Avatar: The Way of Water
2022 Review Number 7:
Avatar - The Way of Water: (Science Fiction/Fantasy/Action): 79 out of 100: After 13 years of the promise of a sequel to the original monster box office hit comes the long awaited Avatar 2, otherwise known as 'Avatar: The Way of Water'. James Cameron's last feature film directorial effort was 'Avatar' so it has been a long time coming for his next movie. Has it been worth the wait? If you enjoyed the original then you should enjoy the sequel, although it feels bloated at times.
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The movie begins with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) narrating his life events over montage visuals since we last saw him. We discover that he and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) have been busy raising a family. There's eldest son Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), adopted daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), youngest son Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), and youngest daughter Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss). Rounding off the children is Spider, a human left behind in the Na-Vi forest and he hangs around like a member of the family. Their peace is shattered when the humans or 'sky people' led by General Ardmore (Edie Falco) and Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) threaten to invade their land. Quaritch has been implanted the memories of the original Quaritch whom was killed by Sully 15-20 years ago so he seeks to avenge his death.
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To escape from these invaders, Sully and his family seek shelter with another Na'Vi group who follow the rules of "The Way of Water". They are a predominantly seafaring culture that have an affinity with the water creatures. The leaders, Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and his pregnant wife, Ronal (Kate Winslet) are reluctant at first to open their arms to them but develop a closer bond when the invaders move on to their territory.
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One thing for sure is that James Cameron has created a visual spectacle. Most of it is CGI but doesn't overwhelm the dynamics of the story. The story itself is standard fare with evil forces trying to defeat the good guys. It's usually the character interactions that drag on, thus contributing to the bloated nature of the film. It could have done with a 30 minute edit. Although the visuals are brilliant, there are times when it's difficult to tell the difference between the characters. The sound quality is also worth mentioning, with out of this world sound effects which you can feel vibrating in the auditorium along with a melodious score by Simon Franglen.
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Although unrecognisable in their CGI forms, the cast of actors is impressive in expressing their emotions through appearance and voice. Zoe Saldana especially does a convincing job of conveying grief and trauma. The CGI was so impressive that I didn't even realise it was Kate Winslet playing one of the characters until the final credits rolled!
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"Avatar: The Way of Water" must be seen on the big screen to be fully appreciated. It will lose a lot of impact on the small screen with its reduced visuals. With another three sequels planned, it will be interesting to see how the story and characters develop over time. It might not be as good as James Cameron's best film, 'Titanic', but it still is worthy of a visit to the cinema.
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Starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Kate Winslet
(192 mins)
Parental advice: Violence and coarse language
Movie trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9MyW72ELq0
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(Reviewed on Sunday 18th December, 2022)
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