13 Dec Avatar: The Way of Water Review

AVATAR: WAY OF WATER

dir. James Cameron, starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Cliff Curtis, Stephen Lang, et al

Set over a decade after the events of 2009’s Avatar, Way of the Water focuses on Jake Sully and his family as they’re forced to flee the skies of Pandora in exchange for the depths of its oceans. With more forces from Earth arriving to continue its destructive conquest, their goals have shifted from killing the Na’vi in order to mine the precious unobtanium to stripping the planet bare of its every resource. Rejoining this cause is erstwhile Marine Miles Quaritch, killed by Neytiri in the first film, looking to settle the score. What results is both a family drama and a revenge flick, stories set against the beautiful backdrop of a world fully realized by James Cameron and crew.

At its heart, The Way of the Water is about the indominable strength of a family’s will. Jake Sully does everything in this film in service of his family, even when questioned by Naeytiri. Even having been integrated into the Na’vi culture for over ten years, Sully pushes back against the culture and traditions, to Neytiri’s anger and dismay. In an era where sequels have to mean bigger, because bigger means better, the common pitfall is adding in explosions and more characters to either kill or be killed, and while there is some of that here in this film, Cameron still keeps his focus narrow. For all its bluster, it’s digital wonderance, and bloated runtime, The Way of the Water is simply a tale of a man who wants to keep his loved ones safe.

That said, while Cameron and his team have created one of the great cinematic experiences of the year, the movie isn’t without fault. From a writing perspective, Cameron may be at his weakest: Way of the Water’s overall story isn’t as strong or impactful as Avatar, the first act is a rough reintroduction to Pandora, and James Cameron, the man who made the idea of the space Marine so incredibly cool, fills these particular Marines with the cringiest, hammiest dialogue. Whether that’s purposeful or not is certainly something to consider; in Aliens we get a squad of shit-talking, ass-kicking, overly macho (or overly compensating) characters who, while mostly one note and underdeveloped, are still memorable for their interactions with each other. Here in this movie, we get a gang of douchebags, simps to Colonel Quarich’s petty quest for vengeance against Jake Sully. Whether or not Cameron is attempting to deconstruct the myth he himself helped create in Aliens is unclear. What’s clear is his writing of their dialogue consists of little more than chuckling at Quaritch’s evil schemes and telling hostages to hold still.

The first 30-40 minutes of Way of the Water may be its roughest patch. The story is juggling reintroducing characters while giving appropriate due to the new faces in the franchise, attempting to simultaneously remind of you where things ended in Avatar, what’s transpired over the past decade plus, and set up the new central conflict of the film (which, honestly, is just the exact same one from before, but this time it’s personal). This leads to clunky editing, hopping between stories in an unwieldy fashion that feels more like an unsuccessful exposition dump than a setting of the board. Once the pieces are in play, however, the film settles into itself, and the audience can buckle in for a hell of a ride.

Except, there’s act two, which could be one of the most divisive elements of the film. Once the Sullys have left the skies and taken to the oceans, the narrative shift from Jake and Neytiri protecting the family to the Sully children learning to integrate into a new society and acclimate to the ocean becomes the story’s main conceit. If the pacing of the first act is janky, the pacing of the second act almost slows to a halt. Not to say that’s completely a negative, however, this is where Cameron relaxes and proceeds to flex on moviegoers with the reason the sequel took so long: the water scenes in this movie are amongst some of the most beautiful he’s ever crafted. The entire act exists almost solely on vibes: lots of pondering shots filled with gorgeous digital landscapes and extended underwater sequences take full advantage of the 3D and IMAX screens, inviting those in the seats to come along the journey. Occasionally Cameron will remember to insert a bit of plot to keep the narrative thrust alive, but he also know where his strength lie with the first movie and that’s in creating a world people would visit if it were possible. He replicates that feeling in the second act to astonishing results, at the detriment of the storytelling.

The third act is pure, unadulterated, uncut raw James Cameron: pulse pounding action, small beats that further develop the characters, and spectacle as far as the eye can see. Overall, the film is a triumph, and while there’s parts that don’t work as well as others, and some characters that don’t work well at all, the idiom that has been kicked around Hollywood for years continues to ring true in 2022: don’t bet against James Cameron.

