Avatar: The Way of Water Reminds Us What Real Cinema Is All About
James Cameron has truly outdone himself with Avatar: The Way Of Water, his long awaited sequel to Avatar (2009). Almost 14 years later he has delivered a sequel that rivals the first and was not only an extraordinary visual feat worth waiting for but, something cinema has needed.
Disney’s “Avatar: The Way of Water has stunned critics and audiences alike, the film earned a Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is continuing to climb the Global box office.“The film has already earned over $180M worldwide. With $53 million being made in North America and $24 million in China so far. The film’s budget is reportedly around $460M. The most expensive film ever made.
The main plot behind the film is a beautiful, emotional and heartwrenching story of family, love, revenge, life and death. At the middle of it all is Jake Sully and his family. As the official synopsis reads, “Jake and Neytiri are doing everything to stay together and stay safe. However, they must leave their home and explore the regions of Pandora. When an ancient threat resurfaces, Jake must fight a difficult war against the humans.”
SPOILERS BELOW DO NOT CLICK READ MORE IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE
The Way of Water’ starts where the first left off, with Jake as chief as the Omaticaya Clan with Neytiri as his wife. The two are building a family together, at the start of the film we see a beautiful and emotional montage of Jake’s children growing up and that alone is enough to get the waterworks started. As James Cameron promised, this film would focus mainly on family, and it does.
When the humans return to Pandora, they start an old war up again, after a one year time jump we see how things have progressed for both sides. We then see their greatest weapon, Colonel Quaritch in Avatar form, hell bent on killing Jake Sully. Jake has no choice but to take his family and run to the sea clans where Quaritch continues to hunt him down. The film has such captivating and emotional stories, all within the movie’s main plot.
This of course all leads to a climactic battle towards the end of the movie that pits human against Na’vi once again, in a battle for family, freedom and what’s right. At one point combining the two things James Cameron is best at, sinking ships and aliens.
What we have come to expect from most James Cameron fims are the visuals of his storytelling and his action packed fight scenes. Although the visuals are stunning, that isn’t the only reason people should want to see this film, James Cameron may be a master at VFX but he is also a grand storyteller. In this film in particular, James Cameron has truly pushed himself in terms of seeing how far her can go with the visual and storytelling aspects of filmmaking.
Courtesy of Disney
For some the film has proven to be above Avatar (2009) in terms of plot and cinematography, especially with the emotional aspect. However as Joel David Moore who plays Dr. Norm Spellman says “They are their own stories.” In case one might wonder if you need to watch the first movie to understand this one, yes of course that would be best, but this film stand out on its own and explains almost everything perfectly, except for a few key details.
Despite the fact that the movie is over 3 hours long, at times you can barely feel time going by. One thing that this film had more of in spades compared to the first was action. Way of Water was action packed and such and entertaining ride. It never slowed down. It will either have you on the edge of your seat or it will have you in tears, or it will have you foaming at the mouth with rage. Either way, get ready for an emotional ride.
The performances in the film were incredible, but especially those from the younger actors. Each character got a chance to shine on their own and together which meant an ample amount of screentime. We see a son trying to live up to his father, a son trying to escape his father, a daughter trying to figure out who she is and a brother who considers himself an outcast. In a moving turn of events, it ends up being the children who save their parents during the final moments of the film. There was some amazing talent on that screen.
Courtesy of Disney
As for Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña, they deliver such brilliant, emotional and intense performances throughout the film. We get to see them take on the role of parents and warriors as they face a number of obstacles. This cast’s work in this movie is something to be spoken about, both their physical work and the emotional heights they reached in the film.
Courtesy of Disney
James Cameron will have your heart bleeding for both creatures and characters even before the movie is over.
This film would have been the perfect ending to the Avatar franchise, however the film ends with the promise of sequels, and despite the fact that it was already revealed that more Avatar films were coming, after having seen Way of Water and witnessing the events that unfold, you might find yourself with a sense of closure, wishing that things had wrapped up here.
James Cameron is considered to be the King of sequels, with 2 successfull and widely popular sequels under his belt, Aliens” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day in a recent interview with a Chicago reporter, Cameron explained his approach to sequels by saying, “You give the audience comfort that the things that they liked about the first film are gonna be there, but they’re going to be turned upside down or jumbled in a way that you don’t expect,” now with Avatar: The Way of Water, he has a third to add to the list.
However all in all, this film is a phenomenal cinematic experience and deserves to be seen in the biggest theatre you can find. Do not miss out on this phenomenal cinematic experience. With its incredible visuals you will forget that you are in a cinema and for 3 hours, you will have entered the world of Pandora. This is the kind of movie that reminds us what real cinema is.
James Cameron himself said, ‘If I Like My Movie, I Know Other People Are Gonna Like It,” if that’s the case, fans are going to love Way of Water.
