Avatar: The Way of Water is a visually stunning, cinematic adventure, that welcomes fans back to Pandora with open arms delivering both action and heart.
Avatar: The Way of Water has been a long time coming, and fans are finally being welcomed back into the world of Pandora. While the film is beautiful and takes viewers on a wild and entertaining ride, it is not without its problems.
There is no denying that Avatar: The Way of Water is a stunning film. The visual effects and the sheer, massiveness of it all literally transport viewers to a far off planet. We are welcomed back to Pandora with open arms. Seeing this in 3D, on an IMAX screen, with Dolby sound is the absolute best way to experience this because it is just that — an experience. It is gorgeous… most of the time.
Perhaps it is because we saw it on such a large screen, or maybe the 3D effects were off, but there are some times that the CG misses. Certain angles or effects look weird. Not necessarily bad, but just not as they should. This happens with a few underwater explosions, some Banshee riding by Colonel Quaritch, and one part towards the end that involves a body part (we won’t say more due to spoilers).
Still, it feels like stepping into Pandora in Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World. It is easy to become completely immersed in this world, which only helps the time move quicker through that very, very, long runtime.
Was Avatar: The Way of Water Worth The Wait?
The first Avatar film came out in 2009 and it was a game changer for many reasons. Now, Avatar: The Way of Water is here some 13 years later, which is about the same amount of time that has passed in Pandora. The movie starts with a quick catch up as to what has happened with Jack Sully and his family. They explain the children, whose they are and where they came from, and introduce us to the Sully family, which is a very key part to the whole movie going forward.
But was it worth that long wait? We don’t particularly believe that this film is better than the first, but it does build off of it perfectly. There are certainly some missteps and it is not perfect by any means. Waiting all of those years has allowed technology and visual effects to advance in a way that is able to give us something incredible. However, it does feel like it has been too long, and will take fans a while to adapt to the changes and the new characters. At least they have over three hours to do it.
The plot itself feels very similar to the first Avatar film, but this time we get deeper. Many have complained how surface level the original is, and they aren’t wrong. This time we explore the lore and the characters on a much deeper level. It’s a smarter story, a better story, and a deeper story. The overall theme here is about family — both blood and chosen family — and not running from your battles.
Of course, it also throws in a whole lot of messages about being kind to the environment — the planet AND it’s creatures. The second act, in particular, heavily focuses on this. Sure, it is done in a shove it in your face kind of way, but it almost needs to be to get the point across. There are a lot of key moments that pack an emotional punch, but for those who love animals, this story line is going to hit you right in the gut.
Does Avatar: The Way of Water Need To Be This Long?
Here’s the thing, Avatar: The Way of Water is long. So very long. The runtime is over three hours and there is absolutely no reasonable explanation for it other than James Cameron wanted to show us what he and his team can do. Listen, we aren’t complaining that some shots are drawn out for nearly ten minutes long just so we can see how gorgeous they can make underwater on Pandora look, but we also aren’t loving it.
It is very obvious when scenes are extended purely for eye candy, and with no payoff in the story. Speaking of the story, it does suffer at times because of the length of the film. With so much going on, it becomes convoluted at times. The first and second act almost feel like completely different movies. It should be noted, however, that they come together in the third act for a truly epic finale, setting up for what is sure to be an incredible franchise.
The big bad coming back and a new war starting should be the center of the movie, and it is for the most part, but there is a solid thirty minutes (perhaps more) spent completely away from these characters and this conflict so that the Sully family can become integrated with the sea clan and their environment. This is new surroundings for them, so it makes sense they would need to learn their ways, but it did not need to be that long simply because it is pretty to look at.
That said, it was much appreciated to get a new group of Na’vi and learn about the sea clan, who are sure to be important in future movies.
Does Colonel Quaritch Coming Back Make Sense?
Avatar fans everywhere were surely shocked when it was announced that Stephen Lang would be reprising his role as Colonel Miles Quaritch in Avatar: The Way of Water. He very clearly died at the end of the first film, so for him to be returning makes no sense. How could this happen? In an effort to avoid spoilers, we won’t fully explain how it works, but his appearance is explained through good storytelling.
