Avatar 2, 3 and 4 or how James Cameron stopped worrying and pulled The Hobbit on us

[p0llux 398]

3 hours ago, TolkienSS said:

I have a hard time sitting down watching a movie in a theatre, where I feel like watching the director masturbate for 3 hours and watch me over my shoulder if I enjoy it.

jesus

[Thor 7,504]

13 hours ago, Bayesian said:

It makes sense to have Quaritch return as the villain because the first Avatar can be seen (in retrospect) as being all about setting up Quaritch’s personal vendetta against Sully and that needs payoff. In that regard, TWOW feels like the perfect extension of that storyline and, indeed, it’s clear that it can (and will) continue into the third Avatar. 
 

As for Quaritch’s presence in the fourth and fifth Avatars, I didn’t know that was confirmed or anything. I can see how the same vendetta-driven conflict could get repetitive by then, but I have confidence in Cameron and his story team that they know what they’re doing.

 

I said it earlier and I’ll say it again: I hope this movie earns enough for Disney to greenlight Avatars 4 and 5. The moviegoing public deserves the chance to see this story played out in full.

 

Indeed. I have a suspicion they're going to develop his character in a similar way as other villain arcs these days, in film and tv (think DISTRICT 9, THE WALKING DEAD, THE HANDMAID'S TALE etc.), i.e. the "turns good".

Spoiler

There are elements already in this film that suggest this, being saved by his son and so on.

That he needs to come to term with the fact that the original Quarritch is gone, and that he'll have to embrace his avatar as the real thing. As such, mirroring Jake. Again, there are some philosophical and existential ponderings involved in this -- if you were reborn in a different body, with your memories intact, but basically a 'tabula rasa' otherwise, how would you develop?

[Gabriel Bezerra 302]

On 16/12/2022 at 3:33 PM, Damien F said:

 I don't quite think the sequel has the same amount of heart that Neytiri brought to the first one.

I 100% agree that the movie doesn't have enough Neytiri! But all her scenes were great.

 

Saw it yesterday on IMAX 3D, I didn't even noticed the 3D. I had a hard time with it with previous movies, but this one was perfect, don't know if it's an IMAX thing, it was my first movie in the format. I can't imagine seeing any other way.

 

I really liked the movie, it hit all the right notes for me, and I'm intrigued as to what comes next, I imagine the third one will be the Return of Toruk Makto of this The Humans Strike Back, but Grace's daughter was what intrigued me the most.

[greenturnedblue 372]

Only thing I would have changed about the movie is give the Colonel's Avatar a big scar across his cheek at the end of the movie

[Jay 37,364]

Someone has to be mistaken here

 

James Cameron Reportedly Wants Full VFX For A 9-Hour Cut Of Avatar 3

[mstrox 6,651]

Personally I’d take anything you hear from ScreenRant and most likely anything from the guy they’re citing with a grain of salt.

 

It’d be a ludicrous ask bound to destroy his budget and infuriate every other studio in town who are already stressing effects houses out with their workloads and turnaround times.  Frankly it’s also not something Cameron likely has the capital to do immediately after the underperformance on opening weekend of Avatar 2

[Edmilson 7,456]

😂

 

James Cameron says he shot the Avatar sequels at the same time to avoid the 'Stranger Things effect'

"They’re supposed to still be in high school and they look like they’re 27," the filmmaker says of the Hawkins teens.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,532]

A spokesman for "Stranger Things", said:

"He's supposed to be a 68 year old filmmaker, and he's still making movies about Smurfs".

[Sweeping Strings 2,361]

Yes, I suspect it's the Smurfs meets Ferngully again for some eco-lecturing that goes on so long that you're almost tearfully grateful when the action sequences start.  

[GerateWohl 4,369]

Just like John Carpenter James Cameron's movies always had that certain plump proletarian motorbiker charm that tells you, that guy is technically versed and has great ideas, but he is no academic or intellectual. In a way Cameron makes the most expensive B-movies ever. Which is not a bad thing. But I think, it helps adjusting one's expectations.

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

5 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

In a way Cameron makes the most expensive B-movies ever.

 

Nah, that's Star Wars.

[GerateWohl 4,369]

7 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Nah, that's Star Wars.

But George Lucas is exactly the opposite intellectually educated type of filmmaker.

[JNHFan2000 2,964]

Cameron needs to stop dissing other projects. It really makes him seem like he feels he's better and smarter than everyone.

It's really annoying

[Naïve Old Fart 9,532]

3 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Nah, that's Star Wars.

Oh, bloody hell!

Don't let Mattris read this!

[TolkienSS 407]

6 hours ago, JNHFan2000 said:

Cameron needs to stop dissing other projects. It really makes him seem like he feels he's better and smarter than everyone.

 

That's because he does feel he is.

