Avatar: The Way of Water REVIEW: James Cameron’s visual masterpiece is bigger and better but also a tad bit too long

Film: Avatar: The Way of Water

Director: James Cameron

Star cast: Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement and Kate Winslet

Bollywood Bubble ratings: 4 stars

Avatar 2 Movie review:

Note: I haven’t watched the first part (yeah, I can hear a lot of you going ‘WHAT’ or ‘Is she serious?’) so the review is entirely on Avatar 2 and will not have any comparison with the first part. I have watched it with a clean slate.

This is the first time I watched Avatar: The Way of Water and oh boy, I regret not watching the first one in the theatres. Last night, I watched this visually spectacular movie and I was blown away by its visuals and the beautiful forests. Even though I have not watched Avatar (2009), I knew that Jake Sully goes to Pandora where James Cameron takes us to a deep luscious green forest. It starstruck us with its green beauty; however, this time, he explores the water and oh man, I have no words to describe my feeling in words. I like how James first explored the land; this time around, he takes us deep inside the water, and I was certainly not feeling blue seeing it.

If I have to give a one-word review to Avatar: The Way of Water then it has to be spectacular. From the beautiful forests to the reef, it is visually beautiful. At one point, it seems like I’m present with the Sullys, inside the water, now call it the power of IMAX 3D or James Cameron’s gripping narration. It is quite impactful. As I watched the movie, Avatar 2 is a visually stunning movie that is laced with an emotional touch. And if you are a softie, it will surely make you quite teary-eyed, so please keep a box of tissues handy.

Drawbacks:

One major drawback is the pace of the film. Prepare yourself to watch a 3-hour and 12 mins movie which seems a little tedious in the first half. James takes quite some time to build the story in the first half and that is when you feel that story is going slowly. However, the movie picks up in the second part and that’s when it becomes more interesting and more intriguing. Moreover, Since the movie is released in 3D, I was actually expecting more 3D effect scenes but unfortunately, we hardly get to see those scenes.

Story:

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids). However, their happiness is short-lived when trouble follows them which leads them to fight impossible battles. It shows how the Sullys go to lengths to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. But will they come out victorious?

 

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Star performances:

Zoe Saldana who plays the role of Na’vi Neytiri is quite feisty and strong in this one. From what glimpses I have seen in the first part, Neytiri is someone who will fight for her family and then her love for Jake. However, in the second part, her love and protection towards her loved ones go a few notches higher as we see her kids in the picture. There is a scene where Neytiri as a mother completely breaks down after a tragic incident but she sheds her vulnerability side of her and quickly transforms herself into a feisty warrior who can go to any extreme to save her family. The character transformation from a timid and heartbroken mother to become a storm is just amazeballs.

 

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Sam Worthington excels in his part as the Avatar – Jake Sully. This time we get to see a different side of Jake who is strong from the outside but is a real softie from the inside. Since he has become a father, Sam emotes his vulnerability with utmost conviction. You can feel his pain and agony because his presence demands attention.

 

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Direction/ screenplay:

James Cameron is indeed an amazing director because his narration is so strong that even if the Pandora world is fiction, you are bound to believe that it is real. The technology that Cameron uses to take us back to Pandora has definitely been sharpened in every way and it is quite exhilarating. However, this time, he explores the water and it is a cinematic masterpiece.

 

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VFX:

Pandora world is purely fiction, so you can imagine the amount of VFX the makers have used in the movie. As the movie has been made after a decade, James uses technology smartly and crisply for Avatar 2. The major part of the movie is been shot in the water, so the effects used are quite head-spinning and eye-popping. We also get to reef people this time who have turquoise blue bodies with Maori-like tattoos on their bodies.

 

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Conclusions:

Overall, James Cameron’s film Avatar: The Way To Water is cinematically beautiful and spectacular. It is bigger and better but it is quite long. The marine life shown in the movie will surely impress you and it is exhilarating. Going by 4 stars because of the visuals despite having a mediocre storyline.

Watch the Avatar 2 trailer after the review:

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