Review: Avatar: The Way Of Water

Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios.

James Cameron's very long and expensive-looking "Avatar: The Way of Water" is a film that boasts some pretty impressive visual effects but has a screenplay that's a bit run of the mill. This is not terribly surprising as I felt the same way about the original "Avatar," a movie that I admired for its stunning imagery even if the storyline wasn't anything particularly new or original.

The same description applies here - and for the first half of the picture's whopping 192 minutes, "The Way of Water" begins to feel much like the same old, same old, but to lesser effect. Early scenes in the film struggle with leaden dialogue, the plot mechanics feel creaky and one scene leads to another in a manner that feels formulaic and, even occasionally, mystifying - there are one or two sequences that follow each other, and it feels as if another that should have been in between is missing.

The film's second half - an extended battle on the water that feels just as long as the rest of the picture - makes up some of the difference. There is, as always, too much going on - how many times can multiple characters get separated and once again find themselves the prisoner of the film's villains? - but the filmmaking coupled with the visual wonderments go a long way in nearly compensating for the film's somewhat sluggish first half. It also made me laugh how the big finale borrows from another Cameron movie - and unlikely to be the one you might think.

As the film opens, Sully (Sam Worthington) has become a full-time Na'vi and has raised a family with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) - oldest son Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), rebellious son Lo'ak (Britain Dalton) and young daughter Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), and they're also caring for Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), the daughter of Weaver's character from the original.

However, the sky people return with an avatar of the dead Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) leading the way, so the family flees to a series of islands inhabited by - for lack of a better phrase - the water Na'vi. They are eyed with suspicion and, often, ridicule at first, but eventually make their new home among these people, who are led by Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and his wife (Kate Winslet), who worry about the danger that Sully and his family might bring, but refuse to turn them away.

Sully and Neyriti are given less to do in this film, other than worry for their offspring and fight when they are endangered. In some ways, "The Way of Water" is a coming of age film involving three characters - Lo'ak, who never gets his father's approval and befriends a renegade whale-like creature (don't ask); Kiri, who discovers some special powers; and Spider (Jake Champion), a human who lives among the Na'vi after his father, Quaritch - at least, the first version of him - was killed in the original film.

One could make the argument that Cameron is more interested in world building and visuals than story in the "Avatar" films, and that wouldn't be too far off the mark. Many of his previous films - his two "Terminator" pictures, "Titanic" and even the enjoyable "True Lies" - had more interesting hooks that made you care more about the characters than his primarily digital creations do. So, yes, "The Way of Water" often feels a little clunky or overly familiar in the storytelling and script departments.

Of course, the focus of Cameron's attentions - the visual effects and visual world-building - are quite impressive. There's not a single frame of this film that doesn't appear to have not been obsessed over and there are some lovely and stunning images - a scene in which Sully's children discover the beauties under the water in the ocean is breathtaking - in the picture. 

And "Avatar" gains some points in that - even though it's a sequel - it is the follow up to an original story that had nothing to do with a comic book or other existing piece of material. This is Cameron's project, from the first frame to the last. "The Way of Water" may be entirely too long, its dialogue occasionally forgettable and its plotting often by-the-numbers, but it's pretty incredible from a visual standpoint. It's a film that displays a hell of a lot more care than your average Hollywood blockbuster. Despite its faults, it's often an enjoyable watch.