[Jay 37,364]

LOL:

 

Edie Falco Shot ‘Avatar 2’ So Long Ago She Thought It Already Got Released and Flopped: ‘It Hasn’t Come Out Yet?’

[leeallen01 2,136]

The kid actors in Stranger Things 4 were literally still high school age though. The core group were between 16, 17, and 18 during filming haha.

 

Cameron, buddy. Calm down.

[Jay 37,364]

Yea, they were all older than the characters they were playing, but not THAT much older

[mstrox 6,651]

Especially considering the median age of actors playing high school characters, Stranger Things seems like a weird one to pick on

[Edmilson 7,456]

Just got home from the theater.

 

It's a pretty good blockbuster movie that looks beautiful in a big IMAX 3D screen. But good grief, the movie is interminable! I felt like I was binging an 8 episode Netflix minisseries all at once.

 

I like the movie, I liked the characters, even parts of the score I didn't liked when listening to the album worked fine with the pictures (particularly the action scenes). But with a tighter editing, it could've been even more effective.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

37 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

Just got home from the theater.

 

It's a pretty good blockbuster movie that looks beautiful in a big IMAX 3D screen. But good grief, the movie is interminable! I felt like I was binging an 8 episode Netflix minisseries all at once.

 

I like the movie, I liked the characters, even parts of the score I didn't liked when listening to the album worked fine with the pictures (particularly the action scenes). But with a tighter editing, it could've been even more effective.

It needed looser editing imo.  Some of the character plotlines needed more room to develop (hoping for a extended cut)

[mstrox 6,651]

If they’d given Cameron another year or two he could have gotten it down to 2:35.

[TolkienSS 407]

The very idea that a movie a decade in the making isn't as good as it could be because "no more time" is terrible.

As is the idea that a director would need a year, let alone two, to cut 30 minutes from his already bloated movie.

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

Don't take everything @mstrox says seriously.

[Edmilson 7,456]

I don't even think this should've been a 2-hour movie (though people's bladders would surely be thankful), but I think a 145-160 minute final cut would feel less bloated and punishingly long.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

1 hour ago, TolkienSS said:

The very idea that a movie a decade in the making isn't as good as it could be because "no more time" is terrible.

As is the idea that a director would need a year, let alone two, to cut 30 minutes from his already bloated movie.

The idea is that they wouldn't be able to release a 3hr40m movie in theaters.  It doesn't matter how it took for him to make the movie.

Sometimes adding scenes can make a long movie flow better (like Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In America or more recently Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven)

[King Mark 3,631]

Well I guess my joke a few pages ago turned into reality just to show how toxic pop culture has become. Maybe they should just stop making movies altogether.

 

https://www.newsweek.com/avatar-faces-calls-boycott-over-accusations-racism-1768217

 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/22/entertainment/avatar-2-way-of-water-indigenous-boycott-cec/index.html

[Naïve Old Fart 9,532]

14 hours ago, Not Mr. Big said:

The idea is that they wouldn't be able to release a 3hr40m movie in theaters.  It doesn't matter how it took for him to make the movie.

Sometimes adding scenes can make a long movie flow better (like Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In America or more recently Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven)

I agree. If THE DEATH OF MICHAEL CORLEONE had been released in 1990, and GODFATHER PT. III had been released a couple of years ago, then the latter would be heralded as a masterpiece, rather than the former being thought of, as "a bit better".

Btw; "recently"? It was 17 years ago 

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

9 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

I agree. If THE DEATH OF MICHAEL CORLEONE had been released in 1990, and GODFATHER PT. III had been released a couple of years ago, then the latter would be heralded as a masterpiece, rather than the former being thought of, as "a bit better".

Btw; "recently"? It was 17 years ago 

I can think of quite a few "long movies that feel longer because they're too short".  I think it has to do with number of plotlines and giving them the proper breathing room. 

 

One recent movie that did that well is The Irishman.  That movie is 3 1/2 hours but it feels shorter because you're constantly following the story from one thing to another.  

[Naïve Old Fart 9,532]

There's nowt wrong with long movies.

Their lengths didn't do BEN-HUR, or LAWRENCE OF ARABIA any harm.

For the record, I prefer APOCALYPSE, NOW REDUX to any other version, and the extended version of THE ABYSS is brilliant.

Sometimes a film's epic length is exactly what is needed, to tell the story.

An "arts centre" (whatever the hell that means) cinema, where I used to live, is showing the cinema version of FANNY AND ALEXANDER.

No!!!

[JNHFan2000 2,964]

6 hours ago, King Mark said:

Well I guess my joke a few pages ago turned into reality just to show how toxic pop culture has become. Maybe they should just stop making movies altogether.

