The original movie was very fulfilling spiritually. It wasn't perfect, but it had heart.
This movie isn't half as profound. The visuals are stunning -- we all know that. But the plot is so lackluster it is almost laughable. I'm so done with Hollywood creating these huge blockbuster films with absolutely nothing deep for the audience to grab onto. Apparently we are supposed to forgo the desire to be sincerely impacted by film (or simply not notice because of the insane CGI).
For one thing, Miles Quaritch's return is almost ridiculous. We didn't need to see him again. He died in the first film, and they should have left it there. In truth, there are probably very few plotlines that could have made his return seem genuinely congruent with the story as a whole, and this wasn't it. The fact that he just has to come back and kill Jake Sully, and Jake Sully alone, to the exclusion of doing anything to actually further his crew's mission, is poorly explained at best. Why Jake Sully when he has left his people entirely exposed in the forest? Without Sully's aid and knowledge of the "Sky People", they might be easy to subdue.
Along with the other apparently heartless, one-dimensional humans still involved in this tireless, war torn endeavor (which I guess is now about finding a place for human civilization to relocate once Earth is uninhabitable, yet this motive is only mentioned once!), Quaritch lacks a true character arch. In the beginning of the movie, once it is acknowledged that Spider is his son (although not really, because the Quaritch in this film is just a clone of the original... As the new Quaritch poorly explains to Spider once he is captured), I figured he would have the opportunity to grow. Surely his son (whose not really his son) would help him do that. While it's true that this kind of happens, his development is poorly fleshed out -- like everything else in this movie. Further, much of Avatar 2 depends on the dubious advancement of technology, to the point of absurdity.
Speaking of Spider, I really stopped feeling one with the characters of this film when Neytiri pulled a knife on him. I have plenty of understanding for downtrodden, heart-broken individuals who do messed up stuff in a time of extreme pain, but this pushes the limit, and there is literally no resolution to it! The entire film emphasizes the value of family sticking together, and although Spider isn't technically a part of the family, he might as well be... Neytiri's treatment of him was so disappointing given the insight, wisdom, and sense of self-control she displayed in the first film. This was just totally out of character... it didn't seem right. She could have just snuck up on Quaritch when he had Kiri anyway (there were plenty of other far more fantastical moments). Or Spider could have done so beforehand, when Quaritch was truly vulnerable, instead of trying to reason with him. At the end of the movie, Jake echoes Neytiri when he says "a son for a son"... Is that supposed to be some sort of resolution to Neytiri's behavior?
In short, Avatar 2 is chaotic and disjointed. Very few subplots are fleshed out and carried the whole way through the film. The result is something special effect ridden, but jaded and confusing, not very impactful on a heart level, and very lacking in all of the depth and profundity of the first film. It's worth seeing if you loved the original Avatar, but you'll probably be disappointed.
This movie isn't half as profound. The visuals are stunning -- we all know that. But the plot is so lackluster it is almost laughable. I'm so done with Hollywood creating these huge blockbuster films with absolutely nothing deep for the audience to grab onto. Apparently we are supposed to forgo the desire to be sincerely impacted by film (or simply not notice because of the insane CGI).
For one thing, Miles Quaritch's return is almost ridiculous. We didn't need to see him again. He died in the first film, and they should have left it there. In truth, there are probably very few plotlines that could have made his return seem genuinely congruent with the story as a whole, and this wasn't it. The fact that he just has to come back and kill Jake Sully, and Jake Sully alone, to the exclusion of doing anything to actually further his crew's mission, is poorly explained at best. Why Jake Sully when he has left his people entirely exposed in the forest? Without Sully's aid and knowledge of the "Sky People", they might be easy to subdue.
Along with the other apparently heartless, one-dimensional humans still involved in this tireless, war torn endeavor (which I guess is now about finding a place for human civilization to relocate once Earth is uninhabitable, yet this motive is only mentioned once!), Quaritch lacks a true character arch. In the beginning of the movie, once it is acknowledged that Spider is his son (although not really, because the Quaritch in this film is just a clone of the original... As the new Quaritch poorly explains to Spider once he is captured), I figured he would have the opportunity to grow. Surely his son (whose not really his son) would help him do that. While it's true that this kind of happens, his development is poorly fleshed out -- like everything else in this movie. Further, much of Avatar 2 depends on the dubious advancement of technology, to the point of absurdity.
Speaking of Spider, I really stopped feeling one with the characters of this film when Neytiri pulled a knife on him. I have plenty of understanding for downtrodden, heart-broken individuals who do messed up stuff in a time of extreme pain, but this pushes the limit, and there is literally no resolution to it! The entire film emphasizes the value of family sticking together, and although Spider isn't technically a part of the family, he might as well be... Neytiri's treatment of him was so disappointing given the insight, wisdom, and sense of self-control she displayed in the first film. This was just totally out of character... it didn't seem right. She could have just snuck up on Quaritch when he had Kiri anyway (there were plenty of other far more fantastical moments). Or Spider could have done so beforehand, when Quaritch was truly vulnerable, instead of trying to reason with him. At the end of the movie, Jake echoes Neytiri when he says "a son for a son"... Is that supposed to be some sort of resolution to Neytiri's behavior?
In short, Avatar 2 is chaotic and disjointed. Very few subplots are fleshed out and carried the whole way through the film. The result is something special effect ridden, but jaded and confusing, not very impactful on a heart level, and very lacking in all of the depth and profundity of the first film. It's worth seeing if you loved the original Avatar, but you'll probably be disappointed.