Avatar: The Way of Water

 It finally happened last week.

After years upon years of it being talked about and years upon years of people (myself included) wondering if it was necessary, the twice certified highest grossing film of all time finally has a sequel. James Cameron continues his story of Pandora in Avatar: The Way of Water. Let's go.

The first film ended with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) joining Pandora's Na'vi population in his Avatar body. He and his mate, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), raise their sons Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) and Lo'ak (Britain Dalton) and daughter Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss) alongside the human Spider (Jack Champion) and Kiri, the mysteriously conceived offspring of the deceased Dr. Grace Augustine's Avatar (both of them Sigourney Weaver). The human military returns to Pandora for round two, this time with several deceased marines, including Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), brought back as Na'vi Avatar clones. The military landing on Pandora incinerates a good chunk of its rainforest. So, the Na'vi have to go to higher ground.

Jake spends the next year leading the Na'vi against the "sky people." But Spider is caught during one mission. Quaritch is Spider's dad and he's invested in making his son a valuable asset. Jake and his family exile themselves to the ocean where the aquatic Metkayina Na'vi live. Chief Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) welcomes them to their tribe, while his wife Ronal (Kate Winslet) and their kids are more reluctant. Eventually, the villains make their way to the oceans ready for a fight. Jake and his family have to bond with Pandora's sea life to fend them off.

Let's get the visuals out of the way. Its visual effects exceed the already groundbreaking work on the first film. The Na'vi look even more photorealistic, while the new creatures look incredible. The Tulkun, Pandora's version of a whale, is the most stunning of these creatures. There are some great underwater scenes made better with bioluminescence. They do falter a bit with some sputtering movement, a consequence of this being filmed at a higher framerate but projected slower, but the effects team still has an Academy Award in its future. Cinematographer Russell Carpenter and production designers Dylan Cole and Ben Procter put themselves in Oscar consideration too with their splendid work.

Now for the story. How was Kiri conceived? What makes her special? Why does her linking with the Metkayina's Spirit Tree nearly kill her? You'll find none of those answers in this movie. You'll likely find them in part three, which fortunately, has already been filmed. But it does make this movie a bit incomplete. The Metkayina are casually established right away as if everybody knew who they were. It's a case of "remember the new guy." The main Tulkun, Payakan's backstory, is a bit confusing. As I previously warned in other reviews, the film comes with a gigantic runtime of 190 minutes. Let's just say it can overwhelm your patience a bit.

Now for the story, part two. Spider and Quaritch's subplot is interesting as the former teaches the latter how to connect with Pandora. He may still be a villain, but it's impressive to see Quaritch bond with the dragon-like mountain banshee. We get to see Quaritch as a friendly man a bit; we also see him as a sadistic maniac a lot. Spider's time with Quaritch only strengthens his connection to the Sullys. I'd like to see where part three will take them.

Story, part three. Kiri's subplot, while incomplete, is still interesting. It's also impressive that Weaver convincingly plays her as much a teenager as her stepbrothers despite Weaver herself being 73. Neteyam was OK, while the adult Na'vis are simply fine. Lo'ak gets a nice subplot with Payakan. Lo'ak removes a harpoon stuck in Payakan's fin, while Payakan saves Lo'ak and his family from whalers. Did I mention there were whalers? There are. The final battle takes place on their gigantic vessel. A few human villains appear with the whalers' Dr. Gavin (Jermaine Clement) and General Ardmore (Edie Falco), both of whom are perfectly unlikable.

The conclusion. Avatar: The Way of Water improves on the visual spectacle of an already spectacular film. Its storytelling skills aren't perfect, while its massive runtime is a challenge. But the subplots that work really work. It does leave one interested to see where Cameron will take the story next. The aforementioned part three, currently subtitled The Seed Bearer, is currently scheduled for 2024. I think I'm ready for that. 

Unless it's a four hour film.