#MovieReview: Avatar – The Way of Water is a cultural landmark

Avatar: The Way of Water is a three-hour feast for the senses which swaps story for stunning visuals.

The long-gestating, but hardly long-awaited sequel to Avatar (2009) had become something of a pop-cultural joke for the past 13 years.

“Do we really need another one of the blue people movies? It’s such a waste that the last third of James Cameron’s career will be wasted on this franchise,” has been a common refrain among ‘Cameronites’, who plead for a return to Aliens and Titanic form.

But who were we to doubt him?

The king of the box office has returned seemingly unfazed by the streaming wars, dropping hundreds of millions on one film and backing himself to pull it off.

Nobody in recent cinema history has been as adept at putting bums-in-seats as Cameron, and The Way of Water is no different, becoming the 7th highest grossing film of all time within a month of release.

That might not mean much to an average cinema-goer, but coupled with the success of Top Gun: Maverick, this should give studios confidence to fund big non-superhero movies again.

And it feels like a bona fide cultural event, where you, your grandmother and friend who does not like movies all turn out to see it. That simply does not happen anymore.

Cameron’s big bet, waiting for technology to catch up to his vision and believing that there would be an appetite for a sequel in 2022, has paid off completely.

Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves, it is a far-from-perfect movie with clunky dialogue and a simplistic story.

The thinly-veiled allegory for environmental colonialism is back from Avatar and there are several irritating and underwritten characters.

But the sincerity of its message and execution of the visuals so far surpasses the original, that it ultimately delivers a superior outing.

You will see 15-foot tall avatars interact with humans and all manner of other species – on land and in the water – as if it is completely normal.

The underwater scenes are seamless while the third act battle again shows Cameron’s singular ability to stage action on a grand scale.

Within minutes you will stop thinking about how they were able to do it and just enjoy spending time on Pandora.

Although there are a few sections that drag, most of the runtime flies by and should make you excited for Avatar 3, set to hit screens in 2024.

Watch it on the biggest screen you can. It will not translate well to home viewing.

Rated PG-13 for scenes of strong violence and adult themes.
4/5.

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