Film Review: AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER (2022): James Cameron’s Epic Sequel is Awe-Inspiring but Struggles a Bit to Live Up to the Original Movie

Avatar: The Way of Water Review

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by James Cameron, written by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver and James Cameron and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Jermaine Clement, Giovanni Ribisi, Jamie Flatters, Britain Dalton, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Jack Champion, Bailey Bass, Filip Geljo and Duane Evans Jr. 

Filmmaker James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has been a long time in the making and, visually speaking, it could be one of the most awe-inspiring films ever made in terms of its spectacular visual effects, its use of bright color and its simply striking cinematography. However, the movie feels like it’s a bit short on the requisite plot development and at a bit over 3 hours in length, it simply doesn’t have the dramatic substance to carry it through that length of time. It’s clear that this movie is a stepping stone to future Avatar movies and, as such, it could have and should have been tightened up a bit in the editing room.

The world of Pandora is superbly realized in the new sequel from a visual perspective. As the movie opens, the heroic blue Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his female counterpart, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), form a family having kids that include Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss) and their adopted daughter Kiri (the great Sigourney Weaver). These children are definitely well-written but the screen time is not divided evenly between all of them making it feel the movie had, perhaps, one child too many written in.

Much of the film is set in the section of Pandora where Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and Ronal (Kate Winslet) reign with their own group called the Metkayina. Also on board the movie is the token human character played by Jack Champion–Spider and, of course, the chief heavy villain of the movie named Col. Quaritch (Stephen Lang). As the opening chapters progress, we see the wicked nature of Quaritch who is not as well-defined a bad guy as he could have been. Lang plays him well but the character is seriously underwritten. It is also noteworthy that Giovanni Ribisi from the original 2009 Avatar movie makes a special appearance in the picture as well reminding viewers of his much juicier role from the first picture.

There’s much to admire in Avatar: The Way of Water. The best scenes revolve around the trouble that one of Jake Sully’s sons gets into and how those situations he becomes involved in create dramatic tension between the father and son characters. However, there is also a well-imagined sea creature in the film who saves the son when he becomes abandoned by those “friends” who take him hunting. A sea creature with one small eye and one large eye becomes the son’s companion and the two begin to form an interesting bond as the movie progresses.

Edie Falco has a solid presence in the movie too as General Ardmore but she has only minimal screen time and basically serves to move the plot forward. While Falco is good in the movie (she’s properly by-the-book), it feels her role is one that could have ended up on the cutting room floor in a tighter film considering it’s pretty much just a few minutes of the picture. Perhaps, the audience wouldn’t have noticed if she wasn’t in it.

As the last scenes in the movie pit Col. Quaritch against Jake Sully (and his family), the film takes us through a waterlogged series of events that are absolutely breathtaking to behold. The entire last forty-five minutes or so of the movie is bound to keep viewers on the edge of their seats with its nail-biting tension as Jake and his friends and family struggle to stay afloat (almost literally).

What is very effective about Avatar: The Way of Water is the use of color and gorgeous skies and water to progress the story line forward. The blues that dominate the images are fascinating and from a technical standpoint, the images are flawless and demand the viewer’s attention. Jake Sully is a character that has an edge to him which makes him stand out from your typical movie hero. As Neytiri, Zoe Saldana puts plenty of effort into her role that pays off significantly in terms of the performer creating a caring, loving mom willing to fight for her family at any cost. It’s one of the better female roles in action blockbusters these days.

Spider and Col. Quaritch are characters who certainly create an intriguing connection together in the picture that makes one wonder which way Spider will turn next. Lang, unfortunately, is stuck with a rather one-note character that is one of the least compelling villains in a huge box-office attraction such as this one. There’s not enough driving him to the lengths he goes to here to stop Jake Sully.

Cameron’s movie works best when it focuses on the sea life the movie portrays, especially the aforementioned sea creature with one big eye and one small. The scenes with that creature are impossible to resist and help shed light on the power sea animals possess in the habitat they dwell in. When this animal saves Sully’s son from potentially being killed by another big sea creature, it’s purely exciting and some of the best action to be found here.

Sigourney Weaver and Kate Winslet are absolutely terrific, especially in their vocal work here and Weaver’s character from the original Avatar is integrated quite well into the movie’s story line. Weaver’s presence is an exciting reminder of the terrific original which was just a little bit better in terms of plot development than this lengthy sequel. Cameron makes Worthington’s Jake heroic enough to care about him and his family. Saldana presents a strong female character, as previously stated. These two characters’ family bonds, in particular, are also strongly conveyed on screen. and a highlight of the overlong but, nevertheless, crowd-pleasing film.

Avatar: The Way of Water has enough waterlogged scenes in it to please those who were eagerly awaiting this picture for more than a decade. This movie could give some viewers enough visually enticing material to hold them over for another 10 years but it’s clear that Cameron has more sequels in store for audiences. He’ll want to unveil them a bit sooner this time around. Let’s hope that these pictures will be a bit shorter than this one which is ultimately a too detail oriented follow-up to the 2009 movie. This new film has the artistic flair it needed and a nice musical score, for sure. If only there was a stronger story to back all these ingredients up.

Rating: 8/10

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