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Avatar: The Way of Water
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Movie:
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James Cameron is a man of many talents, and he has become a true power house of Hollywood cinema over the last 40 years or so. He’s always been a bit hit or miss, but his hits tend to absolutely ground breaking in the world of movies. However, no other film of his has been more puzzling to me than that of Avatar. Lauded as the single highest grossing film of all time at over 2.5 BILLION dollars (to be fair it was pushed that high by being re-released in cinemas a few years after it’s initial run), Avatar took the world by storm with it’s insane visuals, but really paper thin plot. Jokingly referred to as “Dancing with Fern Gully”, it was a glorious visually stunning film that had a plot line that was as rote and wafer thing as you could get. An indigenous people are being wiped out by the big bad humans, and it’s up to a lone human to stand in the gap and stand up for the humans trying to mine “Unobtainium” (yes, that was actually the name of the mineral in the film). Mustache twirling villains abounded, and everyone sang Kum Ba Ya around the fire after the baddies were defeated.
After the success of Avatar, James Cameron announced he was going to make Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 back to back some time in the future. As the years passed most of us actually figured that the sequel would be forgotten about, as James Cameron’s obsession with perfection would cause it to be shelved, or else forgotten about by the general populace by the time it actually came out. When Avatar: The Way of Water was announced last year as ACTUALLY coming to theaters, many were skeptical that there had been too much time passing for the general audiences to really care about. It HAD been 14 years since the original, and a pandemic had basically wiped out the theatrical movie attendance for the most part. Well, people were proven wrong when everyone and their literal mother went to go see Top Gun Maverick, and those same people turned Avatar: The Way of Water from a “heh, this MIGHT be a decent selling movie” to the 3rd highest grossing film of all time.
The plot for The Way of Water is pretty much as paper thin and rote as the original was. After the events of Avatar, marine soldier Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) fully accepted his Avatar body (a genetically engineered replica of the Na’vi people on the planet Pandora) and transferred his consciousness permanently from his crippled human form into that of his Avatar body. It’s been roughly 15 years or so since the humans were kicked off of Pandora, and the world has been at peace. His mate Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) have given birth to 3 children, as well as sort of “adopted” a couple of stragglers along the way (Spider, the biological son of Col Quaritch from the first film, and Kiri, the seemingly virgin birth of Sigourney Weaver’s avatar as well). However, that peace is coming to and end as Humanity has once more descended upon Pandora.
If you came in expecting something deep and personal, then this isn’t the film for you. I’d directly compare it as exactly on par with the first, with many of the same beats (including the giant 45 minute final battle between the humans and the new Na’vi, a mysterious resource that the humans desperately want, and countless others), but at the same times adds some interesting narrative additions. The biggest stems from the fact that The Way of Water is not just a big action movie this go around. We had the romance between Jake and Neytiri in the first film, but mostly this was a giant white night savior saving the indigenous people from the humans story. A blending of Dancing with Wolves and Fern Gully for the most part. This time we get some fleshed out side stories revolving around Jake’s children and the focus on FAMILY above all else. Honestly, with how far away from traditional nuclear family values Hollywood has gone recently, it was incredibly refreshing to watch a story that focused so much on traditional family values and the struggles that come from raising children in the world. Jake Sully’s last lines about a father’s purpose being to protect his children when he’s putting his eldest to rest is so anti-Hollywood in many ways that I had to rewind the scene just to make sure I heard it correctly. Those particular side jaunts from the main “humans vs. Na’vi” plot framework were actually the most enjoyable of the entire film.
Downsides? It’s more of the same. At 3 hours and 12 minutes the film can drag on at times. Not to mention there are quite a few loose ends that never get wrapped up, but MOST LIKELY are going to be tied up with Avatar 3 next year (both sequels were filmed back to back). Questions such as “what exactly is Kiri?”, “why is she different?”, “Is Quaritch going to be the villain in the 3rd movie?”, etc etc etc.
Rating:
Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence and intense action, partial nudity and some strong language
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Extras:
• More from Pandora's Box
• Marketing Materials and Music Video
• Trailer
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Avatar: The Way of Water is going to appeal to the same people that loved Avatar back in 2009. It’s a stunning visual epic that will literally blow your mind with how beautiful it is. I didn’t go gaga over Avatar back in 2009, but I can guarantee you that I used that Blu-ray disc (and the 3D disc) to demo my 1080p projector back in the day. Many MANY demo nights used that disc. The same is going to be said for The Way of Water I predict. Narratively it’s a cheesy sci-fi action movie that doesn’t push any boundaries. Visually speaking it will awe and inspire you with the perfect blend of scoring, great action, and stunning visuals. I may be critical of the series because I find it bizarre that THIS franchise is the highest grossing films of all time with MUCH better quality movies being out there, but I can’t deny how much popcorn fun I have with the series. The sequel somehow managed to defy pretty much everyone’s fears about it coming too late, and after a pandemic, but it is most definitely a cultural phenomenon that makes for a fun family watch.
Technical Specifications:
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Stephen Lang
Directed by: James Cameron
Written by: James Cameron, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos
Subtitles: English
Studio: Disney/Fox
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 192 Minutes
Digital Release Date: March 28th, 2022
Recommendation: Fun Watch
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