Avatar, Lists & Other Complicated Things
Here's an "Avatar: Way of Water" review and some thoughts on lists.
I did not enjoy the new Avatar movie.
To be honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to it for quite some time. But then I saw the glowing reviews, remembered how much I enjoyed the first one in theaters, booked tickets for IMAX 3D and then slowly got more and more amped up as the showtime approached.
After three hours of more Avatar, I can definitively say that I didn’t need three more hours of Avatar.
Do you recall the first one? This is that but on a grander scale. Water’s involved immensely, along with subpar dialogue, zero character development and a thinly-veiled metaphor for how we’re treating the earth.
I respect the work that went into this, but when it comes down to it, I watched an hour of a retread of a movie from 13 years ago and then an hour of blue people acclimating to water and then an hour of, what a friend aptly called, “transformers in the ocean.”
The more movies I watch, the more critical the story becomes (at least for me). Besides the cinematic advancements—which were ultimately hindered by an exhausting frame rate—I couldn’t find anything to grasp onto. The characters were all archetypes in the lamest sense and even the shocking twists and arcs felt like they were out of a ‘90s blockbuster.
It’s not a good sign when the theater is laughing at your dialogue, and the dialogue is not intentionally funny.
I feel insane reading all of these reviews saying in one way or another that “Jim has done it again.” What exactly has he done?
It’s a bummer (in my opinion) for a much-ballyhooed, great director who is stuck in a purgatory of sorts. There’s definitely another Avatar coming (it’s already been filmed) and there may be more afterward.
Is this really how you want to spend the rest of your career? It’s not my life, so do whatever you want. But, man, it feels like there are better ways to spend a near century as a filmmaker.
.
I think a lot about lists, which is probably certainly an unhealthy thing to do.
What’s the point of a list? Is it just simply to rank what you like or is it to give a bit of attention to quieter releases? Over the last few weeks, I’ve been putting together my year-end review of every movie I’ve seen this year, and I’ve been having some trouble building it out.
For example, I currently have Avatar under Marry Me. Is Marry Me a better movie than Avatar?
Probably not.
Avatar is a billion-dollar epic from one of the most prolific directors of all time. Marry Me is a shlocky and stupid rom-com that features Owen Wilson in the place of what would’ve been Armie Hammer. But to be honest, I enjoyed Marry Me a good deal more. Where should that stand when it comes to a subjectively objective rundown? Well, we’ll all find out soon enough.
The other reason I’ve been thinking about lists is because of how people have reacted to the year-end lists from some of the best film critics in the world.
I know that Twitter is a cesspool and every dumb thing on there must be taken with a gallon of salt, but on every comment thread and under any Best Of list, you will surely see comments like the ones above.
They’re either screeching for a big-budget and/or popular movie to be included or they’re calling the writers “pretentious” for putting together a recap of the year that doesn’t include their favorite movies like Top Gun: Maverick or Everything Everywhere All at Once. Or even worse, the writer may list movies that they’ve never even heard of! Oh, the humanity!
When did it become cool to be so fucking dense? I know the rule with people that you always have to remember is that all people are idiots until proven otherwise, but there’s a head-in-the-sand mentality that comes with this approach. Isn’t the point of these articles to find things you haven’t seen before and to expand your reach? If you liked a movie, great. Good for you. You’re allowed to like more than one movie.
It’s such a shitty practice for reading and also for life as a whole. I have some big movies in my Top 10. I also have the lesser-seen fare. That’s fine. That’s the entire goddamn point.
It’s a microcosm for everything happening right now. You don’t immediately recognize something so you get mad. It’s depressing as hell.
You don’t have to watch Aftersun or No Bears or All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, and you don’t have to get mad at an arbitrary list.
With that said, my list is coming soon. Get ready.