Allison Apel

I consider myself an avid movie watcher and, at this point, have probably seen hundreds of movies in my (almost) 24 years of life. I was only 12 when this cinematic masterpiece came out, and 13 years later, I can say confidently that this is still my absolute favorite film of all time. This might give my rating some perspective. When I first went to see the film in theaters, I felt the urge to pee coming on about 20 minutes into the movie, but I was so immersed in every scene that I just couldn’t bring myself to leave for 5 minutes to go to the bathroom in fear of missing something amazing. I held it for the entire 3 hours! I was in so much pain, but it was worth it. The plot, the CGI effects, the acting, the symbolism, and the elements of spirituality all tied in to create the most beautiful and captivating cinematic experience. Yes, it’s basically a sci-fi version of Pocahontas, but who cares?! There is a perfect amount of humor, drama, conflict, and action to keep you engaged from start to finish. I could honestly talk about this movie for hours, but I intend to keep this fairly brief. James Cameron outdid himself with this one, and after many years of patiently waiting I am BEYOND thrilled to see the next movies. I think they’re going to be absolutely amazing.

Was so disappointed in this sequel. I was originally hesitant to watch the first one, then found myself pleasantly surprised by the humor and overall special effects and CGI. I expected just as much (if not more) when watching the sequel, but found myself feeling bored for most of it. A lot of the material felt recycled and the humor that had me laughing out loud just wasn’t there like it was in the first one. It was anticlimactic and not very memorable IMO, and I’d say the only redeemable quality about the whole film is the post credit scene. And even the post credit scene felt like a red herring since Venom didn’t even make an appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, it seemed pointless. Overall…disappointed.