“Avatar: The Way of Water” is a CGI masterpiece that is sure to delight fans of the franchise and baffle its critics. Director James Cameron returns for the second film set on Pandora, a moon-planet inhabited by blue humanoids called Na’vi. The film is unmatched visually, even by its predecessor, and features an epic storyline that almost justifies the three-hour-plus runtime. Audiences who enjoyed the first film will be delighted by the vastly improved CGI and the expansion of the world of Pandora, introducing new settings and cultures. However, those who found the first film heavy-handed are likely to make the same criticism of the latest installment, as its eco-conscious message is no subtler this time around.
The film follows Jake Sully, the protagonist of the first film played by Sam Worthington, and his family, as they flee from the US Marines that come to Pandora in search of Sully. In an attempt to evade capture, they take shelter with a water-dwelling group of Na’vi, and must make an uncomfortable adjustment to their new environment full of unfamiliar animals and tense inter-clan relations. It’s not the most original or unexpected storyline ever created, but most viewers aren’t seeing the film for the storyline. The setting change is a brilliant move on Cameron’s part as it allows for a whole new, equally stunning CGI world. This new world is focused on, you guessed it, water. Although less enthusiastic moviegoers may wonder how CGI water could be impressive for three hours straight, it somehow is. Taking inspiration from such cinematic classics as “Jaws,” “Finding Nemo,” and, dare I say, ‘Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia,: the film features countless underwater scenes, in which the characters glide gracefully past enticing flora and fauna. The CGI rain, though, is the film’s most impressive achievement. The rain scenes alone feel like “The Way of Water” film of the year, just for the perfection of the simulated droplets.
If the idea of watching blue people swim and stand in rain for three hours doesn’t entice you, the military subplot may provide a point of engagement for viewers looking for a more fast paced entertainment. There are a number of slightly disorienting cuts from the natural beauty and peace of Pandora to the gruff squad of Marines led by Colonel Quaritch, played by Stephen Lang. Of course, this contrast is intentional. The film makes no attempts at subtlety announcing who the villain is. The Na’vi people form close, nuanced relationships with the life forms around them, while the Marines blast through the environment, destroying everything in their path. It is a clear reflection of the conquest and ravaging of natural resources that has occurred countless times across the globe. There are moments of graphic violence and a palpable atmosphere of fear throughout the film’s ending hour. However, the pace is still undeniably slow, with Cameron taking his time to show off the beauty of Pandora, and, of course, the CGI used to bring that beauty to life.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” is undoubtedly better than the original, but it’s not going to turn any skeptics into Avatar fans. For audiences who enjoyed the first, the revolutionary CGI and heightened storyline will make the second installment a contender for film of the year, if not, the automatic winner. However, many less dedicated watchers will be left wondering how they managed to add an extra hour of nothingness onto the sequel of a film that was already too long and boring. “The Way of Water” is great at being what it attempts to be: beautiful, political, and encompassing an enormous scale that makes the film truly feel like a blockbuster. The film knows its audience and doesn’t risk sacrificing the soul of the work attempting to please its detractors. “The Way of Water” has so far failed to produce the box office success of its predecessor. However, what made the first “Avatar” hugely successful was not an amazing opening weekend but a long sustained run in theaters. Fans will have to see if “The Way of Water” can pull that off because the future of the Avatar sequels, already in production, as well as the industry as a whole depends on it.
Article written by Naomi Scissors of Richard Montgomery High School
Photo courtesy of Insider