Avatar: The Way of Water

 As I mentioned in my very-recent Retro Review of the first Avatar, this series is perplexing to me in multiple ways, mainly because of how people react to it.  

There are a wide range of opinions for how people view this series (some absolutely hate it) and it feels like the overall interest to return to Pandora has waned - though this weekend will be a good indicator. 

I plant myself firmly on the side of admiration for this now-series, even if I'm not sure they'd be anywhere close to my all-time favorite films. Mirroring my Retro Review, you've got James Cameron at the helm which is a name that carries as much weight as a Nolan, a Tarantino, or a Villeneuve in my mind. You just don't skip a Cameron film, especially at theaters. 

But there's also a lot of admiration for how creative this series has been/will be. Obviously there are technical advancements as Cameron pushes the boundaries of filmmaking technology, but there's also an incredible amount of world building going on here, unbased on any source material. It's akin to Star Wars in that way as things like Lord of the Rings, the MCU, and Harry Potter all at least had deep amounts of context, ideation, and characters built out. Cameron and his team have built this from the ground up and that's something you just don't see much anymore and should be commended. 

Lastly, the admiration comes once you have an actual butt in a theater seat. In Denver's biggest IMAX screen, with 3D glasses, I knew that Avatar: The Way of Water was a film experience I wasn't likely to ever forget, much like the first film. That's not to say it's perfect, but it truly is mesmerizing and breath-taking in its beauty. If you can stomach the double ticket price for such a venue, I'd highly encourage it. It's 100% worth it. 

Without burying the lead much further, Avatar: The Way of Water is a better, bigger film than its predecessor. Some - who have taken to hating popular things for the sake of "cool" - will chime in here "well damn, that's not hard!" but for those of us that are realistic, that's an awesome accomplishment for this sequel. Sure, Avatar was not Cameron's best movie and it has some issues, but it's still entertaining from start to finish, has fantastic visuals that would compete with anything today, and introduces an awe-inspiring world. Given that there are so many potential sequels in the pipeline (as many as 8, probably more like 5, potentially only 3 if box office suffers) this is exciting and Cameron has proven himself to be smart when handling sequels. 

Many of my issues with The Way of Water are annoyances that may diminish with time. For starters, the script - while 95% fine - has some cringe worthy bits, none more so than the constant use of "Bro" and "Cuz" by the teenage Na'vi. It's a shockingly stupid overuse of those words that feel so out of place the 40+ times they're used I was getting ripped from the immersion each time. In no way does it ruin the movie but damn...really? Bro? Cuz? Baffling. The film also goes too long in the final act as Cameron creates Titanic 2 but this is still entertaining, it just feels like some chess piece moves at the end could have been better orchestrated. At one point a character exclaims "I can't believe I'm tied up again!" and it was perhaps the funniest part of the film because it was what we were all thinking. Lastly, and perhaps the saddest element, is that The Way of Water is in desperate need of an all-time original score. James Horner produced fitting music for the original, though it wasn't his best work, nor was it memorable. This sequel's music is as generic as they come sans for any carry over elements from the first film. Of course Horner passed away, but it's a very disappointing miss because I have to think Cameron knows the impact it can have. Titanic has one of the most moving and effective original scores of all time and I think even a near copy+paste elements from that would have been so powerful here. Hell, even the trailers have had the gorgeous "singing" intros that are nowhere to be found here!

Jaw dropping beauty

Otherwise however, The Way of Water is a damn entertaining film. From a story perspective, I really enjoyed the straight-forward nature of the plot. Jake Sully (Worthington) and his now-large family are being hunted by the Sky People as they've returned to Pandora. Specifically they're hunted by Quaritch (Lang, the villain from the first) in Avatar form. Some may say its paper thin, I say it avoids needless complications and establishes groundwork for likely more complex plotlines in future sequels. We're introduced to a new suite of characters, many of which are more interesting than those from the first film. Worthington and Saldana are the obvious anchor points of the family, but there's a lot of personality within the children, none more so than a trippy, but awesome new character, Kiri (strangely but effectively played by Sigourney Weaver with a younger voice). The plot also allows us to be introduced to the Water clans and an entirely new area of Pandora. Given all the world building for the Forest elements from the first movie, that's an awesomely bold step to take in a sequel to basically "start all over". And I'll be damned if the ocean isn't even more impressive than the jungles and forests. Everything from new Sky People tech to fish and aquatic life to how oceanic Na'vi differ from those in the trees has been thought out here, and that brings me to my next point:

Details. Avatar: The Way of Water has just a bonkers amount of detail in nearly every way. Things about this world have been thought out as mentioned above, but there's also the technical aspect of the visuals where details are almost overwhelming (in the best of ways). Particularly in IMAX 3D, the technical fidelity is striking, with an incredible amount of depth and animation. In a certain way, you're watching an animated film with all the visual effects, but it always feels real. Cameron's attention to these special effects and they way in which they're generated and captured are a marvel and I wouldn't be surprised if 50 years from now (yes, 5-0) Avatar is a series that has on-par visual effects with films of that age. To be frank: even if you're not interested in Avatar or continuing this story, the visuals are reason enough to go see this in a theater. 

Lastly, and something that's a definite step up from the previous film, is the action. I enjoyed the action of the original, but I don't remember it having many "Oh Damn!" moments. Here, there's some fun parts throughout that are on-par with what we've seen before (e.g. riding on animals), but the finale is truly a spectacle with some absolutely brutal kills that are surprising - but awesome - for a PG-13 film. Cameron obviously knows his way around a setpiece and the finale is further proof of that as an awesome clash of the Sky People and Na'Vi water tribes. Sure, he takes a lot of inspiration (read: direct scenes) from Titanic at a point, but I can't say I cared all that much about it. If anything it was humorous envisioning him planning: "You want a Titanic sequel, I'll give you a sequel!"

Ultimately, it'll be really interesting to see if audiences are still interested in Avatar and the world of Pandora. It's an exciting time to be monitoring the box office because it sounds like there are literally sequels on the line if it doesn't make a boatload of cash. As for me? I'll be there anytime James Cameron puts out a new film and The Way of Water as an improved sequel with a lot to admire. 

CONS

• Bro! Cuz!
• Desperately in need of an all-time original score. The music her is bland aside from Horner's excerpts 
• Finale's chess pieces are sloppy and probably could have been condensed

PROS

• Yet again, some incredible world building that's awe-inspiring because it's not based on anything existing
• Straight-forward plot while other elements get put into place for the sequels
• Host of new characters - mostly the kids - are interesting and bring lots of personality
• Strong cast overall, but Sigourney Weaver's Kiri gets top callout here
• Incredible special effects is a massive understatement. Worth seeing in IMAX 3D
• DETAILS! Details everywhere!
• More emotionally resonant than the original. Better music likely could have closed the gap further
• Awesome action and set-pieces at the end with some brutal deaths
• Entertaining and memorable, an overall better film than its predecessor

Rath's Review Score | 8.5/10