Why Avatar: The Way of Water Has the Perfect Villain
Вставка
- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- #avatar2 #avatarthewayofwater #avatar #videoessay
In 2017 James Cameron gave an interview to Empire magazine where he stated that all 5 Avatar films would feature the same villain, Colonel Quaritch. If The Way of Water is an indication of anything, it's that he might've just made the perfect call.
Spoilers for Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022).
The Cameron interview: www.empireonli...
From Quaritch perspective Pandora is alien hostile world, where every living thing want to kill you. So he didn't feel sorry about destroying it for the sake of his people. And in the second film he had to think about Pandora like his new home. And witnessed its beauty just like Jake did.
I like this conflict so much that I feel disappointed that so little time has been devoted to it.
Hopefully we’ll see more of it in the next sequels
I really loved the fact that they brought him back as a recom. I think it gives his character a lot of room to present inner conflict and a possible redemption arc. And you're right, I didn't feel frustrated that we will have to see him again, I was actually excited to see where his character would go (though I DID get frustrated but only at Spider). Nice video, just subbed!
Spider and Quarritch should have had a NO...I AM YOUR FATHER MOMENT 🤣
Why with Spider? I thought everything Spider did made perfect sense
I found his interaction with his son to be very nuanced. One of the most interesting things about the movie. He has the potential to have a really great arc over multiple movies. I'm thinking Vegeta level arc here.
when he told spider “just ride along, otherwise I’m gonna have to give you to the lab coats”. You can hear the nuance pain in his voice. I know I’m not the only one that saw that he cared for the kid.
What I find really interesting and exciting about the resurrected Quaritch's arc in Avatar 2 is that, as he openly notes, he is no longer technically a human, but he is currently working as the violent enforcer of a very aggressive human colonization movement. He is so tunnel-vision focused on his vendetta against Jake and Neytiri that the film does not appear to give him a chance to stop and consider the fact that there is probably not going to be a place for him in the colony he is ostensibly helping build. This is what makes his survival of the second film so intriguing, as it sets the stage for Quaritch to eventually recognize that he and the humans are both currently using each other as disposable tools in pursuit of their own ambitions. What is his reaction to this realization going to be? Would he really even care, or would he just keep playing along with the RDA as long as they are willing to supply him with tools and manpower for his vendetta? What if they stopped supporting him? How is this going to factor in with the antagonistic Na'vi that they have been hinting at introducing? Will he team up with his enemy Jake against a mutual threat? Or could we eventually see Quaritch leading a splinter faction that mutually opposes both Jake and the RDA? Or will he instead hijack the facilities of the human colony, as he notably did in the first movie by overriding the corporation's authority, and try rebuilding Na'vi society in his own militaristic image like some kind of blue Immortan Joe? It seems that, no matter the direction they go, the possibilities for his character are very exciting right now.
My money is on the splinter faction route
The other recoms were washed in the movie like they were 10 of them when quaritch woke up as a Navi recombinant
@@thefilmicquest Why thank you!
@@apoorvsingh3395 That reminds me of another interesting question that maybe someone with the supplementary materials could help with: Is the recombinant process single-use? Or could they mass-produce additional copies from the same templates if necessary? The rest of the squad didn't put up too much of a fight in the movie, but what if they wanted to have a Quaritch v. Quaritch situation? That probably would make for a pretty goofy story, but the potential is there for maybe something half interesting.
@222LoneWolf so far, none of the supplementary content has said anything about this. Maybe they'll go into detail in the next movie
I just love that Avatar Quaritch is only a copy of the original Quaritch, and is starting to develop traits that the original Quaritch didn't have, including a sense of fatherhood as well as compromise. The scene in which he saves Spider from Neytiri was the moment he delineated from what we knew the original Quartich to be. He was willing to give up a bargaining chip (Kiri) in order to save his son. I am excited to see Quaritch continue to feel internal conflict, and how that impacts Spider's loyalties to his Na'vi friends.
Quaritch clearly stated in the first film "Son, I take care of my own." People keep trying to portray him as a one-note bad guy but the man cares about his soldiers. The fact that he bothers to remember and address them by their first names is an indication that he sees them as individuals, not just cannon fodder. At first glance, you could assume that Quaritch was just buttering Jake up but then you realise that he also calls Lyle Wainfleet, a man who will follow his orders without question and therefore doesn't need to be buttered up, by his first name.
