AVATAR THE WAY OF WATER 3D BD

Like the first film, the world of Pandora is beautifully crafted and awe inspiring presented in 3D. I saw this in the cinema with variable refresh rate and in my opinion ramping up the frame rate during fast moving scenes makes 3D more comfortable. Unfortunately the existing bluray 3D format is still capped at 1080P 24fps, but 3D on a good home cinema set up (a 100” projector and 7.1 surround sound system in my case) is in my opinion the best format to really get immersed in this film. The visuals are at their best in the slower more relaxed scenes and can be a bit jarring during fast motions. If 3D ever makes a comeback in future TV’s, I can only hope it makes use of variable refresh rates making higher speed moments more comfortable to watch. I’ve seen other reviewers questioning the need for the film to be on 2 discs in its 3D form compared to its predecessor and there are several reasons for this. First, 3D films require a lot more space as they’re store the entire film for the left eye and the entire film again for the right eye. This film is much longer than the original film and where that only had a couple of soundtrack options, this has many more and offering 7.1 audio (avatar was 5.1) and includes a version of the entire soundtrack with no swearing. (Because shooting and killing creatures is fine, but a few naughty words are the worst apparently). As with Titanic 3D, it’s clear that while they could have compressed the video file size to fit on a single disc they opted to not compromise on the bitrate of the video and present as much detail as possible, hence an extremely large file size and the need to split it across 2x 50gb blurays. For the record, 4KUHD discs can store 100gb on a single disc but those discs aren’t compatible with regular 1080P/3D bluray players so the film has to be on HD Blu-ray Discs not UHD blurays. It’s a long film so having a brief intermission to swap discs half way is likely a welcome respite for some viewer’s bladders. As for the film, it’s a matter for personal tastes. As with the first film I find the characters and story remarkably one dimensional compared the stunning world building they’ve achieved, but therein lies my reason for adding these films to my collection and returning to them from time to time. They’re a rich and increasingly diverse world to escape to for a few hours, and in terms of visuals and soundscape, they’re my go-to showpieces for home cinema. There’s also a 2D disc (the whole film is on the single disc) and a bonus disc with some excellent mini documentaries on the making of the film, which I’m currently watching and is giving me a deeper love for the world crafting and final result Cameron and the filmmakers achieved. Still waiting on that Abyss Blu-Ray James!! (EDIT: I finally got my Abyss blu-ray, Cameron eventually released it but I had to import it as it didn’t pass the UK censors)

Wonderfully produced, nice continuation of the series, looking forward to the next.

Good film

A sequel to science fiction movie Avatar. You've had over thirteen years to watch that. So anyone reading this really ought to know the plot of the whole thing by now. Avatar: The way of Water is the long promised sequel. Second of five films in total. Here it is. The film you never thought might actually happen. Or probably were never bothered to think about it actually happening, either. The dvd is just that. No more, no less. You can get Blu ray or 4k whatever if you want to watch pretty pictures. But if you're just interested in the movie, the DVD gives you that. With no frills attached. A while has passed. Jake Sully now has a family and all the issues that go with being a parent. It's been a quiet life. Then humanity comes back. With one old face he never expected to see again. They flee to another part of the planet to try and hide. Where other native aliens live by the sea. And in harmony with the sea. It's a slightly messy getting to know you business. And they won't stay hidden forever.... This is just over three hours long. But credit to the director. It doesn't drag. The visuals do look a bit too computer gamey at times. At other times they are pretty good. There were moments when I was impressed with the faces and facial expressions of the computer generated characters. It does an excellent job of what science fiction writers call world building. Creating something alien that nonetheless functions perfectly believably. I did have issues with the final act of the film though. It has more endings that the third Lord of the Rings film. I wasn't bothered by how many that had. So if this did bother me, it has to be an issue. All the humans are too much of a caricature. All quite happy to burn and kill everything and take the magic maguffin. The film has rather been overtaken by the real world here. So many people being 'green' these days in a way you never thought possible in 2009. So this just doesn't work well. It repeats too many story beats from the first film. It also leaves too much dangling for future ones. Clearly there is a plan for where all this is going to go over the next three films. Yet if they turn out to be 'Dances with Mountain Smurfs'. 'Dances with Desert Smurfs'. And the finale to be 'Smurfs attack!', then it could get a bit repetitive. We shall see. Maybe. Possibly. One day. This is a capable four star film. Just like the first one. Which never claimed to be the greatest thing ever made either. It's just a chapter in something bigger though, so it's not as strong on it's own as it could be. Four stars for now though. There's nothing extra during or after the end credits. The dvd - like the one for the first film - is totally basic. The movie. Nothing else. It goes straight into the main menu when loaded. There are no extras. Language and subtitle options: Languages: English, French. English audio described. English family friendly track. Which is not something I've seen before. It apparently cuts out any naughty words. I can imagine what Quaritch would say about that. It doesn't cut out violence and explosions though, which is why this is a twelve certificate film. Subtitles: English. Dutch. French. Danish. Norwegian.

Hele mooie film, als we hem zien kunnen bekijken. Maar hij werkt niet in onze dvd speler.

Bon DVD.

Prachtige film en een mooie showcase voor 3D.

The movie is the well known sequel of Avatar. If you like the first you will like this although with a bit less action and a bit more effect. what makes this edition worth is the exceptionally good 3D that feels natural all the time and add depth to the images that scroll on the screen.

This Avatar 3D/Blu-Ray disk set worked perfectly in my Sony player in the USA and was reasonably priced.