What did you think of The Way of Water?

[Neyfan]

On the language stuff. The movie Hunt for Red October did the same thing. It's seen especially when the Russian and American characters meet face to face. The audience hears only English, but in the scene both are speaking each other's languages.

Farscape did this as the series is seen through Crichton's eyes and translator microbes that help translate all languages. It's cool Avatar tried this method. Though we do get to hear Na'vi from Spider teaching the ReComs it. It was odd hearing Quaritch speak it.

 

[Adelante]

The new Avatar made me want to get back to writing. There's so much new stuff it's hard to keep up with it all! The first part left a lot of unsatisfactory in this respect, because it turns out that only a small part of Pandora's world was shown to us. While watching, I saw some comparison to the war in Ukraine. Also some of the fan stories, especially Xenobia was closest to what I saw in the movie (killing Jake's eldest son and the Avatar soldiers).

 

[Aaron]

Norm and Max, the "avatars" of science in both the original film as well as this one, were simply dismissed as useless while some kind of "spiritual" process brought her back. At a time when we're currently facing dangerous waves of anti-science and anti-medicine sentiments (just see the virulent anti-vaccine movement, some of it sponsored by Russia to deliberately harm other countries' populace) in the real world, I was quite dismayed by this seeming push towards pseudoscience.

That's interesting. I hadn't looked at it that way, but I think that's very valid. "Avatars of science," yes. My main gripe about Norm and Max is that I wanted to see more of them, but I agree that what we did see really undermined them as characters. That's too bad, because I think the human factor in the first movie helped it all feel real. In Way of Water, the humans we spend time with are mostly caricatures of evil, and the chief exception, Spider, is too ambiguous to be relatable.

Anyway, I'm going to watch the film again this next week and see what that does for my interpretation. I liked it, but I had certainly hoped to like it more than I did.

 

[Isil'atan]

I felt that the movie was good but not as good as the first one to be honest. Some characters were just there ie Max and Norm. I wish they expanded on Jake's sons and gave them more life than what we saw on screen. Regarding the new clan: I found them rather interesting in terms of having Tattoos which we have never seen on a Na'vi and the physiology was certainly different. This film could've shown more of their way of life but all we got were water scenes..

 

[Mi'niri]

Characters were so much more fleshed out and relatable, not that they were bad to begin with. As a writer, I can agree with the sentiments that naysayers have said that the characters from the first movie were 2-dimensional and the plot was simple. That never really mattered to me, but seeing the improvement in plot, pace, character, dialogue, etc., all combined with the improved visuals and fuller immersion of the Pandoran world...this movie was a masterpiece. It eclipses the first movie like the sun outshines the moon. Well done, James Cameron.

 

[Ayn'at Alyara]

As I am older than I was when the 1st came out, 19 vs 31.. Although I can recognize the flaws it had I am once again in LOVE with the movie and wanting to go back to Pandora. oh boy here comes the Avatar Blues again..

 

[iron_jones]

Absolutely adored WoW. The visuals were incredible and the action was so fucking cool.

 

[Rextor]

I enjoyed it, the new characters felt sort of shallow, and how the Omatikaya was just left behind. It also is a bit sad that the fanfics I’ve come to love are no longer “cannon” in a way. But overall I enjoyed the movie.

 

[Lotarius Starline]

I thought WoW was fantastic! I was trying so hard not to cry at the end...I loved it!🥲

 

[Nikidragon13]

It made me so emotional I swear, the color palettes were stunning. And there's so many questions that I can't wait to have answered, like brief moments that are easy to miss but I could just feel that they were important. I also loved all the new characters and world building, I'm actually just in love with the film. I love it at least as much as the first one cause it's just so fascinating to see how the world is evolving.

 

[Blazil]

I saw it a second time. It was already quite different to me compared to the first time.

I realized that Neytiri's character didn't change all that much compared to AV1, like some have mentioned in this thread. I think what the movie really showed was her difficulty adapting to change around her. Of the entire Sully family, she lived the longest in the forest as she has always known it. She was the one who was shown to dislike moving to the Metkayina clan the most, and the one who adjusted to their way of life the least. She is hardly ever in the water, and doesn't even seem to have bonded with and ridden an ilu by herself (only as a passenger on Jake's ilu). She is the only one of the Sully family to still fly on her ikran after they start living with the Metkayina. At the end Kiri gives her the gill mantle (the creature that allows underwater breathing), making it very clear basically everybody knows and understands that Neytiri is simply not adapting that well.