Becoming a father takes those nuances that Quaritch had the first film and exposes them more clearly to the people who couldn't see them the first time. He always had depth. People just couldn't see it in the first Avatar, which is one of many indications that they either didn't understand or didn't care about the main theme of this entire franchise.
"I see you."
I like how this film we get to see his charisma. We always saw little sparks of it in Avatar1. Even in the deleted scenes he was more charismatic.
Quaritch is also scary and frighteningly effective. Make no mistake, barring the literal luck of the Na'vi and Pandora Quaritch would have won in the following five instances.
1) He and forces were winning in the final battle first movie. Like objectively. Eywa's hordes of animals turned the tide-- something that was impossible for him calculate.
2) Amp suit battle, he was moments from slitting Jake's throat. Neytiri fired arrows into his chest.
3) When Jake was swimming up on the skimwing to surrender, Payakan jumping out messed that up. He had him, he had his kids, Jake was surrendering.
4) On the Sea Dragon when he had Kiri, Jake WAS cuffing himself. Spider turned the tables. This was the only loss/failure that was his own doing and he knew this and was MAD.
5) He had Jake in a leg locked sleeper hold underwater, easily could have killed him if the moment was a little longer, but the pressure pulse turned the tables.
Quaritch is effective, he's just unlucky as hell. I don't think he'll be that unlucky for the future installments...
I loved Quaritch in the first film, he was almost a HUMAN TERMINATOR in the way he almost single minded acted, a lot of people sees villains like that as bad written just because he don't show many layers........to those people I say......why some of the BEST VILLAINS are closer to Quaritch that the 3 dimensional characters some people imagine good villains need to be, he worked flawlessly in the first avatar and he didn't need that depth, now the sequel took that and expanded a lot more, with him dealing with Jake single handle, instead of the entire Pandora, plus waking him up in the body of what used to be HIS ENEMY and worse, his only flesh and blood son, been raise by his mortal enemy, now Quaritch have more layers to his character, despite still continuing been that single minded killing machine that make him so fun to watch,.....Quaritch also have some parallels to the T-800 from T2.....he was learning about Pandora and the Navi thanks to his son Spider, which I really think will add more complexity for him in the next set of films and I really cant wait to see how James Cameron will developed this character.
Stephen Lang is wonderful as Quaritch, human or Navi. His trauma came from whatever scarred his head and face. It just wasnt obvious in his behavior
First time I saw the "war-guy" in this movie I rolled my eyes bc I did not like them in the first one. They was too hard to kill in Avatar. Here I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was not the same play again. I was so happy to see that they acknowledged the new perspective and made them so good character.
Totally agree. This is just what I thought
@@TrolliNaattori ayo frgot to change ur account? lmao
@@TrolliNaattori hey never agree with yourself, this is the beginning of narcissism
@@aarushanshankar2075Nah he got multiple personality disorder
Absolutely love Stephen Lang . He’s such a great and intimidating villain. Menacing Villain I would say. Can’t wait for Way of water To come out on Blu-ray 💿
Quaritcch does not exemplify greed -- he elbows the greedy people aside just so he can get down to killing! His motivations are not so much simplistic as we never learn what they actually are. as far as what we are shown in the movie is concerned, Quaritch just really wants to kill Na'vi for some reason.
"I shown up to this place I was probably told would be dangerous and it turned out to be really dangerous and then a thing scratched my face and now I want to murder everything. That's me. I'm Colonel Mile's Quaritch."
And as stupid as that sounds, I think it actually works because then it's left to the imagination. There is nothing Cameron could have put on screen that would have made you think, "Yeah that's justified. I can see why this person would have it in them to casually order the deaths of thousands and remark at how he wants to be home in time for dinner." He has enough conviction that your brain just assumes there must be something there when there really can't be. Not anything that you would take seriously. These people never did anything to Quaritch.
The only motivations that could apply to Quaritch as he is in the first movie would be so callous as to be completely inhuman. "Really? you killed all those people because you thought it would look good on your resume as a mercenary? Because no part of you exists outside of your job? Because you're just that loaded on testosterone and can't get any job more humane than this and you just have to kill things?"
He isn't really a person.
He's an unusually charismatic terminator.
What I like best about Quartich's fear of Neytiri is that it makes me think back to how he died in the first movie and say, "It's so ironic! He loved murdering -- but only when he was murdering other people! Let me play a sad song on the world's smallest violin!" He is on the receiving end of terror in a way he couldn't have been if he'd remained dead; he didn't really get his comeuppance but this dynamic of avatar bodies and consciousness transfer makes that possible.
