Avatar: The Way of Water | 16 DEC 2022 | Don't worry guys, critics like it

[dignam]

6 minutes ago, interiorgatordecorator said:

 

nah 77 in 09 is a respectable ow (2nd highest for an original move) for an original movie that had to deal with a snowtorm, 135 for the sequel to the highest grossing move of all time isnt (96 million in 09 dollars), and theres people who have their knives out for avatar, so its not a great spot to be in

 

Read again what i wrote. Its not about the money, its about the bullshit that some people wrote and calling it the biggest flop in movie history.

[M37]

Just now, nguyenkhoi282 said:

Now if this movie doesn't do that, like unable to, then I have no idea what can. It's like everything that could possibly be done at this point is already done. I doubt a more best-story-of-all-time can change anything.

I mean Top Gun Maverick just did, no?  It hit the sweet spot of being both a big-screen theatrical draw, and being entertaining enough to make the cost "worth it". Titles like Free Guy and Lost City both had good, leggy runs. Minions outgrossed Thor

 

Audiences are demonstrating what they are willing to pay for. Yes, PLF/viewing experience can and should be a part of it, but it can't be all of it, because people - mostly older adults - have become accustomed to small screen viewing and no longer see "waiting for streaming" as a burden worth paying to avoid

 

 

[kayumanggi]

I have just arrived home. 🥱😫😩😴

 

First, I had already been tired before I watched this since I woke up at past 3 am

and was able to see this one at 6.45 pm. That kinda affected the experience.

 

As expected, this was visually stunning. I kept forgetting it was a CGI world with CGI organisms. It's just insane. The musical score and sound design were also great.

 

I also agree that there is more heart in this one. Actually, a lot of heart. Neytiri stole the show for me. She had a lot of moments here and that's a testament to Zaldana's amazing performance.

 

I thought the first and second acts dragged just a little bit, but I wouldn't describe them as boring because the scenes that I saw looked amazing. The lighting and environments were crazy.

 

And the the third act was just bonkers. It was nonstop action. I actually thought that it was done, but nope, it kept going and showed a lot of beautiful moments. The characters felt more human to me this time primarily because of that family dynamic.

 

Now, this is not without flaws. Though the run time didn't bother me, I thought it could have been shorter. Maybe 15 minutes shorter. There were also some characters that I wished were fleshed out more. I was like "Why is he here again?" at some characters. There were also scenes that were like a rehash of those in the first, but I kinda get why they were done again. I'm also not sure about certain lines, but I'm willing to forgive them. I also thought the scale of the first one was bigger. This was like more confined, if I may.

 

I want to see this again asap. I missed some parts because I had to go to the bathroom two times. 😅

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Edited December 14, 2022 by kayumanggi

[Dragoncaine]

Avatar: The Way of Water received the following Critics Choice Award nominations:

 

- Best Picture

- Best Director (list of 10 directors so pretty useless category tbh, I suspect Cameron is in the top 5 though)

- Best Editing

- Best Cinematography

- Best Production Design

- Best Visual Effects

[kayumanggi]

 

[IronJimbo]

4 minutes ago, Dragoncaine said:

Avatar: The Way of Water received the following Critics Choice Award nominations:

 

- Best Picture

- Best Director (list of 10 directors so pretty useless category tbh, I suspect Cameron is in the top 5 though)

- Best Editing

- Best Cinematography

- Best Production Design

- Best Visual Effects

When will performance capture get any love from critics?

[danziger]

4 minutes ago, M37 said:

I mean Top Gun Maverick just did, no?  It hit the sweet spot of being both a big-screen theatrical draw, and being entertaining enough to make the cost "worth it". Titles like Free Guy and Lost City both had good, leggy runs. Minions outgrossed Thor

 

Audiences are demonstrating what they are willing to pay for. Yes, PLF/viewing experience can and should be a part of it, but it can't be all of it, because people - mostly older adults - have become accustomed to small screen viewing and no longer see "waiting for streaming" as a burden worth paying to avoid

 

 

 

That could also explain why TWOW won't do nearly as well as some here have been expecting. If my memory is accurate, Avatar skewed significantly older than most big budget blockbusters, and that was a major reason for its extraordinary success. Now a lot of those people have either passed on or are much more inclined to wait for streaming.

