Avatar: The Way of Water Movie Review

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

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Written by: James Cameron & Rick Jaffa &Amanda Silver (screenplay by), James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver & Josh Friedman & Shane Salerno (story by), James Cameron (based on characters created by)
Directed by: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
Jake Sully lives with his newfound family formed on the extrasolar moon Pandora. Once a familiar threat returns to finish what was previously started, Jake must work with Neytiri and the army of the Na'vi race to protect their home.

Verdict
The CGI is impressive, but this recycles the plot of the first Avatar and sets it in a water world. There are a lot of characters and subplots, and it's long enough that you begin to wonder when the main plot will start. The visuals are amazing, but they overshadow the rest of the movie. The only reason to see this is for the visuals. Most of this movie is CGI, and it's amazing what they were able to do with water.
It depends.

Review
This is the first of four planned sequels to Avatar. The third movie is rumored to explore a volcano/fire based Na'vi.

Fourteen years later we return to the world of Pandora. We get a quick introduction to Sully's (Sam Worthington) life and his family. This does a nice job of getting rid of the subtitles with Sully stating he's so familiar with the Na'vi language that it sounds like English. Just like that the Na'vi speak English and the subtitles are gone. You know with how serene Sully is painting his life that things are going downhill fast. Just a few scenes later ships arrive on Pandora, destroying everything in their path. We see the ships land but not much else.

Sam Worthington plays Jake Sully

One year later and the Na'vi are fighting another colonizing effort. You'd think with the damage caused in the first movie that Earth would be hesitant try again, but I suppose times are desperate. A character from the first movie is cloned and sent to Pandora. It seems it's just a revenge movie and if he can help the colonizing effort by getting rid of Na'vi and Sully in particular that's just a benefit. It's a flimsy narrative. This is a lot like the first movie with Sully facing off against an Earthling, there just isn't as much world building this time around though there are plenty of visuals. This movie looks impressive, especially the water. Instead of CGI woods, we get CGI water. It's no easy feat to capture how light filters through water, droplets streaming down faces, and the waves lapping on the beach.

The looming battle between Earth and Na'vi is put on hold so that Sully's son can form a friendship with a fish and fight with the water Na'vi who don't get along with the forest Na'vi. This movie feels unfocused because it does so many different things. Even half way in it's unclear which plot is the main one. Is Sully the main character or his kid? The villains are put on hold and when they return we get a subplot about poachers and marine biologists. I do appreciate that every scene has a purpose and plays into the conclusion, but it is a lot. I'd imagine James Cameron had free reign on the first movie, but it feels even less restricted here. The overarching plot is the same as the first one. It's a new land, learning how to live as villains come to destroy everything.

Part of the message seems to be how humans destroy habitats and take what they want, leaving a path of destruction in their path. Sully is one of the few exceptions, though in this movie all of the main human characters have been implanted into Na'vi bodies.

Jake Sully, Neytiri, and family

Did Sully need so many kids just to give the Na'vi something to rally around and fight? It could have been just for the destruction of this planet. I wondered if Sully's kid was going to be the main character to lead the fight, but he isn't.

This movie does conclude this chapter, with a stinger to set up the next movie. The humans are still on Pandora. The first movie felt like a tech demo. This movie isn't that different, and the leap forward is impressive but not the revolution of the first movie. Only two shots in the entire movie aren't CGI or visually enhanced in some way with CGI.