MOVIE REVIEW
“Avatar: The Way of Water” (2022)
Thirteen years ago, "Titanic" director James Cameron gave us the mega-blockbuster "Avatar,” which ended up being one of the highest-grossing movies of all time (along with “Titanic,” actually). Now its long-awaited sequel, "Avatar: The Way of Water" finally hits theaters.
No pressure, right? I guess if anyone can capture lightning in a bottle again it's the "king of the world" himself, James Cameron.
In “The Way of Water," Sam Worthington’s "Jake Sully" lives the good life with his new and blue family on Pandora until a threat from his past threatens not only his peaceful existence but that of the whole planet. His family ends up having to go into hiding with the aquatic denizens of Pandora, hence the watery subtitle of this sequel.
There isn’t much else to “The Way of Water," but most are probably not seeing it for its intricate plot or witty banter, anyway. For any “Avatar” movie, it’s all about the spectacle; and "The Way of Water" does look amazing. If you're at all interested in seeing it, don't wait for it to stream - go see it in theaters, and pay up for the 3D IMAX version. Just know you'll be wearing those 3D glasses for about 3 hours and 12 minutes, so maybe skip the extra-large soda?
But for those 192 minutes, the impressive visuals will transport you to Pandora for a truly otherworldly theatergoing experience. It almost makes you forget how pedestrian the plot is. In fact, some of the subplots were more interesting to me than the main line, especially if, like me, you like your preachy, environmental messaging couched in allegorical sci-fi.
The dialog is nothing to write home about either, and doesn't do anything to clarify some puzzling, new developments, like wait – how do avatars have babies again? And who slept with whom? And why no mention of Unobtanium (my guess is an embarrassment over such a stupid name) in favor of a new desirable seemingly ripped off from “Dune?”
Additionally, many of the main characters we're familiar with from the original film are sidelined by somewhat annoying newcomers, meaning Worthington is relegated to dropping no-duh ditties about family while narrating to the lowest common denominator in the audience, and Zoe Saldana basically got paid millions to hiss and cry a lot.
But maybe these newbies will address some of those confusing issues and grow on me as we grow up with them through the 3rd, 4th, and 5th installments of the “Avatar” franchise planned for 2024, 2026, and 2028, respectively.
But if you liked the first one, you’ll likely love the second one since much of it is recycled from the first; heck, by the end (which feels like a bit much by that time) Cameron even seems to be salvaging his "Titanic" material too, along with his obvious love of all things underwater.
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“Avatar: The Way of Water” (2022)
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence and intense action, partial nudity, some strong language and being way too long
Running Time: 3 hrs 12 mins
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
