Avatar: The Way of Water review

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER: 

SEQUEL IS MORE OF THE SAME NARRATIVE WISE, BUT A VISUALLY STUNNING CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

20^TH CENTURY STUDIOS

Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri in Avatar: The Way of Water

 

            James Cameron (Aliens, Terminator 1 and 2, Titanic) returns to the world of Pandora in Avatar: The Way of Water, the long-awaited sequel to his 2009 record-breaking smash hit, Avatar. The first film was a massive game-changer that revolutionized CGI motion-capture and 3D technology during the big 3D boom of the late 2000s-early 2010s and influenced other films like How to Train Your Dragon, Hugo, Life of Pi, and Gravity. 

            I really enjoyed the first Avatar when I saw it in IMAX 3D back in 2009 and for a period of time I declared it my favorite movie (A bit of a stretch I know, but hey I was 16 at the time!). Today, I still think the film is very entertaining and visually dazzling, but the plot is very derivative of other stories with a similar message. 

            Now, we have the sequel released 13 years after the first film with Cameron once again returning as director and many of the cast members reprising their roles (With one portraying a new role). The film had been in development since 2010 shortly after the release of the first movie with Cameron developing the technology necessary to film underwater performance capture scenes which led the film to be delayed numerous times. 

            It honestly felt like it was cursed to be the sequel that would never see the light of day, but here we are today. So, does Avatar: The Way of Water live up to the hype and was it worth the 13-year wait? Yes, yes it was! 

            Does it rival Cameron’s other sequels like Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day? No, but I thought this is a worthy continuation of the story that further expands upon the world of Pandora while breaking new grounds in technology and filmmaking like its predecessor. 

            Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, human-turned-Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington-Terminator: Salvation, Clash/Wrath of the Titans (2010-2012), The Debt) is now chief of the Omaticaya tribe and has raised a family with Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña-Star Trek franchise, The Losers, Marvel Cinematic Universe). However, the Na’vi’s peace is short-lived as the “Sky People” return to Pandora along with a resurrected Col. Quaritch (Stephen Lang-Tombstone, Don’t Breathe 1 and 2, The Girl on the Train) now in a Na’vi body to resume their colonization efforts. This causes Jake, Neytiri and their children Neteyam (Newcomer Jamie Flatters), Lo’ak (Britain Dalton-Goliath, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Dark Harvest), Tuk (Newcomer Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), and their adopted teenage daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver-Alien franchise, Galaxy Quest, Paul who previously portrayed Grace in the first film) to relocate to Pandora’s eastern seaboard where they encounter a new tribe of Na’vi known as the Metkayina clan that specialize in underwater skills and bonds. 

            With Quaritch and the humans hot on their trail and destroying everything in their path, both tribes will need to work together in order to save their home. 

            The film also stars Kate Winslet (Titanic, Revolutionary Road, The Reader) as Ronal, Cliff Curtis (Training Day, Whale Rider, Live Free or Die Hard) as Tonowari, CCH Pounder (The X-Files, Face/Off, Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)) reprising her role as Mo’at, Matt Gerald (G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Escape Plan, Daredevil (Netflix)) reprising his role as Corporal Lyle Wainfleet, Joel David Moore (Dodgeball, Art School Confidential, Bones) reprising his role as Dr. Norm Spellman, Dileep Rao (Drag Me to Hell, Inception) reprising his role as Dr. Max Patel, Giovanni Ribisi (Lost in Translation, Contraband, Ted 1 and 2) reprising his role as Parker Selfridge, Edie Falco (Oz, The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie) as General Frances Ardmore, and Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords, Men in Black 3, What We Do in the Shadows) as Dr. Ian Garvin. 

            Overall, Avatar: The Way of Water gives exactly what it advertises, a visually stunning follow-up to the highest-grossing film of all time and like its predecessor, a groundbreaking technical achievement in filmmaking. The film is a testament to just how far CGI has come since 2009 (And keep in mind I still think the first film looks incredible especially for its time), the CG characters are given more textures and details in their designs and the motion-capture technology itself has significantly improved over the years to the point where the realism of the Na’vi whenever they’re onscreen is so uncanny that they might even give Gollum a run for his money (Yeah, I just said that!). 

            I also enjoy how this film explores the world of Pandora more than the first movie, Pandora is such an imaginative and breathtaking environment with unique creatures, oddities, and plenty of room for expansion in future films. The first film has the forest setting while this one explores the aquatic environments of Pandora where the old characters meet a new tribe of Na’vi, learn how to bond with their underwater wildlife, and understand the new tribe’s ways, this is exactly what I wanted to see in an Avatar sequel, a continuation of the story that expands upon the world Cameron introduced to the world back in 2009. 

            The underwater sequences are absolutely beautiful especially on IMAX 3D and filled with eye-candy and otherworldly creatures leaping off the screen. Even just the way scenes are lit and filmed underwater looks incredible to the point where I want to dive into the screen and swim with these characters…honestly, the underwater environment in this makes Diet Atlantis from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever look like a pool of sludge by comparison. 

            Visuals aside, I like how the characters evolved since the last time we saw them, Jake Sully is more restrained and less arrogant and cocky than in the first film, Neytiri is a caring mother who isn’t afraid to fight to protect her family (It’s also great that even when she’s covered in either blue CGI motion-capture effects or green makeup, Zoe Saldaña always acts her ass off and gives easily the most emotional scenes in the film). Stephen Lang once again is a lot of fun as Quaritch and I appreciate how he kind of goes through an arc in the film that I’m assuming will be explored more in future sequels, and I found myself really invested in Kiri’s subplot where she’s trying to discover who she really is. 

            While the effects, characters, and world-building are excellent, the narrative is more of the same and hits a lot of similar beats as its predecessor. Humans return to the planet to start colonizing it again and the Na’vi have to stop them, while also learning the ways of a new tribe to aid them in battle, but what sets it apart from the first film is that it’s focused more on the family and not just on Jake Sully. 

            If you enjoyed the first Avatar, then you’ll probably enjoy Avatar: The Way of Water also. It offers more of what people loved about the first film times ten and you’ll definitely want to go out of your way to see it on IMAX 3D, I See You and will gladly see you again very soon.