So, I think what is meant to be shown here is that it is easy to be wise, calm, and in control in the environment that you know and love, but what then remains of you outside that environment? I think Neytiri was having the hardest struggle of all the Sully family members, so she was clinging to what she knew, and may have come across as compulsive because of it. She was used to being the teacher and now there was no one to teach and her forest knowledge was as good as superceded for the duration of their stay at the Metkayina. So when Neteyam died, I think that was the culmination of this difficult chapter in her life, which had been slowly building up with all associated tension and anxiety the moment the Sky People returned to Pandora. So, no wonder she went almost feral when attacking the humans after her son's death.

Sure, all Sully family members had their own struggles:
Jake - the consequences of his choices in the past following him
Kiri - her connection with Eywa and her place in the world
Lo'ak - feeling like an alien and outcast and as the least liked sibling
Neteyam - protecting his siblings and doing his best to please his parents at the cost of himself
Tuk - being the youngest with the least experience, skill, or recognition
But all of these received a reasonable amount of screen time, while Neytiri's struggle was mainly hinted at.

It is amazing how much there really is in this movie. It is like you are in a certain mood and if the watch the movie you get one thing out of it. Then if you watch it again with a different mood, you see completely different things. I think this movie is greatly underrated.

 

[Rogue Aw]

Well, watched WOW again for the second time tonight. Man, the family theme just hit a little harder this time. Kiri is still my favorite character in this film! Neteyam's death hit a lot harder this time as well. It was a great movie!!

 

[Cal_Sully]

Watched it for the first time last night. It hit me just as hard as the first one did. It feels like real life is just a dream

 

[Woodsprite]

I saw it a second time. It was already quite different to me compared to the first time.

I realized that Neytiri's character didn't change all that much compared to AV1, like some have mentioned in this thread. I think what the movie really showed was her difficulty adapting to change around her. Of the entire Sully family, she lived the longest in the forest as she has always known it. She was the one who was shown to dislike moving to the Metkayina clan the most, and the one who adjusted to their way of life the least. She is hardly ever in the water, and doesn't even seem to have bonded with and ridden an ilu by herself (only as a passenger on Jake's ilu). She is the only one of the Sully family to still fly on her ikran after they start living with the Metkayina. At the end Kiri gives her the gill mantle (the creature that allows underwater breathing), making it very clear basically everybody knows and understands that Neytiri is simply not adapting that well.

So, I think what is meant to be shown here is that it is easy to be wise, calm, and in control in the environment that you know and love, but what then remains of you outside that environment? I think Neytiri was having the hardest struggle of all the Sully family members, so she was clinging to what she knew, and may have come across as compulsive because of it. She was used to being the teacher and now there was no one to teach and her forest knowledge was as good as superceded for the duration of their stay at the Metkayina. So when Neteyam died, I think that was the culmination of this difficult chapter in her life, which had been slowly building up with all associated tension and anxiety the moment the Sky People returned to Pandora. So, no wonder she went almost feral when attacking the humans after her son's death.

Sure, all Sully family members had their own struggles:
Jake - the consequences of his choices in the past following him
Kiri - her connection with Eywa and her place in the world
Lo'ak - feeling like an alien and outcast and as the least liked sibling
Neteyam - protecting his siblings and doing his best to please his parents at the cost of himself
Tuk - being the youngest with the least experience, skill, or recognition
But all of these received a reasonable amount of screen time, while Neytiri's struggle was mainly hinted at.

It is amazing how much there really is in this movie. It is like you are in a certain mood and if the watch the movie you get one thing out of it. Then if you watch it again with a different mood, you see completely different things. I think this movie is greatly underrated.

Yet another very insightful breakdown. Yours and Eltu's: the two I've enjoyed reading the most. I never considered these things. I've seen the movie twice now and it's growing on me.

I'm especially happy I can come here to read reviews like yours and still learn something new or see things a different way.

 

[Blazil]

Yet another very insightful breakdown. Yours and Eltu's: the two I've enjoyed reading the most. I never considered these things. I've seen the movie twice now and it's growing on me.

I'm especially happy I can come here to read reviews like yours and still learn something new or see things a different way.

