Very nice! (Not as good/perfect as I hoped but I was expecting too much and the technology simply isn't there yet :o :D)
Unfortunately I never watched the first one in the cinema. I didn't repeat that mistake and made sure to watch this second movie in a cinema - and not just any cinema but an Imax (3D OV HFR). My expectations were very high as I was two times in an Imax as a child and both Imax documentaries were stunning (they used analog films back then). This time I was a bit worried because they switched to a digital projection system (duh, Avatar is of course only available digitally) and the resolution is "limited" to 4K (which I already have at home on a 28" screen). Tbh 4K isn't enough for a cinema (yet alone an Imax) but I also doubt that an 8K version of this movie is available at this point as the rendering is surly incredibly expensive.
Anyway, it was stunning and I definitely cannot wait to watch a behind the scenes / making-of. The CGI was amazing. Especially the water, the dark scenes with rain, the underwater scenes (beautiful performance capturing!), and overall of course. However, in a cinema, the technology isn't ready yet as one would need an 8K version as it is too blurry otherwise (but blurry is still much better than pixelated!). The HFR (high frequency rate) is apparently also not enough, unfortunately. One gets used to it but many motions aren't smooth enough and it was distracting at the beginning. The 3D also wasn't that impressive tbh (nice and worth it but not like IRL). However, I was amazed by the water simulation and rendering! Technically, such a light simulation must be really expensive and I really wonder how much computing time it took. A few scenes were incredible / completely photorealistic but I believe that's because some of the water scenes were actually filmed IRL (e.g., I remember a scene where a submarine (with only humans inside) got flooded with water). So technically it wasn't perfect (as the first one was) but still really good/impressive.
As for the story: I really like it :) Jake and Neytiri are still nice and I have a new favorite character: Kiri. She felt like the chosen one to me since the scene at the beginning where a few seeds from the sacred tree landed on her and she interacted with the grass/environment. I always though she would have a super powerful moment at the end (like in the first movie when Eywa sent help) but I guess they decided to save that moment for one of the next movies :D The other children are nice as well and there were lot's of superb moments. I'm glad that Norm and a few other scientists are still around. I'm especially glad that Grace is still there (even if not completely alive or rater not in a physical body yet) - I hope she'll play a bigger role in the next movie when she gets her Avatar body back. I don't really miss the Colonel but he keeps things interesting and can be quite entertaining (as was the ship's captain) - both definitely really despicable as well though. Spider (Miles) also helps keeping things really interesting. I hated Neytiris desperate move at the end though and thought they'd loose Spider due to it. I really hope they'll talk about that moment in the next movie (I hope that Neytiri did just bluff and that Spider knows it but I'm not entirely sure myself - plus they do owe Spider IMO!). There was also a really nice and cute girl (Tsireya?) from the other tribe but I forgot her name, unfortunately (most of the names are too difficult for me to understand and remember :o).
The scene with Kiri and the many little glowing fishes at the end was super beautiful <3 And I really like how Kiri often interacts with the environment. She's definitely the most interesting character IMO and I like her kindness and spirit (kinda happy/innocent/nice but also bored/annoyed/depressed/scared/etc.). I assume (and hope!) that she'll become the most powerful character.
It was also nice that the story switched between the Humans and Na'vi. The scenes with the Humans have action and cool Sci-Fi designs/technology while the Na'vi scenes offer beautiful nature, balance, etc.
And there were of course a few funny/entertaining/awesome lines! <3
This movie shows a nice new part of Pandora, had enough content (action, world building/exploration, etc.), and also leaves enough content and possibilities for the next movies. Hopefully we won't have to wait another 13 years for the next movie though :D (It currently doesn't look that way but let's not forget that the initial aim for the Avatar 2 release was 2014.) However, I definitely prefer waiting longer over getting a bad/rushed movie! :)
Review by Dahj AshaBlockedParentSpoilers2022-12-20T22:04:32Z
Very nice! (Not as good/perfect as I hoped but I was expecting too much and the technology simply isn't there yet :o :D)
Unfortunately I never watched the first one in the cinema. I didn't repeat that mistake and made sure to watch this second movie in a cinema - and not just any cinema but an Imax (3D OV HFR). My expectations were very high as I was two times in an Imax as a child and both Imax documentaries were stunning (they used analog films back then). This time I was a bit worried because they switched to a digital projection system (duh, Avatar is of course only available digitally) and the resolution is "limited" to 4K (which I already have at home on a 28" screen). Tbh 4K isn't enough for a cinema (yet alone an Imax) but I also doubt that an 8K version of this movie is available at this point as the rendering is surly incredibly expensive.
Anyway, it was stunning and I definitely cannot wait to watch a behind the scenes / making-of. The CGI was amazing. Especially the water, the dark scenes with rain, the underwater scenes (beautiful performance capturing!), and overall of course. However, in a cinema, the technology isn't ready yet as one would need an 8K version as it is too blurry otherwise (but blurry is still much better than pixelated!). The HFR (high frequency rate) is apparently also not enough, unfortunately. One gets used to it but many motions aren't smooth enough and it was distracting at the beginning. The 3D also wasn't that impressive tbh (nice and worth it but not like IRL). However, I was amazed by the water simulation and rendering! Technically, such a light simulation must be really expensive and I really wonder how much computing time it took. A few scenes were incredible / completely photorealistic but I believe that's because some of the water scenes were actually filmed IRL (e.g., I remember a scene where a submarine (with only humans inside) got flooded with water).
So technically it wasn't perfect (as the first one was) but still really good/impressive.
As for the story: I really like it :) Jake and Neytiri are still nice and I have a new favorite character: Kiri. She felt like the chosen one to me since the scene at the beginning where a few seeds from the sacred tree landed on her and she interacted with the grass/environment. I always though she would have a super powerful moment at the end (like in the first movie when Eywa sent help) but I guess they decided to save that moment for one of the next movies :D The other children are nice as well and there were lot's of superb moments. I'm glad that Norm and a few other scientists are still around. I'm especially glad that Grace is still there (even if not completely alive or rater not in a physical body yet) - I hope she'll play a bigger role in the next movie when she gets her Avatar body back. I don't really miss the Colonel but he keeps things interesting and can be quite entertaining (as was the ship's captain) - both definitely really despicable as well though. Spider (Miles) also helps keeping things really interesting. I hated Neytiris desperate move at the end though and thought they'd loose Spider due to it. I really hope they'll talk about that moment in the next movie (I hope that Neytiri did just bluff and that Spider knows it but I'm not entirely sure myself - plus they do owe Spider IMO!). There was also a really nice and cute girl (Tsireya?) from the other tribe but I forgot her name, unfortunately (most of the names are too difficult for me to understand and remember :o).
The scene with Kiri and the many little glowing fishes at the end was super beautiful <3
And I really like how Kiri often interacts with the environment. She's definitely the most interesting character IMO and I like her kindness and spirit (kinda happy/innocent/nice but also bored/annoyed/depressed/scared/etc.). I assume (and hope!) that she'll become the most powerful character.
It was also nice that the story switched between the Humans and Na'vi. The scenes with the Humans have action and cool Sci-Fi designs/technology while the Na'vi scenes offer beautiful nature, balance, etc.
And there were of course a few funny/entertaining/awesome lines! <3
This movie shows a nice new part of Pandora, had enough content (action, world building/exploration, etc.), and also leaves enough content and possibilities for the next movies. Hopefully we won't have to wait another 13 years for the next movie though :D (It currently doesn't look that way but let's not forget that the initial aim for the Avatar 2 release was 2014.) However, I definitely prefer waiting longer over getting a bad/rushed movie! :)