Kelly McLoughlin

I've been a fan of James Cameron's blend of storytelling and action scenes since he started spinning gold with 1984's The Terminator (haven't seen any of his earlier work). Sadly, Avatar 2 seems to be the sign that he's set fire to the spinning wheel. What a disappointment. This film is as dead and as bloated as the whale carcass that crops up in the second act. Gorgeous visuals are not enough. And, after 13 years, I did not expect to see scenes, lines and character tropes that were taken straight from the the first film. And Titanic/The Abyss/Aliens. (Spider aka Newt. Where is your shame, James!) I'm serious. Carbon copies. It could have been saved if it was closer to 2 hours, not 3. And, yes, James, I know that people binge watch 8 hours worth of TV. They do that because they're keen to keep watching, and have a pause button and toilet handy. I can honestly say that this film has killed any interest I might have had in seeing the remaining sequels. Can't believe that I'm giving Avatar 2 one star but there it is. Don't blame me, blame James and the team of sycophants in the editing suite who didn't grab him by the lapels and knock some sense into him.

Very disappointed with this series. I was expecting so much more. The idea of focusing on different stories is great - with such a broad reach it was really the only way to go. But I'm surprised at where they put the focus. Where is the episode at Fire HQ with the Shane Fitzsimmons-type-character dealing with an absent PM (code name Blue Hawaii?), a government who won't listen, exhausted firies, and fires not responding to the usual controls? Btw, where are the actual fires? And honestly, whilst the first two eps were good (loved Ep 2), eps 3 and 4 just didn't work. The amount of time spent on irrelevant personal lives/dramas when the title of the show is "Fires" is strange. I don't know why I'm being asked to care about young lovers, or people going through substance withdrawal or that-old-chestnut, the girl (looter) returning to the small town. Finally, I would have preferred older firies with dependent families and work commitments. That's more true-to-life. So far, the show feels like a missed opportunity.