Good to hear the movie is growing on you. And glad I could help with that

What I have come to realize also, during those years I had to wait for the sequel, is that if you pause AV1 pretty much anywhere randomly, and just watch the still, you will probably see things in that shot you had never noticed before. Doing this is what could give me my Avatar 'fix' if I needed it during the dark years when there wasn't any new content.

To quote Rick McCallum on the Star Wars prequels: "It's so dense. Every single image has so many things going on."
SW prequel jokes aside, I think this is exactly what also applies to AV1 and AV2, in a positive way.

 

[Why so blue?]

I'm not going to post any spoilers but what did you guys think of the new movie. Left me feeling a little blue.
Like the first movie did made me walk out of the cinema hating my own race.
What did you guys think I can't post to much till more people see it

I really enjoyed the experience of watching it in IMAX 3D,I almost felt like being a part of that world and although it did felt being dragged but I enjoyed it nonetheless cause of it's visual beauty and that soothing bgm. Also I wish I could have heard the music from the teaser in the movie that would have completely transformed me to the world of Pandora!

Although I would say the best part of the film would be the climax and payakan showing up from the water to attack the sky people, the brief hooting and cheering in that scene was wonderful!

Overall this movie is an experience which you aren't going to enjoy on your normal 2D theatre or at home.

 

[Erinino]

SOME SPOILERS - I really loved the movie! It's left me wanting more. I need to read the comics in order to understand more of what happened in between Avatar and Avatar 2 but I would of loved a longer cinematic exploration of this. I really liked Kiri's character. My theory with Kiri is that when Jake brought Grace to the tree of souls in order to save her. Grace was too weak to be reborn in her avatar body so Ewya tried to save all that Grace was in a child, which Graces avatar body was strong enough to carry. I want to see the extended cut if one comes out!

 

[Avatar]

It is very interesting seeing the very diverse opinions of the new movie, even among "fans" of Avatar. I just got home from watching it a second time myself, and like others have mentioned, I think I liked it even more than the first time I saw it. I am not sure why, not sure if having knowledge of what things will happen, I could pay attention to more details than I could the first go around? Could be. I can say I loved it both times, but connected with it and some of the characters more after viewing it a second time. I can't wait to see what happens when I watch it a 3rd, 4th, 5th, and more times. Which I am sure I will see it again and again.

As for plot holes... show me a movie of this size and magnitude that isn't going to have some somewhere. To me, they don't take aware from the movie. But they are interesting to think about or discuss. I suppose if Avatar WoW was 10 hours long, all the characters and plot holes could have been addressed or flushed out. But the reality is, they aren't going to make a movie that long. Hense they will break it up into multiple movies. Don't get me wrong, I would have loved it if WoW was 10 hours long. But your average person while they may like Avatar, are not as big a fan of it as I am!!

That is my two cents for now.

 

[DancingOrca]

It is very interesting seeing the very diverse opinions of the new movie, even among "fans" of Avatar. I just got home from watching it a second time myself, and like others have mentioned, I think I liked it even more than the first time I saw it. I am not sure why, not sure if having knowledge of what things will happen, I could pay attention to more details than I could the first go around? Could be. I can say I loved it both times, but connected with it and some of the characters more after viewing it a second time. I can't wait to see what happens when I watch it a 3rd, 4th, 5th, and more times. Which I am sure I will see it again and again.

As for plot holes... show me a movie of this size and magnitude that isn't going to have some somewhere. To me, they don't take aware from the movie. But they are interesting to think about or discuss. I suppose if Avatar WoW was 10 hours long, all the characters and plot holes could have been addressed or flushed out. But the reality is, they aren't going to make a movie that long. Hense they will break it up into multiple movies. Don't get me wrong, I would have loved it if WoW was 10 hours long. But your average person while they may like Avatar, are not as big a fan of it as I am!!

That is my two cents for now.

I feel exactly the same way!! It was so much better the second time!

 

[Catgoth83]

I have loved the first film since the first time I saw it. I have rewatched so many times. I have always felt so close to nature anyway but the first film hit home so hard about family and nature. This second film I watched today and I loved it but I’m left feeling very “blue”. The whole sequence with the muma whale and calf was awful, I could feel the whole cinema audience feeling uneasy. It was a very long process, to the point where you feel so lost and hopeless for the human race… much like the first film.
I hope everyone who watches these films can change just one thing for the better for the planet, even a small change can help. I believe that’s what the director wants to leave with the audience, let’s hope people respond.