Majestic filmmaking tests your patience
Length an issue but visuals wow
After Avatar’s history-making assault on the global box office who would have thought it would be 13 years before a return to Pandora hit the screens?
A combination of director James Cameron wanting to perfect his work, advances in technology and the Covid pandemic contributed to the delays and, as a result, there were concerns about this world’s staying power.
The Way of Water allays most of those fears as Cameron and screenplay cowriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver immediately pull us back into Pandora and its people.
Jake (Sam Worthington) now lives with his newfound family on the extrasolar moon but when a familiar threat returns he must work with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and the Na’vi army to protect their home.
Like its predecessor, The Way of Water is looooong. Clocking in at three hours and 12 minutes, it will test your patience – and bladder – and there are many scenes that could have been left behind in the editing suite.
The pace suffers as a result so it’s a good job The Way of Water is one of the most gorgeous looking movies of all time.
Bettering the trend-setting original’s visuals, Cameron and the Weta FX team outdo themselves once again. Underwater scenes are breathtaking, every aspect of every frame jumps from the screen and the emotions on characters’ faces resonates deep into your core.
The overriding theme throughout is family, and the unbreakable bond between parents and their children, which results in high levels of fear for our heroes’ fates.
Worthington and Saldana are back in their biggest roles and make for a wonderful pair, there are surprise returns by Sigourney Weaver (Kiri) and Stephen Lang (Quaritch) and newcomers include a typically imposing
Kate Winslet (Ronal).
The Way of Water likely won’t covert anyone who didn’t enjoy Avatar, however it’s another triumph of innovative, majestic, thrilling cinema by the king of the movie world Cameron.
●What are your thoughts on Avatar: The Way of Water? Was the lengthy wait for a sequel worth it? Pop me an email at ian. bunting@reachplc.com and I will pass on your comments – and any movie or TV show recommendations you have – to your fellow readers.