AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER REVIEW

 *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Following its release in 2009, James Cameron’s action packed, visual effects spectacular Avatar exceeded all expectations. Critics praised the outstanding visual effects that brought the fictional world of Pandora to life. It also was successful at the box office, earning over a billion dollars, and quickly became the highest grossing film of all time. Unsurprisingly, because of its success, Cameron announced that he would make a sequel. However, because the motion capture technology that is used to bring the characters and the world of Pandora to life isn’t the quickest of methods to use when creating a film, the sequel was frequently delayed. Finally, after thirteen years, Cameron’s much anticipated follow up to Avatar, named The Way Of Water, has been released but does it meet expectations? Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water begins to tell the story of the Sully family, Jake (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and their kids, the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. 

Undoubtedly, technically, The Way of Water is one of the most visually stunning films of the year. Cameron, once again, succeeds in bringing audiences back to the world of Pandora. It’s definitely one of those films that is a must see at the cinema as, when watched at home, the bright and colourful visuals won’t be as impressive. I was fortunate enough to watch it in IMAX 3D and, although it’s not the cheapest of ways to experience a film, I think that it’s worth the price as, despite the lengthy runtime of 192 minutes, I felt incredibly immersed in The Way of Water. 

While a lot of people have, understandably, complained about lack of an original narrative, this didn’t bother me too much as I was just happy to be exploring the new world of Metkayina, which is where the Sully family escape to following an attack from a new operating base, Bridgehead City, who want to rid Pandora of the Na’vi and make it a new home for the humans. Because the Sully family are from the forest based part of Pandora, they feel out of place in their new home of Metkayna which is surrounded by water and sea creatures. As a result, the Sully family have to learn the ways of the reef people which is led by Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and his wife, Ronal (Kate Winslet). Metkayina resembles a paradise and is filled with beautifully created sea creatures, including the whale like tulkuns. At times, it was quite hard to believe that Metkayina wasn’t real. I’ll be surprised if Avatar: The Way of Water doesn’t win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects at next year’s Academy Awards. 

With films such as Aliens, The Terminator, T2: Judgment Day, Titanic and Avatar, Cameron has become known for his epic films and that’s still the case with his The Way of Water. Like his previous films, it’s packed full of exhilarating action, however, it’s also filled with intense drama and emotional character moments. What was most surprising about The Way of Water was that it wasn’t a crowd pleasing blockbuster like Top Gun: Maverick, which was released earlier this year. The climatic battle sequence is where The Way of Water is at its most thrilling. Despite its age rating of 12A (PG-13 in the United States), Cameron doesn’t shy away from the violence between the warrior-like Na’vi and the weapon heavy and destructive humans. I found the final battle to be similar to Titanic in terms of its emotional impact and also because it takes place on a sinking ship that quickly fills with water, leaving a lot of the characters trapped and with seemingly no way of escape. 

Many of the cast members from the first Avatar return to The Way of Water including Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang. Of the four, it’s Weaver who stands out with her impressive portrayal of teenager Kiri who is the biological daughter of Grace Augustine (played by Weaver in the first film), however, following her death, Kiri was adopted by Jake and Neytiri. Kiri behaves like a typical teenager and is rebellious but finds herself connecting with the new world underwater. Her brothers are Neteyam (James Flatters), who is the oldest, and Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), who struggles underneath Neteyam’s shadow. The final member of the Sully family is the adorable Tuktirey (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss). The new characters include Tonowari and Ronal, who have a family of their own including Tsireya (Bailey Bass), a graceful and strong free diver, Aonung (Filip Geljo), a young male hunter and Rotxo (Duane Evans Jr.). 

Although the technical achievements and stunning visuals are why The Way of Water is worth experiencing on the big screen, it’s not without its flaws, including lack of an original narrative which follows similar plot points from Avatar. As a result, the story is predictable, however, this wasn’t much of an issue for me as I was happy just to be admiring the beautiful visuals. 

2022 has been packed full of great films, from Matt Reeves’ epic and unique take on The Batman to the Daniels’ exploration of a multiverse with Everything Everywhere All At Once, just to name a couple. Avatar: The Way of Water may not be the best film from this year, however, it ends the year on a high. Hopefully it won’t be too long until Avatar 3 is released.

8/10