[kayumanggi]

Best Picture

Best Director

Best Editing

Best Visual Effects

Best Cinematography

Best Production Design

[kayumanggi]

5 minutes ago, IronJimbo said:

When will performance capture get any love from critics?

 

performance capture

voice acting

stunts

[Grebacio]

I have to admit... I'm starting to bet against Cameron 😔

[The GOAT]

29 minutes ago, XXR Tulkun Rider said:

Looks like opening week in South Korea will be about 13-18% below Frozen 2’s opening. That’s a disappointment. 

[XXR vs XXR]

2 minutes ago, Grebacio said:

I have to admit... I'm starting to bet against Cameron 😔

Only $2.1-2.3B 😣

[Mr Roark]

4 minutes ago, Grebacio said:

I have to admit... I'm starting to bet against Cameron 😔

Why? Because this sequel, that scored a similar reception of the original and that’s been nominated everywhere making it even in the top 5 for best drama at the Globes, will likely only best TFA instead of the highest grossing film of all time?

 

All this with no CIS, half China and terrible ER.

Edited December 14, 2022 by Mr Roark

[BadOlCatSylvester]

31 minutes ago, M37 said:

The "problem" with the reviews is not that they are "bad" - they're not! - but that in the post-pandemic market, both from the rise of streaming and cost concerns, the bar for getting people off their couch and into a theater has been raised; being "good" is often not good enough

(and fwiw I think this a fair amount of anti-Avatar sentiment out there that is helping to push scores lower)

 

When you've sold a film on the visual experience (aka a higher ticket price), with a ~4 hour time commitment, then there is a certain level of expectations for quality/entertainment value set. Avatwo isn't Cats, but it is also not Hamilton, and that may be a limiting factor not just for OW, but legs as well, despite the lack of competition. Audiences have shown they're willing to just skip the movies altogether if nothing strikes their fancy

 

On that note, shameless plug

My sentiments exactly. Before the digital age, you had to go back to theaters for rewatches. Now, that portion of the general audience will simply wait for it to hit digital services. Wakanda Forever should have blown past $500M domestically with ease. Instead it'll peter out at around the $400M-$450M range. I'll be amazed if this movie even hits a third of the first film's multiplier.

 

I'll be happy to join your club after I'm done typing this. I'll also add that missing the $2B mark is very possible.

[Grebacio]

1 minute ago, Mr Roark said:

Why? Because this sequel, that scored a similar reception of the original and that’s been nominated everywhere making it even in the top 5 for best drama at the Globes, will likely only best TFA instead of the highest grossing film of all time?

 

All this with no CIS, half China and terrible ER.

Yes

 

[stuart360]

I'm sensing some poeple in here are trying to get a reaction he he😃

 

My confidence is unwavering!!!.

[IronJimbo]

Ok a person i trust has seen it and said it's better than I can imagine.

#1 domestic, #1 worldwide.

 

Just sit back and watch, your doomer posting over the expected is boring.

[JohnnyGossamer]

What are people getting at?  Tom Cruise da real MVP DOM this year and not James Cameron? Is it too late to get Kosinski to direct the sequels and Cruise as Sully?

Edited December 14, 2022 by JohnnyGossamer

[marveldcfox]

So going to do less in most markets barring a few than Aavtar 1. Disapoibtmebt.

[stuart360]

1 minute ago, marveldcfox said:

So going to do less in most markets barring a few than Aavtar 1. Disapoibtmebt.

Well we have to rememebr that AVATAR 'Only' did 200mil in China on its initial release (massive at that time), but for A2 we have even had predicts going for a 200mil OW!. It may not go that high but i think 150mil is doable.

A China total in the 500-600+ range is more than doable. That means quite a lot of markets have the leeway to gross less than the first movie, with the China gross covring them.