Boy. That was an experience. I'm not really sure where to start.
Reintroduction of the humans: Hot damn what an entrance. The prediction I've been making for more than a decade was way wrong. My money was on the humans never actually leaving Pandora. I figured there had to be at least small handful of settlements like Hell's Gate on the moon. Anyways, their return was ridiculous (not in a bad way). Seeing Home Tree toppled in the first movie seemed like such a colossal event, scale wise, and here we saw two get taken out like they were toothpicks. It was a hell of a scene. I'm not sure I'm in love with the whole "we did all this work in a year" thing. I'd think the rail road line they built would have taken longer than that on its own. I'll turn a blind eye though.
Jake and his family: I wasn't sure where I'd stand on this. I think it worked well for the movie, even though I think it pushed Neytiri to the back burner a bit. I went into the movie expecting one of the sons to die, but it still caught me off guard when it happened. I thought some of the teenage interaction felt a little too much like a lift and load from the first film at times. There was a lot of character building this time around, which I thought was a nice change from the first film. At times it felt a bit forced/rushed, which is kind of crazy when you consider the movie's runtime. I enjoyed seeing all the differences in cultural and physical ways of life between Jake's family and the new clan.
The story:I think on the surface, it is a really basic story, but I'd argue there's still a lot there. I was on my toes the whole time, and I didn't really find it predictable at all. Spider is an interesting character with a lot of confict, and I'm going to make sure I pay extra attention to him tonight. Quaritch being saved at the end by him was an interesting way to go. Speaking of, seeing his recom origin was pretty well done, even if some of the dialog was cheesy, and seeing him crush his own skull was a great way to welcome him back.
I love that we go to see into Ewya, and see as the people see when they connect. Kiri being the physical manifestation of her is fucking rad. I didn't see that one coming, and I fully anticipate the Pocahontas jokes being replaced with Jesus jokes now
Seeing her manipulate Pandora was really cool, and I got legitimately giddy in the theater when she took down that sub.
There were so few humans on screen this time around, at least it felt that way. This movie didn't really feel like the Na'vi vs the humans the majority of the time, which I thought was great. We didn't get a monster war battle like the first movie, but that makes sense given the humans have only been back building for a year. We also can't have an battle like that every movie, it'd get stale (there will be five once all is said and done). I thought the fight scene we did get was pretty great, and the whole sequence of Neytiri and her daughter trying escape the Sea Dragon from the inside while the boys did the same from the outside was masterfully done.
I actually really liked the kinship element between the Tulkun and the Metkayina clan and the fact the animals themselves had their own language and backstory. I also really liked that is wasn't Jake that bonded with one. Jake's family, and probably moreso the children as the movies continue, are going to be focus going forward. Which is great I think. Plenty of room for offshoots in side arcs in the main story.
The effects: 10/10 - A new bar has been set. Absolutely breathtaking.
New Vehicles and Human stuff: We only saw a handful of new pieces of hardware, but I thought they were really cool. Sea Dragon was dope, and those crab mech machines were wild. I hope we get to see those again at some point.
The score: The movie really let me down here, TBH. It was a good score, but it straight up recycled like 80% of the first movie's tracks. I get James Horner passed away, but I feel like there could have been way more originality there. I was really hoping for some. This won't bother 99.9% of people in the audience.
I'm already 15 minutes late to start my day. I've got tickets to see it again tonight and tomorrow as well. I'd give it an 8.5/10 so far. That may change. It was a long movie, and I think that will reduce how often people will be willing to see this multiple times in a theater compared to the first one.
I'd recommend giving it a watch.