-- But there's another side to terminators as well that does allow them to become more human. And so there's him and his son. Quaritch actually becomes more human as a consequence of walking a mile in somebody else's body. So I don't agree that the dimensions of the characters has been conserved. They have grown.
That's some deep insight!
What I like about Quaritch in the 2nd movie is that he now has one purpose and that is to destroy Jake and everything he loves. He’s now hellbent on killing him, everything is now personal which makes him more dangerous, considering now that he’s also an Avatar
Glad to see another video so soon, and with deservedly high 24-hour views. I'll be back to chat this one over just as soon as I've seen the film myself haha.
I love stephen lang so I was so pleasently surprised and I really like where they are taking the character
I have never ever in my life been that hyped to see a returning character ever.
*SPOILER*
There's more to the puzzle. His "son", Spider. He constantly makes Quaritch question his motivation. Quaritch is no longer a one-dimensional Mercenary, he's also a "father". He cares for Spider, and in return Spider saves his life. But, Spider ends up siding with the Na'Vi. It will be interesting to see how this dynamic ultimately plays out. Will Quaritch connect more and more with Pandora, and get a redemption arc? Or will that connection be shattered once and for good, and reduce him to a vengeful Killer?
I am going to watch tomorrow in IMAX 😍
Worth it!
You mean the sequel to the highest grossing movie of all time made by the director notorious for making good sequels is a good sequel!? How is this possible!?
* X--files theme *
One thing I kinda like about Quaritch in _The Way of Water_ is the implied sense of that he could change as this franchise continues.
Because he both is and isn't the same character. Sure, his Recombinant Na'vi form has his memories, personality, and traces of his DNA, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's the same person. And since he's starting to learn how to connect with the life and environment on Pandora, it's possible he may start to see things the way Jake does and he'll go through some form of redemption.
He's kinda like this franchise's version of Piccolo from the _Dragon Ball_ series. He was conceived as not only the offspring of King Piccolo, but also his reincarnation, and therefore, that's all he saw himself as. But eventually, he began to learn that he can be his own man.
Good example and spider is kinda like gohan
Really well put. I love that avatar is finally getting the love it deserves
Everyone doubted it and thought Star Wars was going to be the big success but as soon as Disney messed those sequels up it’s all about Avatar again!
I'm in love with this new Quaritch, specially with his existential dilemma.
In the avatar story earth is dying and they need the orb to survive he isn’t just doing it for fun he is doing it to save his kind and his home they tried peace with the Navi but they refused
And because I knew all this I was supporting the humans the whole time
*SPOILER*
I thought he was scary and cool at first. I was looking forward to seeing the Colonel I loved to hate come back for blood...
...And then after seeing him find the body and watch the dashcam footage, he just became tragic.
Wracked with despair, fear and grief and barely holding it together using vengeance and rage as an outlet for his pain.
If you change your perspective on him, he even starts looking less like a villain and more like an anti-hero that's on the wrong side (you go back 20-50 years the Recoms wouldn't look out of place as a team of badass heroes if they weren't blue).
In fact he may even be an anti-villain. He's got part of the weight of humanity's survival on his shoulders and the mastermind behind the biggest threat to that both current and past is still out there gathering support in the shadows. If he doesn't do his job, the reason for his being, carrying on the work of the first Colonel Quaritch, then humanity has a lot harder time surviving if they do at all.
Personal vengeance is how the RDA keep the Recoms in line and on side. They install the memories of technically their dead parents in them so that they know them inside and out like old friends or siblings, that they become almost like them, then wake them up after having spent their entire childhoods comatose in sensory deprivation and say "Hey, that guy over there killed them." and hand them a gun. With the implied threat that if they don't tow the line, there will be consequences. But are also being sent to their probable deaths regardless.
They are slaves formed into a death squad and emotionally manipulated to stop them from defecting like Jake did. They can't turn back or fail.
Seriously, watch everybody's facial and vocal expression in the movie. The way Quaritch and Wainfleet look and speak to each other when that call comes in about Max and Norm's gunship is just... Jesus Christ. They're not glad they found their target. They're miserable. Those three months with Spider were the happiest they've ever been in their short time conscious and here comes a reminder of the reality of what they were designed and born to do like a maglev slamming into their souls.
This is what makes Quaritch an even bigger threat and more scary in a very different way.