 

https://www.newsweek.com/avatar-faces-calls-boycott-over-accusations-racism-1768217

 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/22/entertainment/avatar-2-way-of-water-indigenous-boycott-cec/index.html

This was to be expected and honestly I was kinda waiting for this. It's a bit weird to have a mostly white cast portray what are natives/indigenous people (even though they're blue in the film) and alao let the actors speak with accents.

+ the one who is the leader of the Na'vi is not actually one of them but a 'white guy' turned into them.

 

It's a difficult subject but I'm not surprised this is happening.

[HunterTech 994]

With how much people complained that the first movie was so derivative of other flicks, are we really that surprised that a sequel that still relies on that foundation is going to retain the more dated aspects as well? If anything, I more would've expected this the moment trailers dropped, and not after the release of the film (which does admittedly call attention to how opportunistic current culture can be in tackling key subjects).

[blondheim 1,157]

The people accusing Avatar of racism haven’t gone anywhere; the national spotlight has just begun highlighting their opinions more in the aftermath of the film’s release.

[crocodile 8,016]

13 hours ago, King Mark said:

Well I guess my joke a few pages ago turned into reality just to show how toxic pop culture has become. Maybe they should just stop making movies altogether.

 

https://www.newsweek.com/avatar-faces-calls-boycott-over-accusations-racism-1768217

 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/22/entertainment/avatar-2-way-of-water-indigenous-boycott-cec/index.html

For a second I got excited the actual Na'vi live on Earth!

 

Karol

[Edmilson 7,456]

58 minutes ago, crocodile said:

For a second I got excited the actual Na'vi live on Earth!

 

I kinda have hopes that, for Avatar 4 or 5, one (or some) of the Na'Vi characters will go to Earth (maybe because they were captured by the evil humans), and we'll see how shitty the planet has become. 

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

29 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

I kinda have hopes that, for Avatar 4 or 5, one (or some) of the Na'Vi characters will go to Earth (maybe because they were captured by the evil humans), and we'll see how shitty the planet has become. 

That's literally what will happen in Avatar 5 according to one of the producers

[Jay 37,364]

So each of the first 4 Avatar movies are about the 4 major regions/quadrants of whatever the planet is called, and then Avatar 5 wraps everything up on Earth?

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

6 minutes ago, Jay said:

So each of the first 4 Avatar movies are about the 4 major regions/quadrants of whatever the planet is called, and then Avatar 5 wraps everything up on Earth?

I'm assuming 5 and 6 will be about them healing the earth

[Jay 37,364]

They're making 6 of these things?

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

2 hours ago, Jay said:

They're making 6 of these things?

Maybe just 5

[TolkienSS 407]

2 hours ago, Not Mr. Big said:

I'm assuming 5 and 6 will be about them healing the earth

 

Released in 2045 and 2057?

[leeallen01 2,136]

Seeing Earth would be really interesting. Maybe Eywa will help heal nature and restore Earth back to health by connecting all living things in a vast network. 

 

Or the dystopian version where Eywa terraforms the atmosphere to Pandora levels and all humans suffocate to death.

[Edmilson 7,456]

I prefer an ending for the franchise where all of humanity (except those few decent humans, like Spider and Norm) die a horrible death in a cataclismic event and leave the Na'Vi alone.

[Chen G. 3,949]

On 21/12/2022 at 11:47 AM, GerateWohl said:

But George Lucas is exactly the opposite intellectually educated type of filmmaker.

So he wants you to think.

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

To think about how the films could have been better. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,532]

681 mil, in its first week. Is that good?

[Edmilson 7,456]

28 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

681 mil, in its first week. Is that good?

It is performing decently-though-not-extraordinarily-great in USA and China, and amazingly well in other countries in Europe and Latin America, including Brazil. 

 

Overall, it's a decent performance, but it'll need to remain strong during this January if it wants to be among the biggest of all time.

[leeallen01 2,136]

I think 2 billion is possible. But 500 million domestic and 1.2 billion international is a lock, I think, for a 1.7 billion total.

[Edmilson 7,456]

Domestic: 279.8m

International: 601.7m (including about 100m in China)

Worldwide: 881.3m

 

It's decent, but so far not exactly the monster Disney and Cameron hoped it would be. Apparently, the weather in the US has been terrible and that worked against the movie there. However, the movie is performing great in other countries in Europe, as well as Korea and Brazil.

[Fancyarcher 350]

8 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Domestic: 279.8m

International: 601.7m (including about 100m in China)

Worldwide: 881.3m

 

It's decent, but so far not exactly the monster Disney and Cameron hoped it would be. Apparently, the weather in the US has been terrible and that worked against the movie there. However, the movie is performing great in other countries in Europe, as well as Korea and Brazil.

 

The other thing hurting is the pandemic effect in China. Probably would be doing a bit better, as it I'd say it's doing pretty well. It was never going to exactly match the first, most sequels to movies that break records like Avatar have, rarely if ever really do.