It’s been 13 years since the release of the first Avatar movie. James Cameron spent well over a decade promising that he had more up his sleeve. After seeing the first movie and promptly forgetting about it, I’m not sure the public was clamoring for it. Though, in the decade that has passed, unceasing cape flicks have taken over the box office and watered down what it means to be a blockbuster. Cameron is now back to bring us back to the nature-filled world of Pandora with plenty of papyrus font to spare.
Much time has passed since Jake Sully stood with the Na’vi against the militaristic forces looking to purge Pandora’s resources. Jake and Neytiri now have a Utah-sized family. Though, it’s not long before a familiar threat with a new face seeks to exact a vendetta against Jake and will track him to the four corners of Pandora to do it.
In an attempt to protect his family, Jake takes them to the sea people to start a new way of life. Though, bringing his curious kids to a new place brings its own challenges and dangers.
James Cameron is the king of sequels. That’s hard to dispute when he has Terminator 2 and Aliens in his resume. Clearly, it’s a rare event for him to work on a sequel, or any movie, to be frank. So the question is, does The Way of Water do enough to justify its own existence?
In short, yes, this is a movie I didn’t expect much from, but am more than pleasantly surprised by what it does for the art of cinema and, for myself, escapism.
The first movie is often maligned for being too derivative of Dances with Wolves/Pocahontas/Fern Gully. Sure, it’s guilty of that, and that has taken away from a potential legacy created by the box office juggernaut. Cameron thankfully moves beyond that story and instead scales back the scope to focus on the family dynamic of the Sully clan as they are figuring out what it’s like to be a fish in water. The Sully kids are the focal point, and where that may normally be annoying, it expands the story into one of competition, isolation, love, and sacrifice.
Does this simple story justify a 3 hour 12 minute runtime? No. This is where Cameron boasts about what can be done visually in this film medium. The movie’s second act/hour drags a bit in an attempt to convince us that every sea creature is linked with the sea Na’vi. Even the fish and whales have a deep connection with the inhabitants above. It’s very on-theme for the franchise, but there are definitely subplots that could have been cut.
However, by the third hour you won’t feel much boredom. Cameron is a master of climactic boat/water/action scenes and The Way of Water does not disappoint. In what seems to start out as a minor conflict, the action ramps up from every angle and we get a thrilling conclusion to a three-hour investment.
Visually, there has never been a CG movie that looks more refined and realistic than The Way of Water. Every scene is beautiful and it feels like they shot the movie on an actual planet called Pandora. It somehow justifies seeing a movie with 3D glasses once again (something I hope only happens for Avatar movies). Though, I don’t love the high frame rate of many action scenes and am definitely going to change that setting when watching at home.
You’ll notice flaws early and often. Many characters, especially one central Jungle-2-Jungle kid, are cartoonish in nature and you can’t help but wince in every scene they’re in. I surprisingly loved the Sully kids, but felt that Jake and Neytiri’s characters lost plot development because of the focus on the kids.
Avatar: The Way of Water is a spectacle that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen. It’s far from the best picture of the year, but it’s still worth the money to take all the visuals in. Sure, there’s a chance that it’s all forgotten in a few years, but at the same time, it’s a refreshing movie that will make you believe movies can take you to another planet. B
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