It’s been a long 13 years since the ground and record-breaking Avatar was released in theaters. At the time, its revolutionary technology rocked the cinematic realm and the theater-going experience has never been the same. In the years leading up to Avatar: The Way of Water, many wondered whether it would live up to its predecessor. One thing’s for certain coming out of this film: Never doubt the genius of James Cameron. Avatar: The Way of Water ushers in a new era of blockbuster filmmaking that knocks every other release in recent memory out of the water and improves upon the original’s faults, making it one of the few cases where the sequel surpasses the original.
Maintaining Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Ney’tiri (Zoe Saldana) as the protagonists, Avatar: The Way of Water follows them and their newly formed family a few years after the events of the first. Their livelihoods are soon threatened when Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) returns to Pandora, this time in Avatar form, to exact his revenge on Jake. In an effort to keep his family safe, they must flee the forest and find refuge in the Metkayina clan that lives amongst the oceans of Pandora. Now, they must acclimate to the foreign seas but Jake’s past seems to be catching up to him, no matter how hard he tries to outrun it.
Director James Cameron is no stranger to outperforming the initial entry in a franchise. We saw it with the commonly heralded “greatest action film of all time”, Terminator 2. Some argue that Aliens is greater than the original Alien, despite Cameron not originating the franchise himself. And he’s added yet another superior sequel to his filmography with Avatar: The Way of Water. Cameron took all of Avatar’s criticisms and discarded them with its follow-up. Gone are the boring military scenes that took us away from all the wonders of Pandora and instead, Cameron brings back the villain as a Na’vi so that there’s never a dull moment in the film. Furthermore, a lot of the appeal in the original Avatar lies in the visuals, of course. To be fair, whenever someone thinks of the film, not many think of the plot or characters. Cameron does away with the forgettable characters and inconsistently paced storyline and addresses this by fleshing out the returning characters and giving the audience a reason to care for the new ones. This, in turn, serves for a much more engaging watch that’ll have you hooked for the entire three hours and 10 minutes.
Avatar: The Way of Water
A vengeful Jake (Sam Worthington) saddled atop one of Pandora’s many fauna marking the start of an epic final act, a great example of the breathtaking SFX.
With Avatar: The Way of Water, Cameron completely subverts expectations and dispels any doubts one might have had about the existence of a sequel to Avatar. During the first act, the film mainly takes place in the familiar Na'vi forest and it got me thinking, “Is this all Pandora has to offer?” To that, Cameron chuckles as the second act begins and the film reveals a wholly new side of Pandora. One might have thought that the feeling while watching the 2009 film could never be duplicated but Cameron manages to incite that childlike wonder and awe once again with every shot that manifests itself on the screen. The insanely advanced technology on display in every frame of this film is simply jaw-dropping. From the beads of sweat on the Na’vi’s foreheads to the sand sifting on the ocean floor to the bodies of water themselves and how the light reflects within them is astonishing to behold and hard to conceive that it is all special effects.
Unlike the original, the special effects aren’t doing all the heavy lifting here. The film has much more heart and character now that it is grounded by a family dynamic. The interactions between the family were always heartfelt and lent themselves to a more relatable and inviting viewing experience. By the film’s third act, I not only found myself caring about the characters and their fate but actually remembering their names. Something that didn’t happen in the first. Of course, it wouldn’t be an Avatar film without the topic of conservation and this time around, the film approaches it with no holds barred. At times, the displays of cruelty were hard to watch but it’s an important message to get across and shouldn’t be handled any other way.
A lifelike image showcasing new characters from the Metkayina clan and the different but still awe-inducing environment Way of Water finds itself in.
Zoe Saldaña reprises her role as the fearless Ney’tiri and manages to deliver yet another moving and powerful performance albeit undertaking a more subdued role within the sequel. This time around, Sam Worthington as Jake came off as much more emotive and had a domineering screen presence. A definitive improvement in performance despite the motion-capture barrier he didn’t face for a better part of the first Avatar. Out of the three children, the scene-stealer is the incredibly charming and sensitive yet naive Lo’ak, played by the endearing Britain Dalton. His scenes with the exiled Tulkun (whale-like creatures on Pandora) are simultaneously exhilarating and heartwarming, easily making them the highlights of the film. Even more memorable than the already grand and white-knuckle-bearing third act of the film. Thanks to a mix of Dalton’s authentic interactions with the subtitled whale and thrilling deep-sea CGI.
With its cutting-edge technology, epic scope, and palatable thread of family weaved throughout the film, Avatar: The Way of Water pulls you into its tide and never lets you go for its entire runtime. Even if the writing itself might be a bit formulaic, it’s a step up from the first in the series. Not only does Way of Water justify its existence but it ensures that its audience returns for future trips to Pandora with the franchise’s upcoming three sequels.
Verdict: What do you think?