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| Images courtesy 20th Century Studios |
Thirteen years of waiting has brought us back to James Cameron's fictional planet of Pandora, a stunning environment rich with beautiful landscapes, stunning underwater vistas, and deadly animated creatures all created in the mind of one mad creative genius and his team of hyper talented visual magicians.
Coming back to the world of Avatar after more than a decade reminds us of Cameron's dedication to his craft and his enormously inflated ego that's only amplified by three hours and fifteen minutes of self indulgence and a daunting amount of familiar retreads. As a sequel to one of the biggest movies of all time, The Way of Water is an absolute spectacle that relies on a reminiscent script that copies many previous beats, pound for pound. But the overall project is one for the ages and a film that will have people talking for years to come, as bloated as it is.
Blending story elements and action-centric scenarios from his own films like Titanic, Aliens and numerous others, Cameron is on point with his decade long work of action/science fiction. Pandora is more lush this time around and the dimensions and textures of his computer rendered characters and environments are even more believable. The motion is undeniably fluid with Jake Sully and his family finding new and interesting ways to get into trouble as they seek a new home on their alien planet. This is bigger in scope than the last and takes massive swings to establish this as the next major Star Wars like franchise. This is definitely The Empire Strikes Back of this series, setting a darker tone while Cameron uses full abandon in his world building techniques and attention to the most minute of ocular details.
With a run time this long, there were definitely some scenes that could have been trimmed. Exposition is overdone, characters are given a little too much breadth at times, and the final major battle between Sully and his mortal enemy is far too long winded. But this is what we've come to expect from Cameron at this point. His flair for huge effects shots often times comes at the expense of tired butts in seats. You might be a little sore by the time the clock runs out, but it's altogether worth it. Avatar 2 is a perfect specimen of massive budgeted event cinema that will most likely tip the scales at the cinema in the coming weeks.
The biggest issues that many will take with the film is Cameron's heavy handed messaging and overarching repetitious narrative of evil military men and their meddling with a native society. At times it gets a bit messy in its presentation and plays too closely to the script of the original Avatar. This is one that definitely needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible for full effect in 3D. If anything, Avatar: The Way of Water is a massive achievement in effects work that continues to prove that James Cameron is a master of his art, even if he's always overtly self impressed.
As a holiday release, this will be the one to beat. Considering there are no other huge blockbusters, Cameron and crew may have their shot to rule the box office again. See this one for the lush color palette and textures and you'll be happy you did. This director continues to reinvent his own wheel and the Avatar sequel is a solid reminder of his unbound talent.
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