James Cameron comes off as one of the biggest egomaniacs of Hollywood but to the man's credit he has made some of the best blockbusters ever made. In the case with Avatar I think people focus a lot on the story being generic and done before but my biggest takeaway on rewatching it again recently (after 12 years) was that the characters were completely unmemorable and the movie was also kinda lacking in really memorable lines/scenes that elevate a movie like this into classic status. T1, T2 and Aliens are packed with scenes, lines or character moments that didn't just elevate those movies but even people who haven't seen those movies are familiar with those things.
I'm intrigued to see Avatar 2 for the visual spectacle and I suspect that's the reason most people have because I haven't heard anyone legitimately excited for the continued adventures of the memorable characters Jake Sully and Neytiri.
I agree about the characters, but I have to push back a bit on the scenes thing. I know it's entirely subjective, but the first time we see the bioluminescent forest revealed at nighttime was one of the (if not the most) memorable experience I've ever had in a theater. It was mind-numbing, jaw dropping, and beautiful. Home tree coming down was absolutely ridiculous, part of which may have been due to the audio experience a theater can provide vs a home theater, but still. The final battle when Jake is rallying all the other clans and we see all Na'vi battle tactics being used in a united front was great, and seeing the hammerhead titanotheres lay waste to the RDA AMP suits and infantry was really cool too.
I think Jake's initial ikran flight with Neytiri was also really well done - taking us on a blisteringly fast flight through the floating mountains. I never saw anything like it in a film. Something so fake never felt more real. That to me is really where the crux of my love for Avatar comes from. Cameron created a fake world that felt so real, you almost forget it's not by the time the movie ends.
It definitely was a visual spectacle and even though some of that is lessened when viewing at home 13 years later, it's still a cool world and concept. I do think the lack of memorable characters or a great story are the key reasons many people feel Avatar didn't become the classic that maybe some thought it would. I'm expecting good visuals from the new one but I'm hoping we get something more as well. But my sister loved the first one and she didn't mind the tropes had been done before so I think the crowd who really loves Avatar might fall into that bracket of 'it's been done before but never better than this'.
I'm expecting a buttload of character development in the sequels. First and foremost, Quaritch is back as an Avatar (maybe get a twist and find out he's a Na'vi?) and is confirmed to be in all four of the next films. Lang said he started crying reading the script of the final movie, so I'm assuming that means we see a crazy arc involving his character. Bad guy turning good probably.
It also sounds like Jake and Neytiri won't be the focal point of the story. It'll be more about their family/children, both natural and adopted. The adopted child poses a ton of potential for his own story. I'm sure their will be tons of conflict there. He's been raised as a Na'vi in a human body, but I can't help but think he's going to become conflicted about who and what he is as he gets more exposure to humans.
I really have no idea where they are going to take this. The fact that several teams of writers wrote four full movies, probably 12ish hours of content, before any filming began makes me believe that the overall story got a ton of attention. The first film with its simplicity did an awesome job introducing us to the world, the people, and gave us a high-level overview of the conflict between humans and Na'vi. We'll be able to hit the ground running in the second movie seeing as all the world building (minus the depths of the ocean) has already been done with the audience.
Topic: Avatar (Read 174047 times)
