Avatar: The Way of Water

The last time James Cameron did a sequel, we got 1991's Terminator 2: Judgement Day, which is arguably one of the greatest action films ever, and easily the best Schwarzenegger movie ever.  Given this, his long-awaited return to his 2009 smash, Avatar, has huge expectations by many.  To those who fell in love with the world of Pandora and its inhabitants, you will be pleased to know that this is basically the first movie kicked to 11, and is quite the visual feast.  Look beyond the visuals, and Avatar: The Way of Water is on less stable ground.

To the many who made the first film the most successful movie of all time (second most successful in terms of inflation), this probably will not matter, as this sequel is pretty much everything you loved about the first.  Apparently, Cameron's approach with this was to revisit everything that worked last time, only with the eye candy kicked up.  With the right screening conditions (IMAX, 3D, superior surround sound), I'm sure this is quite the experience that only the theater can provide.  But, just like before, I walked away mixed and a bit cold.  To those who fell in love last time, don't listen to this old Grump.  Go, enjoy, and get lost in the fantasy.  I just didn't find the first one all that fun, and despite the improved effects, I didn't find much to get excited about here.

Just like before, Cameron has emphasized creating an immersive theatrical experience, while relegating aspects like plot, character development, and story to the wayside.  When you get right down to it, The Way of Water is (no pun intended) shallow.  The movie repeats many of the same story beats, characters, and mistakes as before.  Again, those who embraced the experience and didn't care about such shortcomings before will feel the same here.  I guess I should have been tipped off when every single article hyping this film has emphasized the cost and expense of putting this sequel (and more to come) together, rather than emphasizing the script and writing process.  This movie is all about making money, and it's sure to make a lot.

The sequel kicks off over a decade after the events of the first, and finds Jake Sully (a motion captured Sam Worthington) living peacefully on Pandora after having his mind and soul fully transferred into his alien Na'vi body.  He now has a family with Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), including children, some of whom are adopted, such as the human boy who lives with the Na'vi nicknamed Spider (Jake Champion) and sports a Tarzan-style loincloth throughout the film.  As the film opens, the "sky people" (aka humans) have returned, this time wishing to colonize Pandora by force.  Led by the ruthless General Ardmore (Edie Falco), they are intent on making the planet their home, as Earth is no longer habitable, and they will force any of the local inhabitants to bend to their will.

Part of the General's plan is to place the minds and memories of fallen military soldiers into the bodies of Na'vi Avatars, which leads to the previous film's villain, Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), coming back and looking for revenge on Jake and Nevtiri for killing him last time.  Realizing that his presence in the forest tribe will endanger the people, Jake and his family decide to flee, while the vicious Colonel begins a violent search across Pandora for his enemies.  Jake's search for sanctuary finds him and his family taking refuge with the water-based Metkayina clan, where they must learn the ways of the clan, and the secrets of inhabiting with the vast sea and all of its life.  

The Way of Water packs all of this information within the first half hour or so through forced exposition and a dull voice-over narrative from Sam Worthington, who never seems as invested as he should telling us this story.  After this, the center part of the film mainly deals with Jake and Nevtiri's kids interacting with the Metkavina children.  Again, it's all masterfully shot and looks gorgeous, but there is next to no character development on display.  The kids are all one-note personalities (one's cute and inquisitive, one is strong and brave, the other wants to be strong and brave like the older brother, but takes risks), while the returning Jake and Nevtiri are mainly pushed to the background until the third act, and given absolutely nothing to do while their kids frolic with undersea life and play pranks on each other.  We don't even learn much about the water clan, who seem exactly like Nevtiri's forest clan, only they base their society around water.

Combine all of this with dialogue that sounds like middle age people trying to sound "hip" and "young" (the kids say "bro" and "dude" so much, it could inspire a drinking game), and the fact that the human villains are so one-note in their evil that they make Skeletor from the 1980s He-Man cartoon look like a complex creation of villainy, and you have an experience that is beautiful to look at, but awful in just about every regard of storytelling, dialogue, character building, and the notion of advancing this world or its characters beyond anything we saw last time.  It's an awkward experience.  I wanted to be swept away, but the juvenile level of the screenplay kept me firmly grounded the entire time.  Here is a movie that gives its audience remarkable images, but the story and everything else seems to have been given no care.

When I reviewed the original in 2009, I said that I couldn't recommend it as a movie, but still suggested it should be seen at the theater and in the right circumstances at least once.  I'm of the same mind here, and I have a feeling that those who loved the first will be of the same mind.  If you can get lost in the beauty and forget the fact that nothing here is new, original or deep, I envy you.  I really wanted to shut my brain off and enjoy this, but the leaden dialogue, thin characters and non-existent plot kept my critical brain wide awake.  I understand that we need blockbusters that are not based on comic books, and Avatar: The Way of Water provides.  But when Top Gun: Maverick proved how to do such a blockbuster so beautifully, this makes Cameron's effort seem more bland.

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