Avatar: The Way of Water is an astounding film that makes some odd choices

More than a decade after the release of James Cameron’s groundbreaking movie Avatar, the long-awaited sequel has finally arrived. Avatar: The Way of Water is an epic film from one of the world’s leading filmmakers, but does it hold up to the first? Was Cameron able to capture lightning in a bottle for a second time?

Well, I saw the movie today, and I’m prepared to say yes…and no. Avatar: The Way of Water is an amazing movie; it’s not a stretch to say that there is literally no other quite like it. But it also made some confounding choices when you think about the themes and legacy of the original.

This will be a SPOILER-FREE review, discussing The Way of Water without giving away any of its many twists and turns.

Avatar: The Way of Water spoiler-free review

The bulk of Avatar: The Way of Water takes place more than a decade after the original movie, catching us up with Jake (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and their many children. There’s Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), the dutiful eldest son of the family; Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), the younger brother who always gets himself into trouble; Kiri, a teenage daughter played by Sigourney Weaver who has a connection to the actor’s OG Avatar character Dr. Grace Augustine; Spider (Jack Champion), a human with a complicated past who has become inseparable from the Sully children; and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), the youngest of the bunch who’s largely around for comedic relief and to share in the viewer’s sense of wonder.

If that sounds like a lot, don’t worry; The Way of Water does a solid job of getting us acclimated and explaining the backstories of the various kids. It’s never hard to keep track of who’s who in this cast, which is impressive considering it’s so large.

Much more than the first Avatar, the sequel is an ensemble feature. Jake Sully and Neytiri are no longer the main characters, but two among many. In fact, I’d even go so far as to say that I felt both Jake and Neytiri were somewhat underutilized; they’re often simply reacting to their children rather than having arcs of their own. The Way of Water is about their family, and how that family evolves when it’s pushed to extremes. It’s all well done, but left me wanting more from the main characters of the first movie.

Jake and Neytiri’s children get up to a lot of entertaining stuff, though, especially Lo’ak and Kiri. Lo’ak’s struggle to forge his own path while dealing with his father’s constant disapproval is a highlight; Dalton’s performance puts the character right alongside Jake and Neytiri as one of the most memorable in the franchise. Kiri has a fascinating arc as well, though it never stops feeling a little weird that she was a teenager being played by a 70-year-old woman. Weaver’s acting is top notch, but there’s no getting around the fact that her voice sounds decades older than the other teenagers she’s paling around with.

Somewhat surprisingly, the sleeper MVP of the movie is Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang). Quaritch was the villain of the first Avatar and met his demise at the hands of Neytiri. Yet somehow he’s back in Avatar: The Way of Water…though quite changed. I won’t give anything away, but suffice it to say that Quaritch had some of the most interesting material in the movie, and Lang does a stellar job with it. Newcomers like the sea clan chieftain Tonowari (Cliff Curtis), his partner and clan mystic Ronal (Kate Winslet), and their daughter Tsireya (Bailey Bass) also stand out.

Go see Avatar 2 for the visuals

But let’s be real: the biggest draw of Avatar: The Way of Water is that it returns us to the alien moon of Pandora, which Cameron portrayed with such visual splendor last time. In this regard more than any other, The Way of Water delivers and delivers hard. Much hubbub has been made about the movie’s visuals, and how James Cameron and his creative team literally invented new technology to photograph the large number of underwater scenes the way they wanted.

This is not just empty hype: The Way of Water is an utterly gorgeous movie, especially when it explores the seas of Pandora. I really can’t think of any other movie that looks like it; from the space whales known as tulkun to the various denizens of Pandora’s coral reefs, the movie never looks anything less than breathtaking. The sheer spectacle cannot be understated; it is really what sets Avatar: The Way of Water apart from other movies.

That brings us to a question that you may be wondering: do you have to see Avatar: The Way of Water in 3D to get the full experience? The 3D effects were a crucial part of the original Avatar; to this day it remains one of the few movies that really pushed boundaries of 3D technology. The Way of Water carries on that tradition. The movie looks stunningly good in 3D, and the 3D effects themselves add more visual depth and fidelity. If you can see the movie in 3D I would recommend it, because the eye candy is a huge part of the Avatar experience.

That said, the 3D didn’t feel quite as essential in The Way of Water as it did in the original movie. It adds a lot, but doesn’t feel as groundbreaking or pronounced outside of a few specific scenes. Perhaps that’s because it’s no longer new technology and viewers are more used to 3D these days, or perhaps it’s because it’s simply less of a focus in The Way of Water than in the 2009 original. The Way of Water still uses 3D and extensive motion capture performance, but its real technical innovation is the underwater cinematography.

Avatar 2 builds on the franchise but is also beholden to it

Overall, Avatar: The Way of Water is a wonderful, powerful film, and one I would easily recommend to any science fiction or fantasy fan. That said, the story isn’t quite as tight as it was in the first movie, and there is a sense that occasionally characters do things more for the sake of moving us from point A to point B than anything else. The middle section in particular feels a little unfocused, though it never fails to be a feast for the senses.

Thematically, The Way of Water is a strange follow-up to the original. While Avatar had strong ideas about environmentalism, The Way of Water is much more focused on exploring what it means to be a family. There’s still plenty of environmental stuff, but it feels more like a subplot than the central idea. There are times where Jake’s actions are so self-serving that it’s hard to reconcile them with the broader ideas of the first movie, and how interconnected life on Pandora is supposed to be.

On its own, the hyper-focus on family is wonderful, but as a follow-up to Avatar it’s somewhat strange. Any real debate about what it means that humans are still trying to carve out a place for themselves on Pandora is sidelined in favor of exploring the latest Sully family drama.

Beyond the thematic dissonance, the biggest issue that I had with The Way of Water is that it feels shackled with the burden of setting up future sequels. Avatar 2 and 3 were filmed at the same time; as such, there are large plot threads introduced in The Way of Water which are left totally hanging. This wouldn’t necessarily be a problem — movies set up sequels all the time — but some threads feel incomplete in an unsatisfying way. The first Avatar was a half hour shorter than The Way of Water but told a much more complete story. It’s very clear that Disney and Cameron are launching a wider franchise here, and that doesn’t always feel like it’s to the film’s benefit.

Verdict

Ultimately, it’s easy to forgive Avatar: The Way of Water’s shortcomings. There are things to nitpick, but on the whole this is the sort of movie that simply does not come around very often. These days, the latest superhero movie or indie darling film can feel, if not replaceable, at least comparable to what’s come before. Yet while The Way of Water may have flaws, its presentation feels so unique that it’s impossible not to feel awed. It takes you on a weird, wonderful, heartfelt journey. This is absolutely a movie that’s worth seeing in theaters, on the biggest screen you can find.

Movie grade: A-

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels