt like I was fighting with the movie rather than watching it.
All flash with little to no substance. What little substance left is dumbed down.
Thanks for the review... especially the variable frame rate warning.
Who cares what you think?
Come on everyone knows the only reason we went to see avatar in the first place is for the eye candy we could care less about plot in todays generation same can be said about actors who are well rounded terrible people cuz hollywood keeps pushing out shit after shit with actors no one wants to see anymore 🤣
Like I said weeks ago when the first trailer popped up. This movie wasn't going to meet anywhere close to the expectations Cameron propelled it to be. Minute I saw ol Quiritch or whatever that is when I knew. That plus Cameron telling the world that since the cgi on pandora was already done he was making avatar 2, 3 & 4 simultaneously and would be released 3 Christmases in a row. That never happened and I knew the plot structure wasn't done. The Dances with Wolves theme of the first movie was fresh and cool. But to come up with a new plot was harder than just using another theme from another movie. Originality had to make an appearance and it called in sick. Bringing back the dead characters is the sign of weak writers. They couldn't come up with new ones. Marketing it with faux hired employees praising its awesomeness was so obvious. Plus re-releasing the first avatar in the theater? All of it showed that the producers were scrambling to get back their investment. Gauging people thf full price to see the old avatar is ethically pitiful.
I said the Rings of Power would lay an egg. I said Black Adam was an ignorant idea and no one would really go for it. I am right because I know my movies.
Save your money and teach these producers to not treat us like customers on a used car lot. 🤔..
The movie had high highs with regards to the action scenes literally didnt blink or breathe in those. BUT the movie was boring for some time lol.... Zoe Saldana was excellent and whoever the actors who played her kids were.... action was sooooo good. But the overall story was actually worse than the first Avatar.
I can agree with your critiques but the tech nerd in me knows I’ll still be satisfied even if it’s crappy.
I thought the first movie was lousy, I am not planning on seeing the new one.
I agree. This movie sucks.
Great review!!!
I had no problem with HFR. Thought it was handled very well. Never took me out of the movie. Sorry it didn`t work for you.
I'm SO looking forwatd to the filmcast ! I bet I'm not going to like this one either...
Since the 3rd one is already in the can I’m wondering if it builds on the flaws cause I can see Cameron going we scrapping 3&4 and rearranging and shooting and need push the movie back again
I just went to see the movie. I think it sucked less than I feared. The main plus for me was that it was free from gender politics. At least I didn't notice any.
It's the same movie with new characters nobody cares about
They did the same tropes of the first movie this movie is just
To setup the next movie he changed the frame rate with in the scene
60/30/24 with ps5 game cuts
Great take
W take
This can’t be fucking happening. No no no no no no no nooooooo
How else would you stand out amongst the crowd?
The first one was mediocre so yeah this looked about the same
So it'll make 2 billion again 😂
Avaatar D way off water is not worth 3 hours of my time.
It's a James Cameron movie. That means popcorn and brain off. For what it is, it's great. Sad to say James Cameron knows how to entertain the normals of this world. I don't think he's out to wow us critical thinking movie critics.
Couldn't have said it any better.
It really depressing to me that we consider the "normals" of this world are people who decide to turn their brains off when engaging in any piece of entertainment. What kind of shithole of a society is this?
@TJ ... by normals of this world I'm referring to the vast majority of people who don't give two shits about the finer details of the cinematic experience. They are in awe of the spectacle and simple storytelling. Bland characters are enough to take them on that journey without thought. Unlike some of us here who, while engaged and having fun, still can't help but pick apart every aspect of every scene.
@@gr8d4ne80 The "critical thinkers" here are probably just people who wasted too much of their lives watching movies and have convinced themselves their opinions have significantly more value than average people.
They don't stop to think that maybe they've seen too many films and it's desensitized them to the point where they can't enjoy or assess things properly anymore.
@@JohnSmith-jb2jf you're absolutely correct. Just like permiscuous men and women.
The visuals of first half of the movie alone are worth the ticket price, second half is a bonus. Come on, it's too amazing to get disappointed by it. What a true visual treat it was .
No there not! You can polish a turd all you want but while it make be a good looking turd it’s still just a turd in the end! Most watch movies for plot and story not eye candy!
@@werewolflover8636 You can shit all you want , but Avatar will always find its audience. May be you didn't like it but I love it and millions of people across of the world are going to love it.
@@werewolflover8636 have you ever actually seen a turd that was polished to the point it looked good? Who's taking poop and polishing it? That's disgusting. Something tells me it's still not gonna look good even after it's been polished. It's poop. Eww.
That would be like a restaurant advertising ambience over their food.
@@Ta2dwitetrash comparinng a restaurant, where usp is tasty food with a movie where it's usp is visuals and story is not right. Avatar didn't have a bad story whatsoever. It may feel like you already know this story but that's the point of the movie. Nature. Natural law. Cameron did the best for it , instead of going totally clueless bonkers kind of story.
Store wack 😂 low key. First movie way better. And wished the whole movie was at a high frame rate. Does feel like your watching a video game tho
The use of "cuz" and "bro" felt completely fake. Stupid plotline that the US government pays billions of dollars to kill one Jake Sully. Don't understand why Jake had a dad bod, he looked like an average Joe in a Navi costume versus an actual Navi. Neytiri needs her own movie, now. Tuk was adorable but Kiri was too moody and looked like Sigourney Weaver acting like a 12-year-old. Meh.
Would love for you to do a spoiler review.
I had a surprising extreme reaction to Avatar 1... I despised it. Weird, I really like popcorn movies and visually stunning images! So your review is not surprising: great visuals, no story. Shame they spend this huge pile of money on it.
I screamed a little in my car on the ride home from the theatre because of how much wasted potential this movie had. Yes, it is absolutely stunning visually and I get that maybe that was enough for a lot of people but it wasn't for me. I think in this genre a fairly good plot and fleshed out characters is a must for enjoyment and this movie lacked in both categories. All reviews and comments I see are calling the plot "simple but good" but I find it hard to find any kind of plot that would keep a viewer engaged, it's just recycling themes from the first one (which wasn't original in its ideas either). This movie made me realise that no matter how cookie-cutter the plot is, I still need it to be there and provide a solid plot+character arc, and I would argue that Way of Water does not have a well written plot, dialogue or characters. As someone who didn't hate the first movie I am incredibly disappointed.
I still regret seeing the first Avatar in 3D. It was neat for about 15 minutes, then I realized I made a mistake and was miserable for the rest of the movie. You couldn't pay me to see Avatar 2 in theaters. I'll be perfectly happy watching this long movie on Disney+ in a few months.
Same! Sure it was nice to look at but that’s all it had going for it!
I loved Force Awakens. IF thats the comparison, i'm on board
I disagree with a lot, but hey that’s how opinions go. I think they did a lot with each character keeping simplicity in mind. Nothings ever perfect, damned if you do damned if you don’t. I do love this no spoiler you’re doing, most still managed to still throw spoilers out there 😂
I think way of water will be a lot of set up for the other sequels
Agreed
BEST MOVIE EVER! THE ANSWER TO ALL THE POLITICAL CORRECTNESS MOVIES! I LOVE IT! REALISTIC! NO BLM! NO RACISM! JUST A COOL FANTASY MOVIE WITHOUT THAT BLM ! BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT! BEST MESSAGE! IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOW!
@JoeyB
No other species pollutes the planet more than humans do…so it’s not “bullshyt”…that said, I don’t need to watch this movie to tell me what I already know
Why in the world is he making 3 of these things? The Terminator, Aliens, The Terminator2, True Lies, Titanic. Now this is it? Also, don't we have enough of these CGI love fests?
I watched the film in 2D today in a regular cinema. Absolutely loved it. Really enjoyed the new characters as well. But I do admit it's very predictable overall. If you're not a fan of usual teenage characters in films, you might find it annoying. It's kind of a coming-of-age story really. Definitely not for everyone. But everyone must watch the film for the visuals.
The film was phenomenal, you are whack if it didn't fit your standards
Spoiler review
This guy is either trying to clickbait with a stupid hot take…
Or he has absolute TERRRRRIBLE TASTE. I’ve seen it and trust me… it’s amazing. I hate analytical critics
Stick to watching silent movies
Congrats on trying to be different and stand out. I'm so sick of people saying they don't like something just to be different. It's literally impossible to not like this movie. And I haven't even seen it yet. The visuals are too good to pay so much attention to anything else. People in today's world are so negative, that it's impossible to please them. I hope you feel special.
It should have been a good 1h30 movie or tv series in case they really wanted to go deeper, 3hrs is too much