On December 6, 2022, Avatar 2 was released in all cinemas around the world. Continuation of the first part, which was released in 2009 – that is, we have been waiting for a sequel for 13 years. Box office worldwide exceeded US$2 billion. Estimates vary on different sites from 8 to 10 – both foreign and Russian. In one word “success”. But is it really so?
The plot is where we start the conversation. The first part of “Avatar” ended with the Navi people driving the Earthlings from their planet. And now, 13 years later, we get to see nothing new – a self-replay of the first part. And even worse.
The logic of the story is missing. We see people living peacefully with Navi. Serious? After getting kicked in the ass, people just forgot everything? It was like there was nothing. When the first part ended, it was clear that people would return and want to take something they can’t live without. Yes, and war is a business, especially if it is global. Private companies are unlikely to have lost interest in cashing in on the war. Therefore, it would make sense that in the second part we get to see real hell – what a person is capable of in a war. It was also expected that the consequences of choosing Jake Sully, switching to Navi’s side, would become visible. And in the third part – either the world between people and Navi, which is unlikely, given the mentality of different races, or someone alone would get the whole planet, which is closer to realism and veracity. But what we have is a sentimental children’s movie with crazy visual special effects.
James Cameron (James Cameron) decided to create “his” Santa Barbara “or” the new Fast and the Furious. Only in the title role is no longer Dominic Toretto, but Jake Sully, but again the hackneyed theme of the family.
About the Navi people and their differences from people – this is generally a separate conversation. If in the first part we see the people of Navi who are fundamentally different from people – worldview, language, way of life, customs – then in the second part they are ordinary people in blue suits. The same mindset, the same family values and the same drama, the same teenage problems – everything is a blueprint.
Heroes – what a movie, such heroes. The only revealed and mysterious character “not like everyone else” is Jack’s adopted daughter Sally named Kiri. It was she who dragged the whole film, all the rest against her background are soulless mannequins. So there is no point in talking about others. The director was too lazy to even introduce a new antagonist with a new charisma and a memorable appearance. We have a more violent version of Quaritch who doesn’t argue or negotiate with anyone. They also showed a woman at the beginning of the film, it was thought she would run the entire film, and Quaritch would be her message. But no. This is the same Quartich, only trying to be more charismatic and mean than in the first part. He succeeds until the director completely forgets about him, turning him into a dumb martinet and sensitive father by the end of the film.
Quaritch has no logic. Instead of pursuing his old perpetrator, he could complete what he left behind in the first part – destroy Jake Sully’s village or capture everyone so that Sully went to save his people. The same can be said about Jake Sully, just a dummy. Still a short-sighted sentimental ex-soldier who once again condemns the people to death and suffering. The character has no logic, just like the film’s antagonist. Jake, realizing that he would only look for his family, decided to collect his clothes and dump them in the Canary Islands, endangering his village and his people, for whom he fought so fiercely.
In general, it would be ideal if James Cameron decided to build a plot around their confrontation: then most of the screen time would be given to Quaritch, and he would treat his perpetrator and traitor to all humanity with cold calculation. Since Jake Sully pulled the rink in the first film, Quaritch should have been in the second. Thus, the third part would be the final confrontation between the heroes. In general, both lines, Jake and Quaritch, their “opposition”, were organically completed in the first film. However, like the whole story of Avatar.
The story is the most important thing in the movie, but this time the director failed. But even from the trailers, it was clear that this would be the case.
James Cameron’s new movie turned out to be a box office hit, albeit poor in terms of storytelling. The director left nothing of the Navi and their culture but blue skin. Didn’t try to come up with anything new. Am I, the author of this text, going to see the third part in the cinema? Hardly, considering how the second part came out.
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Source: VG Times
Christina Moncayo is a contributing writer for “Social Bites”. Her focus is on the gaming industry and she provides in-depth coverage of the latest news and trends in the world of gaming.