If you’ve not seen Avatar by now, you probably at least have heard of the blockbuster film from 2009. Coming in at $2.9 billion, it remains the highest grossing, worldwide, box-office film to date. It brought us big blue alien humanoids, essentially a retelling of Disney’s Pocahontas, and the stunning world of Pandora. And now, after 13 long years, the sequel has finally arrived.
A Trip Down Memory Lane
I remember being skeptical of yet another 3D movie when Avatar was released. They were all over the place at that point. Everything was coming out in 3D. Most seemed to be animated films. And sure, it added some depth, but for the most part I felt it was just another way for theaters to rake in a little more cash.
Still, when my family and I went and saw Avatar, we did in fact see it in 3D, and I was stunned.
It was the first movie that I actually felt was worthy of being called 3D. When the main protagonist Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington) first runs in his avatar, which is a biological shell resembling the blue humanoids mentioned earlier, called the Na’vi, the dirt felt like it really was flying from the screen.
Later on in the film, when the floating seeds from The Tree of Souls, land on Sully, it did seem to hover in front of the audience before going inward toward the screen. There were many more scenes that I noticed such visuals, but those were two of my favorites.
As the film came to a close, I was left in awe.
I was in love with this movie. Yeah it was a retelling, but it was a new setting and just different enough, that I didn’t mind. I wished so hard that the world of Pandora was real. The flora and fauna of this fictional world were so beautiful. Honestly could’ve watched a documentary on just the planet. I was that enamored.
Where are you David Attenborough?
I know James Cameron was heavily influenced from his underwater ventures. It was quite apparent from how the plants interacted with their environments and when touched by Jake and others. How the seeds floated through the air like jellyfish… Even though the scenes and settings for the first film were forest based, the movements of the flora and fauna made it feel like they were in liquid.
When January 2010 came around, and Cameron announced that there would indeed be a sequel I was ecstatic. I could not wait to return to Pandora.
But I had no idea how long I would be waiting…
Plot Summary
Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana)must face an old and familiar threat to their world and lives. With the help of other Na’vi they will fight to protect their home and family.
Avatar: The Way of Water
A Note to the Reader
This is a Spoiler Free review, and therefore we will not be going into details to respect the film-lovers who have not yet seen the movie.
Also, this is my review, and my opinions. As with all things, I recommend reading/watching/playing it yourself and being your own judge in the end, but hope my review may provide you with some initial insight and some fun reading.
Thank you! 
What I Loved
Pandora
Returning to Pandora was amazing. It felt like somehow there were more textures, and the smoothness of the film was almost dizzying.
As the title indicates, this is Avatar: The Way of Water, and so we get a majority of the film in a new and beautiful setting of Pandora. Cameron’s love of water shines in this film like never before between the array of new creatures we are introduced to, and seeing Jake and his family literally maneuver in this new element. It is evident that a lot of time was dedicated to the study of underwater movement of both people, animals, and plant-life.
Another sub-topic of this, is seeing how a different part of Pandora operates. Going from forests and trees to the ocean and water…I got goosebumps. Again, I wanted to jump into this world and experience this new environment too. It was beautifully done.
It’s nice to see a different part of Pandora. I mean it is a whole planet, I would have been extremely disappointed if we hadn’t gotten a new background for this sequel.
Human Ruthlessness
On the opposite side of the spectrum, another thing I loved about this movie, is the display of just how cold and ruthless people can be. It did a good job of showing what lengths people will go to achieve their goals. And not all goals are admirable.
I won’t go into much detail, but suffice it to say, as an animal lover I got more than a bit miffed at a particular scene. It was very apparent what they were trying to mimic from the real world, and it left me feeling sick and angry at the antagonists.
Which I’m sure was the point, so mission accomplished.
A Mother’s Rage
Many movies depict families and their trials. From bringing life into the world to losing a loved one, growing apart, moving etc. Families experience a multitude of emotions both at others and more often than not, each other. And one such emotion I felt this movie gave me in an Ace, was a mother’s rage.
Again, can’t go into details…but I really really want to!
I’ll admit to trying to give a few more details here and just having to backspace because I can’t say anything more without giving it away.
It’s good. It felt genuine. I can say no more.
Kiri
Kiri is a new character to this film, and so I won’t go into details. But I had to put them on the list because they were by far the best part of this film. Their scenes were always mesmerizing and thought-provoking. I am extremely intrigued to see what lies ahead for this character, and I hope in the next film they are the front-runner. I almost felt like this movie, was a huge build-up, for Kiri’s development into a leading role.
What I Didn’t Love
Lazy Writing
This was the big one.
I was hoping the trailer wasn’t giving us the whole picture of the antagonist when it’s said that humans are returning to Pandora. And in a minor way, it’s not the whole picture, but at the same time it is.
Sorry if that’s confusing…spoiler-free and all that.
Like, wasn’t that the whole plot of the first one? Humans are trampling all over Pandora and the Na’vi have to stop them? The difference being there is very little romance and kids are involved this time?
As a whole it felt like the same arc of the first one. The cast was bigger, the settings changed more, and there wasn’t as much of a romantic spin on things, but overall it felt the same.
The Antagonist
A little bit more on Lazy Writing. Yeah, we get humans again as the main bad guys in this film. So that was not fun to learn. This fantastical world full of new creatures, and we have to bring back people as the bad guys?
On one hand that says a lot. On a whole different planet across the stars, and humans are still the scariest and meanest things out there… I can believe it. I can buy that.
On the other hand, I was kind of hoping we’d see a big bad come from within Pandora. It has so many creatures we’ve already seen that can be ferocious and not to mention other Na’vi who I’m sure may not like Jake and his family. I guess I just wanted to not see humans at all in this one.
The true physical antagonist we get though, that faces Jake and his family, really bored me. I really was disappointed, and the explanation of their existence in this film was the laziest thing of all.
Poor Explanations
I suppose this could fall under Lazy Writing as well, but without going into detail, I wanted to go into detail.
Things and people just “are” in this sequel. We are given explanations, sure. But all but one, in my opinion, are crappy.
There is a member of this character cast that was allegedly alive during the first film, and I’m sorry, we were given absolutely no indication whatsoever, that this was a thing. That it was even possible. So to just dump this character on us, and give us this flimsy excuse, left me feeling put off. Of all the possible backstories, this is what you give this character? Come on!
The other character we get, with a miracle explanation, left me feeling very skeptical. However, this character (Kiri) was by far the most intriguing of the entire cast , so I’m holding out hope that in the third film we will get a bit more.
In Conclusion
This was a very lazily written story, with little gems hidden throughout, but it took place in a stunning and beautiful world and so I still really liked it.
I would categorize it as good, not great. Which sucks if we’re being honest. Because we’ve waited thirteen years for this thing to come out.
I’m sure a great deal of that time went to the animation and world, which was fantastic. And for that alone, I got to give this movie props. It was over 3 hours long, but I did not realize it. Again, I was mesmerized by the visuals and I probably would’ve sat there another hour if I hadn’t went to the latest showing and I wasn’t wearing both my glasses and 3D glasses on top of them.
If you liked or loved the first film, definitely give this one a go. It introduces a lot more characters, all with great potential. The visuals and world of Pandora itself will not disappoint. And even though this one did not blow me away like the first, I will of course be adding it to my library when it’s released to buy.
I gave Avatar: The Way of Water
What were your thoughts on the film if you’ve seen it? Did you love it or did it leave you wanting? Let me know below!
Until Next Time,
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