Even if it does feel like kind of a cheap way to bring him back, it is welcomed because he is a fantastic villain and the perfect counterpart to Jake Sully’s hero. The movie, put quite simply, just would not have worked as well without him.
Similarly, Sigourney Weaver returns in Avatar: The Way of Water, this time voicing a new character named Kiri. We won’t dive too much into this new role of hers because of spoilers, but even though Weaver is incredible, there is something off about her character. The issue lies in that Kiri is a child, a teenager, and Weaver’s voice is just too adult for this to work.
She tries to be soft spoken and sound younger, but she always sounds just a bit too much adult for the majority of her lines to work. Her character has a pivotal part to play in the story, and surely will have an even bigger one to play in the future as viewers are left with a lot of questions and not many answers surrounding her. Weaver is a phenomenal actress, so we can understand why the team wanted her to come back to Pandora in some way, shape, or form.
Lessons of Family & Environment
The first Avatar taught lessons of treating our environment and animals with respect. The Na’vi literally connect to them in order to leave peacefully together. Avatar: The Way of Water continues these lessons while also including the importance of family, and our bonds with one another. It focuses heavily on Jake and his family (both blood and found), as well as a few other familial connections we will not go into detail about because of spoilers.
Neytiri is a mother now, and she would do anything to protect her children, as most mothers would. She is fierce and badass and Zoe Saldana does a wonderful job embracing this side of her. Heck, she becomes downright feral at times and not one person can blame her for it. If you are looking for a standout in the film, she is it (even if she seems a tad underused at times).
The children might not all be related by blood, but you would never know it the way they stand up for and defend each other. A core theme here really is that family is family, even if it is your chosen family.
Being brought to the sea clan of the Na’vi introduces us to new environments and new animals. We learn more about the world of Pandora, and have all new species to fall in love with. Once again we are treated to the unique bond and connection that the Na’vi make with the creatures of their world, with adds more emotion and layers to the story.
Viewers will walk away thinking about how they should treat our environment, and particularly our animals, better. Those who already have an issue with hunters who don’t use every part of their kills will be even more frustrated, and possibly triggered, by a small part in the storyline.
The Biggest Issue: It’s A Stepping Stone
Avatar: The Way of Water has one big issue, and that is that it doesn’t feel like a standalone film by any means. Sure, you can watch it without seeing the first Avatar film because they do their best to catch you up on what happened during it (with minimal details), but the impact will be felt a whole lot more by someone who has seen it, and most importantly, seen it recently.
Then we spend over three hours in Pandora, catching up with the Sully family and the battles that they must now face, only to have no real true resolution in the end. There is a bit of a cliffhanger ending, and the final line delivered is reminiscent of the final line of Dune 1 in that you know this is only the beginning. There is a whole lot more to come and because of that it almost feels like Avatar: The Way of Water is just a stepping stone for what is to come next.
There is a greater story at play here and that is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is quite frustrating to know that we lived in this beautiful world for so long, and nothing actually happened. We just took a very small step closer to the end game, and we must now wait for another movie. Still, thanks to the interesting story and decent writing, most viewers will be counting the days until Avatar 3 hits theaters.
Overall Thoughts
Avatar: The Way of Water is absolutely beautiful to watch. We recommend seeing it on the biggest screen possible — so in IMAX, with 3D glasses on, and of course, Dolby will only help improve the experience as well. That said, just because a movie is pretty to watch doesn’t make it good. Luckily the story here is intriguing and even though it feels like it a small piece of a much larger picture, we can’t help but once again be excited about the Avatar franchise.
This sequel was a long wait, but in the end it was worth that wait. It delivers on some great action sequences, emotional beats, and visual effects that are truly breathtaking. It isn’t perfect and it is far too long, but there is much more good than bad in Avatar: The Way of Water. Never doubt James Cameron, because he has proven time and time again that he is a genius when it comes to delivering epic, cinematic events.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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About Avatar: The Way of Water
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), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.
Directed by James Cameron and produced by Cameron and Jon Landau, the film stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement and Kate Winslet.
Avatar: The Way of Water comes to theaters everywhere December 16th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.