AVATAR – THE WAY OF WATER movie review

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER is directed by James Cameron. The film stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Dileep Rao, Matt Gerald, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, and Brendan Cowell. It’s the second film in Cameron’s AVATAR series.

Over a decade has passed since the events of the first AVATAR film. Jake Sully and his mate Neytiri now have children of their own, with the clan enjoying their life together. But when humans return to Pandora, Jake must step into action once more, fighting back against the Sky People. Fearing for the safety of his family, Jake takes his loved ones away from the forest to the seas, radically changing their way of life to keep everyone safe, much to the chagrin of the children. But a familiar foe is hot on Jake’s trail, and will stop at nothing to exact his revenge.

When AVATAR came out in 2009, James Cameron’s epic certainly got noticed, due in no small part to its revolutionary special effects and spectacular visuals, even if the story was largely derivative of other non-sci-if films, mainly DANCES WITH WOLVES. That said, it was a solid enough film and certainly an epic of its time. Cameron revealed plans to make not one but several AVATAR sequels, with little news over the years… would we actually get the promised films? THE WAY OF WATER, the first sequel, has finally arrived, albeit 13 years after the first movie’s release.

THE WAY OF WATER is one of the most expensive films ever made, and expectations for Cameron’s latest epic are certainly high. The man who once gave us THE TERMINATOR and ALIENS hasn’t even directed a feature film since the first AVATAR, having apparently given his full focus to his most ambitious project. The end results that show up on the big screen in THE WAY OF WATER are a sight to behold; this may very well be the most gorgeous depiction of a fantasy/sci-fi would I’ve seen in the world of cinema. The performances and scenes throughout the movie are fantastic, but its three-hour-plus running time is excessive and unjustified.

I certainly had my doubts about going back to Pandora and what James Cameron would throw at us in this sequel, over a decade after the original movie, but I’m happy to say THE WAY OF WATER never feels like a retread of the original movie; it’s the next logical step in this universe, looking and sounding absolutely beautiful, with the technology used to craft the film The first movie showed us the picturesque forests of Pandora, with the sequel doing us one better with seaside and underwater life and the peoples there. The narrative is helped greatly by the arrival of screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (PLANET OF THE APES reboot series, JURASSIC WORLD) who help to give a soul and a voice to this picturesque sci-fi paradise, preventing it from simply being the world’s most expensive tech demo. Characters, locations, and everything in between in THE WAY OF WATER are fantastically fleshed out as a result.

The action sequences don’t fail to please, either. This isn’t unexpected given Mr. Cameron’s past filmography. The man knows how to craft action and originality with a heart and soul as few others have, and it’s why THE WAY OF WATER is in more-than-capable hands. It’s also much appreciated that these battle scenes don’t come at the expense of character development and making the people of Pandora, including the Sully clan and those they interact with, fully realized three-dimensional beings (in terms of characterization).

The screening of the film I attended was at the AMC Town Square theater here in Las Vegas, in a Dolby Theater with 3D glasses. The movie utilizes a higher-than-normal frame rate apparently selected by Cameron for further immersion for the audience. While I’m certainly not in favor of this approach being adopted as any sort of industry standard when it comes to making movies, for the most part it works excellently in THE WAY OF WATER, whether we’re watching Jake Sully in action against invading humans, or watching flying beasts or underwater ones. I’ve always written 3D off as a gimmick (albeit a fun one), but I have no reservations in saying Cameron’s latest film is, hands down, the best use of 3D I’ve ever seen implemented in a feature film. Even if you’re not able to see the movie in 3D, I strongly recommend viewing THE WAY OF WATER on the biggest theater screen you can (I personally wouldn’t mind rewatching the movie on a non-3D screen for comparative purposes).

While my praise for THE WAY OF WATER is certainly high, there are issues that need to be addressed. Bringing back invading humans as the villains is a mistake. While it certainly resulted in some fantastic action sequences, the problem here is that it takes away from the focus on the societies and scenery of Pandora. One of my favorite things about this movie is getting to explore more of the planet, its tribes, and its customs. These sequences are the best in the movie; Cameron has created a cinematic paradise for all time in these movies and the inevitable sequels to come. But with the overemphasis on these unnecessary characters and a third-act action finale that seems to drag on with no end in sight, the movie only scratches the surface of what could’ve been a more in-depth look at Pandoran society. Still, I won’t deny that every single frame of this movie looks like a work of art I’d be proud to hang on my wall. Cutting roughly 30 minutes from the final product, particularly from the overdone finale, would’ve benefited the movie. I should also forward any prospective viewers that this is most definitely NOT a standalone sequel; you’re not going to know what’s going on if you haven’t seen the original 2009 film.

THE WAY OF WATER is a flawed but impressive film from one of Hollywood’s icons. The scenery and effects are among the best ever seen on the big screen. The cast and performances are fantastic. Sure, there’s too many characters and the overemphasis on action, particularly in the final act, gets to be too much at times, but the good outweighs the bad here. Would I liked the movie to have been about half an hour shorter? Sure, but I’m not for one second denying that James Cameron has given 2022 its biggest and most gorgeous epic. Highly recommended, but make sure you remember to go to the bathroom before the movie, since you’re going to be sitting for a long time!