As a film connoisseur who was a fan of the original Avatar, I was eagerly anticipating the sequel. However, I was extremely disappointed and even angry when I discovered that it was inferior to the first installment, despite the 13-year wait.
Warning: Spoiler alert, proceed with caution.
The Unfortunate Offsprings
The film began with a scene of Jake Sully’s four children and a Tarzan-like character playfully interacting, and it was evident that there were too many children for the narrative. I anticipated that one or more of them would die, especially the ones who had limited screen time and seemed overly happy and normal for the plot.
The Tarzan was an outcast even among the outcast children. Kiri, the teenage girl, was intellectual and had a love for nature, while the youngest brother was prone to making mistakes. The child sister would have been too depressing for the audience to lose, so that only leaves one child who could die without much emotional impact on the audience, but also adding emotional depth to the plot.
Skully Kids without the outcast tarzan
The Unexplored Sexual Tensions
When Jake Sully and his family relocated to the islands, I anticipated that there would be a subtle build-up of sexual tension between the leaders of the tribe and the Sully couple. However, it appears that the director had “moral” values and couldn’t handle the idea of such a dynamic in his fantasy world.
Another opportunity for romantic tension presented itself when the younger brother entered the whale-like creature called “tulkun” and formed a bond with her. The movie showed that these whales are intelligent, possibly even more so than humans, and highly emotional, suggesting that there would be some sort of sexual chemistry when they connected. However, the scene may have resembled a Japanese erotic manga, which the audience might have frowned upon, causing the director to omit it.
Younger brother riding Tulkun
The Same Antagonist Once More
Reintroducing a villain who has already died is a prime example of lazy writing. We watched Colonel Quaritch’s death and wanted him to remain deceased so that more exciting villains could be introduced and the story could become more fascinating. While I can overlook the lack of sexual scenes, I cannot forgive the lazy writing. We want to delve deeper into Pandora, see more formidable villains, and encounter more intricate storylines.
It is extremely disappointing that they chose to bring him back to life even after the final, conclusive fight ONCE AGAIN! It demonstrates a lack of imagination and an expectation that the audience will eat up the same tired shit again in the next film.
Colonel Quaritch who should have stayed dead