Sam Worthington reprises his role as Jake Sully, physically damaged former Marine turned native in the first film. As the face of a franchise, Worthington is less than ideal; his lack of any sort of charm or charisma hampers the character from being beloved, but his talents are serviceable. Luckily, no one goes to an Avatar movie to see Sam Worthington, and what he does in this film is exactly what he did in the first; he hits his marks, he says his lines, and we proceed on to the next scene. While it’s not necessary to be a ruggedly handsome man exuding waves of charisma to lead a franchise (it certainly helps, though), Worthington has never really fit the leading man type. Still, he provides enough to be passable and will likely continue to return to the role for as long as he’s needed.

Zoe Saldana has far less to do here than she did before. Previously, Saldana is Sully’s (and the viewer’s) guide into the Na’vi and their foreign ways. She’s a necessary component needed for Sully’s eventual transition, and by film’s end the journey’s she’s taken to learning to trust humans again, or at least a handful of them, makes for a good character arc. In Way of the Water, Sully has been fully integrated into the culture for years, therefore diminishing her role as guide. This time around, Neytiri is a (mostly) supportive wife, relegated to spending large swaths of the movie either fearing for her children’s safety or simply not on screen. It’s the final showdown where Neytiri really gets her chance to shine and shine she does. Saldana, no stranger to action scenes, throws herself fully into the mix, with an outstanding fight scene that reminds moviegoers never to mess with a mother’s children.

Stephen Lang returns as Colonel Miles Quaritch, one of the better gleeful villains of past years. A cliche spewing, cigar chomping, walking ball of buzzcut testosterone in the first film, Lang is very obviously having a blast playing the film’s central antagonist. He returns with the same attitude here, with a bit of a harder edge, determined to kill Jake Sully for his crimes against humanity. Quaritch is a gun-toting military enthusiast’s wet dream, and while that type of person inherently comes with their own toxicity, the absolute joy with which Lang plays the character makes him one of my recent favorite villains. Thanks in large part to Cameron’s writing and Lang’s acting, Quaritch is a character that people can love to hate.

While there’s other characters introduced in the film, to include all of the Sully children, as well Cliff Curtis and Kate Winslet as ruling family of the reef people, and Spider, a character that doesn’t quite fully work, the relationship between Jake Sully, Neytiri, and Quaritch really is the reason for the season. Even though Cameron laces the film with those themes of family togetherness and fighting for survival, it’s the round two grudge match between the three that provides the thrust for the action in this large budget adventure. The movie’s ending will guarantee something of a round three, possibly the final word on settling the score for good. Thanks to all three actors (mainly Lang and Saldana), the story is primed and the stage is set for a Rocky/Apollo Creed level matchup.

Avatar: Way of the Water brings writer/director/producer James Cameron back to the director’s seat, helming his first narrative feature since the Avatar 13 years prior. This go round Cameron chooses to focus on the family dynamic. In this, Cameron as a writer excels: the Sully family feels like a family almost any of us can relate to: rebellion teenagers, smaller children still encountering the wonders that Pandora holds, the outcast different child, all these elements are in play and Cameron uses these elements to set up a number of storylines and situations. From a directing standpoint, Cameron, cinematographer Russell Carpenter, and the rest of the cast flex their skills in recreating (and then enriching) the world that so many people fell in love with back in 2009. The attention to detail and the creature work is astounding, and even with a second act that drags the pacing of the entire film down, no fault can be blamed on the experience that Cameron wanted to convey; through both Lo’ak and Kiri the audience is able to enter another unturned stone of Pandora, its oceans. It took Weta FX a year and a half to develop a motion capture system that could blend with filming underwater; the result of their efforts is easily one of the best visual events of the year. These are the reasons Cameron took so long before filming the first movie and filming this one, it’s clear that he wants the audience to feel as much as the characters of the story do and in this he succeeded in spades.

Overall, while the stakes of Way of the Water aren’t as high as its predecessor, the grandeur of storytelling is. James Cameron leaves it all on the screen, providing a visual and auditory experience that reminds moviegoers of the art of blockbuster filmmaking. Technically masterful, Cameron’s worldbuilding continues to be unparalleled in terms of sheer immersion. While not quite as good as the first, the film’s further exploration of the characters, introduction of new ones, and the return of old menaces makes for one of December’s most entertaining films. A movie best seen in IMAX 3D, Cameron has proven that he still has plenty more to say about this world and its inhabitants, and plenty more gas left in the tank to tell you about them. Avatar: Way of the Water hits theaters December 16th.

Review by Darryl Mansel