Movie Review: Avatar: The Way of Water

Thirteen years after directing the first Avatar film in 2009, James Cameron returns to the director’s chair to helm the film’s long-awaited sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water. What is surprising is not that the film is entertaining (arguably, Cameron has never made a film that wasn’t such), rather, it is more of a revelation that Avatar: The Way of Water may be the director’s most accomplished and well-rounded outing to date.

Taking place more than ten years following the events of the first film, The Way of Water tells the ongoing saga of the Sully family (Jake [Sam Worthington], Neytiri [Zoe Saldana], and their children) as they attempt to forge a future for the inhabitants of Pandora – the Na’vi – when humans return after discovering a new resource on the planet to plunder.

The humans know that they stand no chance against the messianic Sully unless they can infiltrate the Na’vi and plan to do so through subterfuge and the presence of the newly resurrected Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) who is out for revenge against Sully and his whole family for dispatching him at the end of the first film. Quaritch’s bloodlust forces the Sully clan to leave the familiarity of their forest dwellings to keep the rest of the tribe safe.

They seek refuge with the Metkayina clan, a sea-dwelling community of Na’vi who are conveniently differentiated from their forest-dwelling cousins by their green skin. The leaders of this new clan, Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and Ronal (Kate Winslet), reluctantly take in Sully and his family provided they pull their weight within the community.

But, once Quaritch and his soldiers come upon a lead that delivers them to where the Sullys are hiding, they attack with full force and brutality, bringing about an epic sea battle that showcases the remarkable technology and innovative advancements at work in the area of visual effects within this film.

Sigourney Weaver and Britain Dalton in “Avatar: The Way of Water.” © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Apart from the meticulous attention to every detail that fills the screen at any given moment during the film, Cameron manages to give his actors enough room to breathe life into their characters. The script, co-written with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Mulan [2020] and both Rise of the Planet of the Apes [2011] and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes [2014]), provides enough character development and organic plot exposition to fuel at least two films and the results prove remarkably rewarding.

The film is a visual feast and an immersive experience that must be seen in theaters. It is an achievement unto itself that the film’s three-hour plus running time in no way feels like that amount of time has gone by. This is no doubt the result of the, again, game-changing special effects utilized in the film, as well as the editing work by David Brenner, Cameron, John Refoua, and Stephen E. Rivkin.

It seemed unlikely that Cameron would surpass the achievement of Avatar thirteen years after the fact, but he has done so brilliantly with Avatar: The Way of Water. Not only is the film a striking piece of work, but it is also perhaps the pinnacle of Cameron’s career (at least to date anyway).

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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