Same happend here during our screening here in Germany. The first 20min had ugly artefacts and it totaly distracted my experience. The movie was stopped and we had to wait 10min, after that the picture was perfect from start to finish. I was very angry....waited 13 yeas for a new Cameron film and the first Impression was just terrible.
I think it had something to do with the high frame rate. Not sure, but i think it startet in hfr and after the "restart" the movie ran in normal frame rate. But i could be wrong.
The movie was awesome! I totaly forgot i was watching a CGI Movie, just spectacular from start to finish.
Pro:
- great villain
- great effects
- great 3D
- nice edditing with clear action
- many scenes paid hommage to older Cameron movies
- the story was ...."okay"
- great animals
- i liked the children (not annoying)
- you will forget everything around you for 3h. A perfect escape fron reality
Con:
- a bit too long....the movie is never boring, but i think it could have been a bit shorter. Just a bit.
- the story was ..."okay"
- human bad, navi good. A bit too simple for my taste
- navis say "bro" and "dude"....wtf cameron?
I have to see it again but i really liked it!
7-8/ 10
Better than the first movie? Not sure. Better than T1/ T2/ Aliens? Nope
Do i want to the Avatar 3? Yes!
After giving my opinion on the film in a hurry yesterday, I would now like to go into a little more details... WITHOUT SPOILERS! (and sorry for my bad english)
Pros:
- The vilian:
I liked Cameron's approach of "putting the opponent on the other side". Every time he was on screen I had a lot of fun with the character. People say the vilian is very "old school" and "one dimensional" who only wants revenge...well, that's true. And yet it still is a pleasure to watch him follow his little journey into the world of Pandora.
- CGI and 3D:
I've actually never seen anything like it. When I first saw the trailer, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. I couldn't really see the promised quantum leap in technology...but yesterday in the cinema the 3D was a revelation. Before the movie started, trailers for Antman 3 and Guardians of the Galaxy 3 were shown. Not only did the effects look boring, but you could hear how annoyed the movie theater audience was with Marvel. Same shit - different movie i guess. The 3D was the best 3D I've ever seen. It really feels like a window into another world. The image was crystal clear, bright and filled with rich colors. Perhaps this film will trigger a new boom in 3D TVs. I could certainly imagine "4k HDR+ 3D TVs" in the near future.
- Editing:
No "shaky cam", no excessive use of cuts. You can follow the action without getting a headache. That's how it should be done!
- Many scenes paid homage to older Cameron movies:
Titanic, Terminator, The Abyss...i had a smile on my face every time i spotted a familiar scene. Camerons eye for visual design is unmatched...maybe Ridley Scott comes close.
- Wildlife:
Cameron loves exploring the sea in real life and it shows....Pandoras underwater world with its numerous sea creatures is just breathtaking. We see animals that integrate perfectly
into the world of Pandora and leave the viewer amazed. A highlight of the film for me.
- The children:
People don't like the character "Spider"? Why? Maybe he is a tiny bit rebellious and arrogant, but he never becomes unbearable, at least not for me. I have to say that I liked every kid in this film, including Spider and little arc. His background story created an interesting contrast to the other children in the film that I didn't expect.
We're still not talking about Shakespear storytelling here, but that's not what this film is made for and i am okay with it. The character of "Kiri" is my favorit character in the movie. The only thing I found kind of embarrassing was that the brothers were throwing words like "dude" and "bro" at each other. Why would a child growing up on Pandora use such words?
Didn't fit into the film at all!
- Escape from reality:
For 3 hours you're "trapped" on Pandora...and you just don't want to leave anytime soon. I forgot everything around me. Everything!. It's like booking a ticket to another world and thanks to the 3D effect, this roller coaster ride also seems incredibly real. Just like the first movie, no other cinema experince comes close. Despite the many small weaknesses, I want to go back to Pandora as soon as i can.
