There was a lot of heavy expectations when it came to following one of the biggest films of all time - literally! James Cameron is known to be the master of sequels though, so all seemed to point to a sure fire success. After Terminator 2 and Aliens, you could probably expect a sequel to Avatar to do the same as those other two sequels, by altering the formula and telling a story vastly superior to the first film. Unfortunately, Avatar: The Way of Water plays it safe by telling a similar story of bad guy versus good guy, but the way Cameron executes the story is wildly different and immersive. So although it’s slightly predictable, with a few surprises in there too, the film does feel unlike any other blockbuster film out there.
There is plenty of action in Avatar: The Way of Water, but the emphasis is less on action and more on character as there is a whole family of characters introduced in this film. Since the end of Avatar, Jake Sully and Neytiri, played again by Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana, have begun a family and a new life together with their sons and daughters, in a blended family almost, with human boy Spider, adopted a daughter called Kiri, as well as their own sons Lo’ak, Neteyam and their youngest, a girl called Tuk. Each character has an important role to play in the story with a few emotional journeys a few go down as well as they discover themselves and what their place in the world is.
There are also a lot of big important ecological questions at play here in Avatar: The Way of Water, and you do end up thinking that a lot of what happens is relatable to what is happening with Earth and our ecosystem too. None of these messages are forced as they’re all tied to the plot of the film, which revolves around the classic old tale of revenge. The how and why some returning characters come back I will leave as a mystery, but these are handled with care and not done for the sake of re-introducing past villains. The bulk of the story is based around a cat and mouse chase between Jake Sully and Colonel Quaritch which leads to a very tense ending.
The lore, flora and fauna are what defined the first film, with Avatar producing some realistic effects for the world of Pandora which made you believe that this world truly does exist. Cameron’s love of ocean life is poured onto the screen, and the underwater sections is where the music and the visuals truly transport you back into this lush and vivid world. The bioluminescence is back with some amazing night-time cinematography as the characters explore this new corner of the Moon. It is these moments where you do feel lost in the film and you forget that you’re watching a film and instead you’re experiencing it instead. The best films make you feel like that and this is one of those films. Spellbinding, breathtaking and immersive are all hyperbolic worlds which don’t do enough justice in explaining how amazing this film is.
★★★★☆
4/5
Avatar: The Way of Water is predictable with a story that does set up the next few films with some sub-plots based around the children, as well as the classic good versus evil story of Humans vs the Na’vi, with a slight twist. You do forget that, and even though this is a three plus hour film, the minutes fly by as the characters and the world is brought to life again in a tale that is meant to be seen on the big screen. Pandora is a gorgeous Moon and it was a welcome return to this world and I can’t wait to see where Cameron takes us in the future.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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