Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
directed by James Cameron
★★★★☆
(REVIEWER’S NOTE: I saw Avatar: The Way of Water in IMAX 3D. I cannot speak for how the experience may differ in 2D cinemascope.)
Much like James Cameron’s only other sequel (to one of his own movies, anyway), this follow-up to 2009’s Avatar was long-awaited — exceeding the gap between The Terminator and T2 by an additional 5 years. The Way of Water, however, is the first in a tetralogy of sequels, filmed back-to-back, and slated to release 2 years apart from one another.
In the years since the first Avatar, there’s been much scrutiny about whether the film deserved the praise and success it received. Many critics (professional and non) predicted that by the time a sequel was released, the hype would have died down and audiences would have forgotten all about the original. Disney CEO Bob Iger’s and Imagineer Joe Rohde’s forethought in partnering with Cameron for an Avatar-based land in Disney’s Animal Kingdom park based on the movie, and its equally successful attractions, all but assured that the franchise would remain in the public consciousness in the interim.
So was it worth the wait?
Put simply and humbly, yes. What The Way of Water lacks in the wow-factor of its predecessor, it makes up for with deeper characterization, a plot that is thematically similar without being an outright copy, and absolutely gorgeous visual effects. That last point cannot be overstated. As impressive as Avatar looked in 2009, its sequel blows it… well, out of the water. CGI has come a long way in the past decade. Rendering realistic elements such as water and fire used to produce video-game quality results, but in 2022, the all-CGI creatures, environments, and other organic imagery is convincingly realistic.
Okay, so the movie looks good. What about everything else? Well, this is a James Cameron movie, so don’t expect a lot of nuance. For better or worse, Cameron’s characters are, and always have been, pretty two-dimensional. You’ll pretty much understand who they are and what they stand for the moment they walk on-screen. These broad strokes allow the plot to develop without wasting a whole lot of time, and keep the movies accessible and interesting to general audiences, but may turn off anyone looking for deep, reflective, dynamic characters.
The story takes the first Avatar’s message of environmental preservation and harmony and moves it from the forest to the sea. Although the environmental plot is secondary to the interracial conflict of two tribes, the forest Na’vi, led by Tsyeyk Suli, née Jake Sully, (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and the coastal Na’vi, led by Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and Ronal (Kate Winslet). This struggle is enough without the threat of what are essentially whalers who are killing and harvesting bodily fluids from the migrational tulkun, which has been discovered to have incredible health benefits.
In addition to whalers, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) has been resurrected as an avatar and sent to assassinate Jake and eliminate the growing Na’vi resistance against the Resource Development Administration, which has continued its push to reap and colonize Pandora. How and why Quaritch returns is problematic to me. While Lang was perfectly cast (maybe type-cast) in the first film, it seems unnecessary to bring back the character who met a fitting and satisfying end. Although I would have preferred a new, original villain character, Lang’s performance, and the familiarity Quaritch has with the other characters, make what could have been a cheap “back-from-the-dead” return more acceptable.
Finally, I feel I must address the movie’s length. The first Avatar ran 2 hours and 42 minutes theatrically, with a 2h51m Special Edition released later both in theaters and on home video. This Special Edition was supplemented by an Extended Collector’s Edition on home video with a runtime of 2h58m. The Way of Water runs 3h12m in its original theatrical cut, regardless of whether you see it in standard cinema or IMAX, 2D or 3D. This is roughly the same length as Cameron’s pre-Avatar epic, Titanic, and about a quarter-hour longer than recent action epics, Avengers: Endgame (3h1m) and The Batman (2h56m). While the movie never feels like it’s dragging or wasting time, it is a commitment of time and attention span, and may be better enjoyed at home with a pause button.
However, unless Avatar: The Way of Water ushers in a new era of 3D TVs and home video, you’d be missing out on one of the greatest visual spectacles of the decade.