Cons:
- The movie is too long:
Even though I said that I would have liked to have stayed even longer on Pandora, you can tell from the film that it is part of something bigger. The film's story and pacing are not as smooth as other James Cameron films and because so many characters and storylines are shown, the film feels overloaded. Terminator 2 for example is a long movie. Hell, the T1000 basically dissapears in the middle of the movie for about 40min. and yet the movie feels perfect from start to finish. Unfortunately Avatar 2 doesn't feel as sleek and balanced as Camerons masterpiece. Maybe once part 3 (and then maybe 4 and 5) are released, Avatar The Way of Water will fit a bit better into the overall arc of the story. But at the moment, the movie feels like a too long Directors Cut version. The film doesn't really feel complete and independent. Reminds me a bit of Dune - Part 1...
- Music:
Holy shit that was uninspired, generic and boring, sometimes even annoying. James Horner's theme is as beautiful as ever, but the rest is just forgetable. Very disappointing.
- Cringe and cheesy:
What I appreciate about James Cameron is his perfectionism. My favorite director of all time is Stanley Kubrick. And these days, for me, there are only two people who can hold a candle to Kubrick in terms of attention to detail...David Fincher and James Cameron (..and Ridely Scott, although the man has just disappointed me too often lately).
What I appreciate so much about these directors is their laser-focused way of telling a story. Are there any scenes in Kubrick, Cameron and Fincher films that might seem a little "weird" or "out of place"?...sure! (Arnie smiling in T2, the scene with the skeletons in The Shining, the penguin in Fight Club). Still, these scenes never really bothered me, no, I even find them kind of cool and interesting, if still weird at the same time.
Well, luckily there are no big cheesy scenes in Avatar (maybe 1or 2), but some dialogue moments feel super cheesy and I rolled my eyes several times.
Cameron has always walked a fine line between cool and cheesy (one liners in true lies, dialogue between the marines in aliens, or Colonel Miles Quaritch's speech in the first avatar), but holy shit sometimes the dialogue in Avatar 2 seems really awkward and cringy. Cameron, Fincher and Scott know who to make a scene look awesome, but you also have to pay attention to the dialogue in order to make the whole thing fell natural and perfect. Not this time.
- Jake und Neytiri:
The two are now parents and the focus of the film is on their 4 children. Still, they could have been incorporated more into the story. In Act 2, you hardly see them and their character development is almost non-existent. I liked Jake in the first movie. Sam Worthington is not a super talented actor, but he played Jake Sully convincingly enough. This time around he is just....there. Also, the chemistry between Jake and Neytiri is non existend.
- Lack of memorable action scenes:
I beg your pardon? no memorable action scenes?
Well, the film is one visual feast for the senses from start to finish. The action is awesome and miles ahead or every marvel movie/ transformers/ fast and the furious bullshit! And yet in the end I somehow missed "THE ONE" ....the one scene which stays in your memory forever. The finale is beautifully filmed and exciting, but doesn't compare to Cameron's own blockbusters like Terminator 2, Avatar 1, Aliens! Again, go and see the movie, you wont be dissapointed. But you can tell this movie ha been split up thus it somehow lacks the final punch i needed to put it in my top Cameron movies of all time!
In conclusion, I can say that the film still blew me away and I would like to see it 2-3 more times in cinemas! It's a spectacle, a feast for the senses and you forget the world around you for a moment. I want to see more of Pandora, more of Jake's family, and hopefully more of Pandora's flora and fauna.
The story is simple, which is both a curse and a blessing. The first film followed Jake's journey through Pandora. In the second film, Cameron has to introduce many new characters who, like Jake, are thrown into a new situation and thus experience new sides of Pandora....again.
As a result, we as viewers also get to know new parts of the world, which is just beautiful to look at. However, the film loses the linear focus of the first Avatar film and I don't exactly know who the main character of Avatar - The way of water really is? ...I bet it is Pandora itsel.
7/10 right now...but i have to see it again. Maybe i will change my mind and give it an 8/10 and I'm sure the final trilogy will be a beautiful, self-contained work of art. Cant wait to see it again!
!!!!
