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Latest Sci-Fi News: ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ dazzles critics and MCU loses even more ground over this unexpected misfire

Hear ye, hear ye... the James Cameron sequel delivers.

avatar-the-way-of-water
via 20th Century Studios

Cinema is in no short supply of sequels that have managed to stick the landing, but for every single one that does, there are always five more to more than make up for its achievement in the opposite direction by falling flat on their faces, thus the general stigma of worry surrounding these ventures. James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water is, fortunately, joining the ranks of the former, even if it literally took him more than 12 years to develop a worthy sequel to the highest-grossing movie of all time.

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As we celebrate the critical success of the second Avatar movie and anticipate its imminent and in all likelihood box office-shattering theatrical run, another huge blockbuster franchise that has dominated the show business for the better part of the last decade faces an uncertain future amid growing discontent among fans. And, of course, another Star Wars project prepares to jump into hyperspace, and it appears to continue the streak set by its predecessors on Disney Plus.

First reactions to the forthcoming Star Wars: The Bad Batch run call it a triumphant second season

Image via Lucasfilm / Star Wars: The Bad Batch

At this point, the Mouse House should just admit that they’re far better off developing Star Wars television shows for Disney Plus than making feature films. Following on the heels of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Mandalorian, Andor, Tales of the Jedi, and last but not least, its own first season, The Bad Batch is soon making a solid return if the first reactions on Twitter are anything to go by. Indeed, folks have been ruminating over the first two episodes of the second season, and they’re calling Dave Filoni’s latest galaxy far, far away narrative a poignant and complex character study. Who would’ve thought a simple story centering around a squad of rogue Clones would up garnering so much love in the fanbase?

Fans are losing hope in the MCU, and Thor: Love and Thunder is once again to blame to a large degree

Thor Love and Thunder Chris Hemsworth
Image via Marvel Studios

Look, we’re not saying Thor: Love and Thunder jinxed the MCU, but it may just have jinxed the MCU. To be fair, the entire Phase Four lineup has been lackluster both in technical aspects and narrative beats, but the God of Thunder’s latest outing — helmed by Taika Waititi, no less — is the crème de la crème of corny superhero storytelling. What’s more, this was the movie that finally convinced fans that Marvel isn’t paying nearly enough to its VFX team, or rather, not giving them enough time to polish their work.

Now, the internet community is once again acknowledging just how inconsistent the computer-generated imagery is in that flick, though it still has its fair share of defenders. In fact, you will know that hell has frozen over when people rush to defend Love and Thunder‘s CGI in order to give the MCU a fighting chance against all of its misfires lately.

Avatar: The Way of Water reviews prove why you should never doubt James Cameron

How to watch 'Avatar'
Image via 20th Century Fox

Avatar: The Way of Water is the most sensational movie release in quite a while, and now that the critic scores are pouring in, people have started believing in James Cameron and his revolutionary vision. It was a long road getting here, developing a sequel that took more than 12 years of the director’s life and was practically impossible to make with the tools of that time, but Avatar 2 is being lauded as a moving piece of cinema that not only delivers but is akin to “real-life magic.”

There are more Spider-Men than you can count in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, but are we really surprised?

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Image via Sony Pictures

If you thought that three live-action Spider-Men coming together in No Way Home was the most momentous moment for the friendly neighborhood web-head, then the latest trailer for Across the Spider-Verse would very much like to dissuade you from that erroneous thought train. Miles Morales will be joined not only by his best friend from the original movie, including Gwen and Peter Parker 2 but there’ll be dozens and dozens of Spider-Men, if not hundreds, apparently competing with one another in the dimension between the alternate universes.

To cap off the hype-fueling reveal, it has been all but confirmed that Peter Parker from Insomniac’s Spider-Man games on PlayStation will also be making his cinematic debut in Across the Spider-Verse.