Muelko

The review contains spoilers. We waited. Yeah, I don't believe it either, but I saw Avatar: The Way of Water in the cinema, and after 13 years, James Cameron brings us a sequel to the most successful film of all time. And here are my thoughts, there are plenty of them. I'll start with by far the best part of the entire film, and that is without a doubt the visual aspect of the film - CGI. The visual effects are possibly the best I've ever seen in a movie. The water that is found in this film in a really big way is photorealistic but in a newsy way. Even on CGI characters, it looks perfect and I wondered how Cameron could do it again. It can be seen that he really wants to be the best in this and he is succeeding. Sure, the movie apparently cost almost half a billion dollars, even if it looks bad, but Cameron squeezed the money 180% and it shows in every money shot. The whole movie is one big highlight visual. Admirable and groundbreaking. Those fish and all kinds of monsters in that sea looked absolutely wonderful, and about the second third of the film shows us all of it in full splendor. All those animals, plants, and sky - beauty. And this admiration of the world really does not get tired, because Cameron staged the film in a really exemplary way. The 192 minutes went by pretty much painlessly and I didn't feel that at any point the film suffered from a lack of fun. But for that, I think that the film suffers a lot in one thing, and that's exactly why it's not full fire from me this time - the script and the plot itself. I really don't want to claim that the film has the same story as in the unit, but - it actually does. And unfortunately, I also have the feeling that nothing extra was resolved in this movie, or I didn't feel any great catharsis after watching the movie. Don't get me wrong, the third act is fun and even Neytiri herself goes full-Rambo-mode here, I enjoyed it immensely, but the events leading up to it seemed generic to me, and from the script, I really feel that it is outdated in terms of originality and innovation. We've seen this before and I understand that the visual side has moved on and that Avatar got a sequel, but this type of scenario can no longer work at the top level. Jake and his family are in danger, and Quaritch threatens to kill the descendants in one piece, the least interesting of them, Neteyam, dies at the end, and after Jake vs. Quaritch wins Jake. Great, but Spider saves Quaritch and we get him in the top three?! I needed something more. Quaritch is a black-and-white villain who logically came back, but here Cameron should have killed him, which makes the movie feel slightly anti-climactic and unnecessary. And why Spider saved him at the end makes a bit of sense, he's his father, and blah blah, but it absolutely doesn't work for the movie. The resulting experience was still extremely positive and I'm really looking forward to the third, but I won't forgive Cameron there. He knows, how to shot a movie with such quality and create new technologies whenever he wants, but the pen has probably stopped writing properly on paper, it needs to be replaced quickly because I also want a luxurious story in such a luxurious coat. Otherwise, the idea of another tribe is great and I'm glad that I want to learn more about that world. Lo'ak grew on me and I hope he gets the most space from the children in the next films (and replaces Jake?). But what concerns the action scenes, the camera, the shooting, the pace - there Cameron is still different. In these ways, it is the king and will remain the king, but again - I want a better story. But I'm still glad I saw the movie in 3D, even though I felt a bit like the edges of the screen were darkened by my glasses, which created the effect of making the screen feel smaller. By that I mean, feel free to go for 3D, it's great, but I don't think you can go wrong with 2D. I'm looking forward to it anyway, these are movie events that are still saving cinemas, so all credit to Cameron. It doesn't shoot much, but when it does, everyone goes to it. Just don't let the paper rustle like that next time.

Field's opus missed me. I'll start with a positive: the film is incredibly well-directed and edited. I really appreciate this and acknowledge the qualities because I wanted to love the movie until the last second. Cate Blanchett is convincing, authentic, and simply gorgeous, she deserves an Oscar and I have absolutely nothing against her performance. Great acting performance. But otherwise, the film didn't speak to me in any other way, I take it as a brilliantly filmed pretense in which nothing much happens and which, as a result, rather just led me by the nose and told me at all costs "you have to love this, look, I'm an Oscar-bait who is above the matter". Kind of like the Power of the Dog a year ago. Of course, this also made me tired due to the length of the movie, but maybe I can imagine a 2-hour version in the style of Whiplash, where the film would punch me in the chin with gradual grading. Here, the knockout is present, but it didn't fit me. But I wish everyone will love this movie very much, but unfortunately this time, it's not me.

I am... actually speechless. And not because I cried, but because I don't know what to feel. I have a lot of thoughts after watching this movie, but I don't know how to grasp them. It's a very strange feeling I have witnessed only from a few movies I've watched in my life, and it isn't necessarily a bad feeling, but I'm just confused. A lot of things here are absolutely outstanding - the direction, the bond between the two main characters, and the screenplay. All this is great, I was entertained - in a very strange way. I maybe need a rewatch, I have to be older to fully appreciate the movie, but from the first watch, I'm more confused than pleased. But I would recommend watching it nonetheless, it's a beautiful piece of cinema for sure.