Michael Albert

I think I got it! White, Western, male, commercial culture bad. Kindness, sensitivity, family, environmentalism, vague religiosity, and Asian and indigenous culture good. These trendy themes were pounded home with such a heavy hand that it was distracting and made me want to push back even against views I agree with. The first film was original, beautiful, had an interesting plot, and made all of us want to inhabit its world. This film was predictable, way too long, and filled with scenes that didn't advance the plot or develop the characters. Removing an hour or so of material apparently designed to show off the luscious special effects would have been a huge improvement. I had high hopes for this film but what a disappointment! Too bad the originally of the first film never made it to this one.