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

[RichWS]

Might be too late but is there any way we can let Avatar be a one time deal?

[The Futurist]

Pedestrian my ass, Titanic was a masterclass in storytelling.The movie is 3 hours plus and the movie works beautifully.He couldn t have made a better movie with that pitch : romeo & juliet on a boat.My first screening of Titanic was magical, the final act has so many emotionnal scenes, so powerful.

[darkelf]

 lacking in vitality, imagination, distinction, etc.; commonplace; prosaic or dull:

 

So, Hemingway was pedestrian?

 

I get it, if you don't use big words, you're garbage. Well, we pedestrians sometimes prefer walking to riding a bus. There's a place and time for everything, and Cameron's simplicity, let's call it like that, works for what he wants to accomplish. I like complicated movies as much as those knights that say "pedestrian" but why can't we have both? You don't need to hate on things because they're not complicated.

 

And I don't even like Avatar.

[AniNate]

"Pedestrian", like "pretentious", is one of those words people use to make themselves look superior. 

[Ethan Hunt]

"Pedestrian", like "pretentious", is one of those words people use to make themselves look superior.

Nah, it's just a word

[Cochofles]

 Regardless of how much money Avatar made, from an objective critical standpoint it is nowhere near the quality of either Terminator, Aliens or The Abyss. Cameron remains a great director, but his writing has gotten progressively lazier since True Lies. Even Titanic, as good a film as it, owes its emotional power to the real life tragedy, not Cameron's pedestrian screenplay.

 

That's not really an objective assessment. It is simply your opinion. In fact, when it comes to quality, there's no such thing as objectivity. So basically, your argument comes down to "I didn't like it as much as Aliens and T2, and since lots of fanboys hate Cameron's post-True Lies work, it must be true."

I think, subjectively because I am not gonna be as pretentious as some people to assert my opinion as fact, that he is a fantastic storyteller. Quite unparalleled, in fact. But to each their own. To you his writing is lazy, to me, his writing is on point, sharp, and solid. And his writing is compelling enough to make audiences turn his last two films into the two biggest grossing films of all time.

[Cochofles]

But that s the problem with Cameron, he reached such heights that it will be very hard to remain on the mountain top.

 

I absolutely agree. I love the guy's work, but I can't imagine his staying on top forever. Nobody does. And when you hit such heights, if Avatar 2 makes, say, 600 million in the USA, it will be seen as an "underperformer."  LOL

[Elessar]

TTT was the worst in the franchise imo. T2 and Aliens are better films

 

They are all awesome.

[Cochofles]

Hollywood blockbusters writers wish they could craft such "pedestrian" screenplays.

LOL

 

"Even Titanic, as good a film as it, owes its emotional power to the real life tragedy, not Cameron's pedestrian screenplay."

 

Since the Titanic tragedy is what made the film so powerful and successful (that's a brand new one. I guess the "It was a smash only because of teenage girls' love for Leo" excuse doesn't work anymore), how come no other Titanic-themed piece of entertainment made even 1/8 of the bank that the film made? The Titanic musical lost money. The Titanic miniseries from 2012 was a ratings flop. The previous Hollywood films about Titanic were non-entities (check IMDB).

Yeah, I guess it was all about the real-life tragedy.

[Elessar]

 Even Titanic, as good a film as it, owes its emotional power to the real life tragedy, not Cameron's pedestrian screenplay.

 

Had Titanic never happened (the tragedy), the movie would have worked just as well.

Edited August 22, 2014 by Elessar

[RichWS]

We're just having the arguments we would have had in 1998 if forums existed then.

[dashrendar44]

LOL"Even Titanic, as good a film as it, owes its emotional power to the real life tragedy, not Cameron's pedestrian screenplay."Since the Titanic tragedy is what made the film so powerful and successful (that's a brand new one. I guess the "It was a smash only because of teenage girls' love for Leo" excuse doesn't work anymore), how come no other Titanic-themed piece of entertainment made even 1/8 of the bank that the film made? The Titanic musical lost money. The Titanic miniseries from 2012 was a ratings flop. The previous Hollywood films about Titanic were non-entities (check IMDB).Yeah, I guess it was all about the real-life tragedy.

You made the point I ought to make. Exactly, no TV movies nor the previous Titanic movies came anywhere close to Cameron.Because Titanic is not the story of Titanic, it's the story of Rose Dewitt Bukater and the crucial moment when her fate came across History. It's a story about resilience, about growth through passion and loss, renaissance and death (she contemplated suicide and ends up surviving anew). One of my favourite shot that got me emotional is not on the boat even if they're memorable ("Jack, I'm flying", "I'm the King Of The World"), not the apocalyptical rendition of the sinking, it's the panning shot toward the end when Rose passes on, the camera pans on several pictures that depict Rose's life after that fateful night.We realize she lived her life at its fullest, she came stronger from that tragedy and didn't let it define her. She survived and overcame that terrible event to live on her own as an adventurous and wild spirit honouring her promise to Jack (the medallion's symbol she keeps then gives back to the Titanic where it belongs forever, where it all began and ended coming full circle). Yeah, her heart went on achieving great things in her life although she has always remembered till the end.That's why Titanic's story resonated so much in ladies heart and was pretty much universal, it spoke to their inner Rose Dewitt Bukater that dream to transcend their mundane life and meet their Jack Dawson to be free, living their lives at the fullest following where their hearts lead them no matter what tragedies they may face, their force resides in that resilient power to overcome and fulfill their existence.And I could go on and ramble on how Cameron is obsessed with the recurrent image of the "Hand" throughout the movie and how much it defines the characters all the way through but it's supposed to be "pedestrian"... Edited August 22, 2014 by dashrendar44

[Mattrek]

But that s the problem with Cameron, he reached such heights that it will be very hard to remain on the mountain top.

Even if he got down to the very bottom of his mountain it'd still be twice the size of any other director out there. He doesn't need to remain on top.

[dashrendar44]

Even if he got down to the very bottom of his mountain it'd still be twice the size of any other director out there. He doesn't need to remain on top.

 

It's not like anyone else got a chance to come close to the top of that mountain either any time soon. So what if he doesn't top it with his following movies? Big deal, he's untouchable for many years until inflation will make it possible to beat.

 

it's like if Cameron doesn't outgross Avatar and just gross 1,5B WW, some will call him a "failure".

[The Futurist]

Even as a big Cameron fan, I wish he left Pandora and does something else.4 movies seem a bit overkill and he will be around 65 when Avatar is done.But the Pandora movies will deliver I am sure.

[Klingo]

Even as a big Cameron fan, I wish he left Pandora and does something else.4 movies seem a bit overkill and he will be around 65 when Avatar is done.But the Pandora movies will deliver I am sure.

 

Setting is in waters of Pandora.  Think he did the same thing in The Abyss.

[Empire]

Even as a big Cameron fan, I wish he left Pandora and does something else.4 movies seem a bit overkill and he will be around 65 when Avatar is done.But the Pandora movies will deliver I am sure.

I agree. I really want him to do other things too. Still, like you said, I am sure they will still be good movies.

[Klingo]

I agree. I really want him to do other things too. Still, like you said, I am sure they will still be good movies.

The next setting would be in near space in Pandora's orbit.

[Klingo]

And Avatar 4 its underground.

[vc2002]

We're just having the arguments we would have had in 1998 if forums existed then.

 

That's what I was trying to say since day one. The same backlash Avatar was getting, is EXACTLY the same as Titanic once had. It was done in the same way by the same group of people. We were basically repeating the same agrument again, and I bet we'll do the same when Avatar sequels are released.