He's more human as a Na'vi than he was as a human. But with less of a voice. Less of a choice. Backed into a corner with nowhere else to go but forward. A caged animal forced to go out to fight in a colosseum and live for nothing else.
Someone who is sad, trapped and afraid with everything to lose is a much bigger threat than someone that's an angry racist. Armed or not. 10 foot tall or not.
That also applies to Jake and Neytiri now that Neteyam is dead.
I haven't watched the movie, but if I saw Quaritch as a Navi hybrid, I would start sweating, cuz I know that guy is onto something and he'll do anything to make it happen.
Who here would love to see Avatar 3 have Jake Sully not appear in it, only be mentioned, and have Quaritch be the protagonist in it? Because I, personally, think it'd be interesting to see
Meaning what, @@thefilmicquest
Mu theory is for the future that this character will fall in love with pandorra and switch sides at some point
Thanks for the info, the bomb
Only blind haters thought this movie would flop
It's crazy to me that Avatar has haters. I get not liking it but it's entirely innofensive.
It's a clone quaritch, no soul, but have his memories and personality, but he be a good guy in next movie, probably because of the avatar body is sacred
Nice analysis
I like the villain but I don't think the villain is that makes me like the movie. I think the Sully family being really charming is what makes the movie engaging to me.
Death and Jack Horner: are we a joke to you?!
Literally
The fact you think that either character is simple is ludecrous. Frankly Quarritch saved Avatar 1 from Jake's weak character arc.
I wanna have a fight between blue quaritsch and human quaritsch.
LET THEM FIGHT! LET THEM FIGHT!
If blue Quaritsch turned to Navi, they clone a new Quaritsch with a bomb in the head to fight against Navi.
Tbh as knowing people in the Army and our country forces and joining soon. The first thing is completing the mission, serving, and protecting. He is serving what he is believing in. And trust. Navi up to Jake's point are killing his men and people. I hope America wants peace. The difference is he saw his death and was scared. And went extra, but you forgot to mention how he honestly only has memory of his kid as baby and Jake getting ready for war after offering him what Jake kinda wanted originally, he's not a villan and I think the way of water shows that with his kid, not even seeing him grow up, but at the same time a softer side when it comes to spider, and I would love a follow up talking about that thinking about other countries that attack like Iran and Russia , and it is your mission serving this country that is allied with the UN if you kill people that's not aloud
Nice work. Totally love James Cameron so I clicked on it, but your communication skills really stand out. You could of said the movie was shit and I would’ve half-believed you.
He's mirroring Jake, clearly he'll be the second toroc macto of the supposed naughty Navi clan coming in 3
Quaritch was the only memorable character in the first film. Given that he was such a 2D villain, it doesn't say much for the characterization of these Avatar films.
Na'vi Quaritch > Human Quaritch
Can someone pls help me? I am so confused. Is Qualrich the same person from the first movie? Didnt he say he wasnt actually the same person? Just some other dude that got Qualrichs memories? I'm so lost
@@thefilmicquest Is that actually mentioned in the movie? I dont why I dont remember it😭
Loved Quaritch in the new movie. Amazing bad guy.
He is not Evil his planet is falling did u not watch the movie
In both cases, he is working for the people failing the planet. Every time we see Earth operations in Pandora they are both profit-based and innessential for humanity's survival. The planet Earth is most likely failing in Avatar, but nothing they do in the movies is an effort to stop it.
I felt like James fell off as a director he got too big for his bridges he reuses all the same shit from the first movie, plus I was not impressed with the cgi I thought everything looks like a plastic model it was kinda hard to watch, plot is SUPER predictable boring I might even say. Call me a hater but I waited 10 years for literally the same movie hating on the white man because of what they’ve done to indigenous population/whales. I’ll probably illegally download the 3rd one not worth my money
eka
Don't let me laugh! Avatar: The Way of Water's villain is the worst of Hollywood! He's just evil because he wants to be! Good villains are classics like Darth Vader, Palpatine, Thanos, Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus! All they had their own reasons and motivations to be evil! This villain on the other hand...Avatar 1 was 'okay' (it was still pretty bad though), but Avatar: The Way Of Water is, together with Dune 2021, the worst movies of all-time! And the problem is: cinema's best movies, like Spider-Man: No Way Home (best movie of all-time), got defeated in the all-time box office only because the average cinema audience doesn't know that a good movie isn't only good CGI!
😂 can’t be more wrong
You mean... the worst villain?