Avatar The Way Of Water Movie Review: James Cameron’s Visual Spectacle Let Down By A Weak Narrative

AVATAR: The Way Of Water has easily been one of the most awaited films of all time. Returning with a sequel 13 years after the first installment of the Avatar film franchise, Avatar 2 marks the return of James Cameron’s land of Pandora with the Sully and well, a villain from the past. The breathtaking visuals make it even more worth a watch.

Whether to watch it or skip it, read our movie review of Avatar: The Way Of Water here:

Avatar: The Way Of Water Story

The story of man vs nature continues in the land of Pandora where Jake Sully now lives with his family, including mate Neytiri and children Neteyam, Lo’ak and Tuk. The couple has also adopted Kiri, the daughter of scientist Grace. The mystery around who her father is and how she was gestated in the womb of Dr Grace remains to be an intriguing question amongst the junior Sullys.

Jake and Neytiri also take in Spider, Quaritch’s son, as their own. The Sully children think of him as their cousin. The plot of Avatar: The Way Of Water picks up after the events of Avatar, where Colonel Quaritch was killed by Neytiri with a bow and arrow. In Avatar 2, we see a resurrected and younger Colonel, who plans on taking revenge on Jake Sully for his untimely death.

The colonel returns this time in his avatar to the land of Pandora, along with more ‘sky people’ to break even with the Sullys. In order to protect his family from the unforeseen consequences, Jake Sully leaves his home of Pandora to travel to the village of the Metkayina tribe, who worship the sea but fail to rescue Spider, who gets kidnapped by Miles. While the Sullys learn ‘the way of water’, the Colonel tries to trace Jake and his family in order to mark his revenge. What happens next forms the rest of the narrative.

Avatar: The Way Of Water First Half

The first half of Avatar: The Way Of Water primarily focuses on the setting up of old characters and new ones. The visuals are breathtaking and help in keeping you hooked even when the narrative gets a tad slow. The film is a lot more emotional than the first instalment and might get you looking at your phone once in a while. But that’s just James Cameron’s way of character-building. The visual landscapes of the first and sea are breathtaking and make for a stunning experience, especially if you’re watching it in 3D or 4D.

Avatar: The Way Of Water Second Half

Stretched at 190 minutes, Avatar: The Way Of Water could have easily been cut off by 15-20 minutes with too much focus given to the Sully kids’ plot. The narrative makes you wonder whether James Cameron has fully immersed into the lands of Pandora and got lost in its exotic atmosphere. There is no vital information or plot carving out of it and is more of an unnecessary burden on the film.

There are whale-like structures called the tulkun, and eclipses being shown repeatedly in the film are some of the ‘why’ that never get answered in the film, making the loopholes in the film stranger and stranger. The epic climax between Jake Sully and Colonel Miles is the major high point of the film and will leave you wanting more.

Avatar: The Way Of Water VFX

Undoubtedly the best you would have ever seen, the VFX in Avatar: The Way Of Water is absolutely brilliant. The film is a visual treat and the motion-capture magic couldn’t have been any better.

Avatar: The Way Of Water Performances of the Cast

Sam Worthington reprises his role as Jake Sully and has a more composed character this time around. His character takes the back seat this time for other cast members to shine, but gets the forefront in full swing during the climax. Worthington’s performance is decent, but lacks any X-factor, probably due to an averagely written character.

Zoe Saldana as Neytiri is as fierce as in the first part. Metkayina people Ronal and Tonowari played by Kate Winslet and Cliff Curtis deliver solid performances. Britain Dalton’s Lo’ak outshines every major character, while the new Colonel Miles played by Stephen Lang steals the show with his solid act. Sigourney Weaver as Kiri and Jack Champion as Miles "Spider" Socorro ace their acts as the supporting characters.

Avatar: The Way Of Water Direction

James Cameron is a master of making a visual spectacle, and Avatar The Way Of Water reaffirms his title. Though Cameron pulls out all the right strings in the technical department, he isn't the best of writers. A loosely written plot and weak narrative tend to make the film’s pace lag more times than not, but considering the grand cinematic experience Avatar: The Way Of Water is, the flaws of writing can be overlooked for most of it.

Avatar: The Way Of Water Overall

In a lot of ways, Avatar: The Way Of Water is superior to the film; take for instance the VFX, it’s far better than any you might have seen yet. But the lack of a stronger narrative is what you’ll be missing throughout the film. At some points, Avatar: The Way Of Water is slow and lacks pace. There are plot holes and questions left unanswered, but considering the genius James Cameron, I’m certain that all that will be answered in the future instalments of ‘Avatar’.

Don’t miss Avatar The Way Of Water in the theatres, for its sheer excellence at bringing a unique one-of-a-kind theatrical experience that is rare and will give you a terrific time at the movies.