While there is naturally an inclination to ask, why does Avatar need a sequel, director James Cameron more than validates his creation of “Avatar: The Way of Water” with its immersive, expansive and bombastic tale.
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” follow the footsteps of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), who end up plagued by trouble, and the lengths they go to keep each other safe – including the battles they fight to stay alive.
After unforeseen events displace them from their home, the Sully’s travel across the vast reaches of the moon Pandora, ultimately fleeing to territory held by the Metkayina clan, who live in harmony with their surrounding oceans.
There, the Sully’s must learn to navigate both the dangerous water world and the uncomfortable dynamics of gaining acceptance from their new community.
It is difficult discussing “Avatar: The Way of Water” without having provided some context as to where we find ourselves in the story, and the aforementioned description is just in the film’s opening minutes.
The sequel has a mammoth scope, and covers an enormous amount of ground. With the film’s length being a little over three hours, it is a voluminous story that engulfs its viewers.
Before digging into whether the story works or not, it is important to stress the obvious. If you liked the first movie, and if you aren’t put off by James Cameron’s overt environmentalism, then you must go watch this one.
The sequel is the first Avatar movie, but to the power of two.
In it’s opening 20-minutes, the film not only offers a much-needed reintroduction to the whole of Pandora, but also does so much to set-up where the characters are and how life has evolved for them.
Thereafter, we get into the crux of the arc for “Avatar: The Way of Water”.
There is much to rave about the film, it is visually stunning, and offers a movie-going experience that is worth the money spent, which is a necessary point to consider given how expensive it is to go to the cinema these days.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” is worth the money spent, especially when watched on an IMAX screen, as it delivers a cinematic experience that is highly enjoyable, visually stunning and worth the effort.
The movie is a visual and CGI masterpiece. It may not be as trailblazing as the first movie, but it will likely provide future filmmakers with news tricks and tools on how to create more immersive and awe-inducing films.
The issue that I had with the film were more about its runtime, and character arcs.
The film does a remarkable job of feeling like it’s not three hours long, but that said, there is still some story elements from the film that could have been scrapped or needed to be re-written.
The arc of Jake and Neytiri’s eldest child ‘Neteyam’ needed more fleshing out, as his journey feels very one dimensional, and more could have been used to provide a deeper understanding of his character.
The arc of ‘Spider’, who is like the adopted human child, has the expected storyline of seeking a family and a place to belong, but his motivations and decision-making come across as muddy and without true purpose.
The film suffers because it sacrifices heart and emotion for visual art.
The movie also struggles with its ending, which feels like a little underwhelming, not because of its scope, and epic action, but rather because of the knowledge of their being more Avatar movies coming, so the stakes aren’t as high as it could be.
Knowing that there are more films on the way leaves the film with pacing issues as the end of a film is it’s apex and then resolution.
Because we know that all the scripts were written before the first was made, the end of “Avatar: The Way of Water” feels like we’re in the first act of a story, and it loses some strength in the emotional punch it could have packed.
Story elements aside, the film is movie-going experience that is worth all of the effort and money spent to watch it.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” will sit with you long after it ends, and leave you eager to relive the experience of watching it on the big screen.
The generational family epic “Avatar: The Way of Water” is out in cinemas on December 16, 2022.
Rating: 9/10
