"Avatar: The Way of Water" review — a delightful new chapter in James Cameron's epic story

“I know one thing: wherever we go, this family is our fortress.”

James Cameron first began dreaming of the world of Avatar all the way back in 1994 with a projected release in 1999. The film was going to be one of Cameron’s most ambitious projects with promises of fully digital characters and environments, something totally unheard of in Hollywood filmmaking. The film was shelved until the mid-2000s when a very skeptical 20th Century Fox agreed to produce it. Avatar was finally released in 2009 and became a box office phenomenon, grossing some 2.9 billion dollars worldwide and holding the title of the highest-grossing film of all time for ten years until the release of Avengers: Endgame (2019). It left a defining mark on the world of digital and blockbuster filmmaking with its boundary-pushing visual effects which totally redefined how films could use computers to generate their characters and world. Of course, with that level of success, a sequel (or, in this case, four sequels) was in order.

The road to Avatar: The Way of Water, the newly released second part in the Avatar saga, has not been easy since its initial announcement in 2010. Initially slated for a 2014 release, the film met a myriad of production snags and delays — including unfinished scripts, newly developed visual effects, and a pandemic. Principle production started in August 2017 and took just over three years to complete. Finally, thirteen years since the release of the original film, Cameron has provided audiences with another trip to his digital playground of Pandora. Thankfully, our waiting has been well worth it. The Way of Water is a triumphant return to form for Cameron, improving upon the original in almost every way. While its story might lack some finesse, the execution is a visual feast. The spectacle always feels so organic to the story. Leave it to James Cameron to expand so naturally and yet so freshly upon a narrative universe.

Jake Sully and his family arrive in the Metkayina village. Image via 20th Century Studios. 

The Way of Water picks up about a decade and a half after the events of the first film. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), now permanently in Na’vi form, and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) are the leaders of the Omaticaya clan on Pandora. They have two sons, Neteyam (James Flatters) and Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), a biological daughter named Tuktirey (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), and their adoptive daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), the mysterious biological daughter of Grace’s avatar from the first film. When the villainous Resources Development Administration (RDA) returns to Pandora to resume mining operations after being fought off world, Jake leads a guerrilla campaign against the human corporation. However, things don’t go so well for Jake and his family and they are forced to flee across Pandora to the homelands of the Metkayina clan, an island-dwelling Na’vi group where they must learn their ways of living and prepare for the coming attack by the RDA.

It feels terribly reductive to talk about the visuals of an Avatar movie, but it cannot be stressed just how good this movie looks. The level of artistry, technical expertise, and plain magic on display is astounding. The lines between the digital and the practical elements are nearly imperceptible. The photo-realism of the Na’vi characters, especially when they are shown in close-up, is so incredibly uncanny. The lighting effects and the underwater environments are so richly realized, colourful, and inviting. The level of detail in the water effects is another one of the many, many standouts in the visual effects department. In an era where every other film has some special digital effect, where nothing seems to impress, and where we are treated to half-baked products accompanied by stories of the abuse of visual effects companies, The Way of Water is a breath of fresh air.

Director James Cameron behind the scenes of Avatar: The Way of Water. Image via 20th Century Studios.

There is also a great level of detail in the film’s fictional cultures, often with elements lifted from many real-world indigenous people groups. The film’s best moments are when the story slows down are the audience is taken through the day-to-day happenings of the Metkayina clan as Jake and his family learn their way of life. Some might feel like the film drags throughout a lot of its second act, but the sense of tangible wonder Cameron embeds so firmly within the filmmaking makes it a delight to watch. The scene involving the arrival of the whale-like tulkuns in the waters surrounding the village is one of my favourite movie scenes of the year. I could have spent hours more with the Metkayina as the Sullys explore their ocean world. The new elements Cameron introduces to Pandora feel like organic, yet totally fresh, additions to the mythos. This is to be expected from the man who crafted Aliens (1986) and Terminator 2 (1991) — two of the great Hollywood sequels.

The Way of Water is reminiscent of Cameron’s older work in more ways than just its ability to be a good sequel. The film’s story plays like a remix of Cameron’s most famous calling cards: incredible special effects, a close-knit family story, maternal anger, big mechs, evil corporations, heroes on the run, unstoppable killers, sinking ships, Sigourney Weaver and Kate Winslet, and, of course, Cameron’s deep love for the ocean. The Way of Water wears its heart on its sleeve with its earnest emotional core and simple, yet inspiring themes. It strives for big emotions on a grand scale with an unapologetically ecological undercurrent. The spectacle and the story always go hand in hand in a natural and fitting way. The film knows when to stave off any unnecessary action for the sake of action, but is unafraid of embracing bombastic violence when the story calls for it.

Image via 20th Century Studios.

However, I take issue with a couple of key parts of The Way of Water. Cameron’s use of a 48 frames-per-second frame rate is just as nauseating here as it was in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy. This problem is made all the worse when the frame rate switches between scenes, and sometimes even within a scene. It is a visual distraction that takes away from the enjoyment of what’s being presented. The narrative, especially in relation to its characters, feels a little undercooked at times as well. Despite boasting a runtime of well over three hours, the film does feel like it’s trying to do too much with too little time. It introduces a wealth of new characters who don’t always get the screen time or development they deserve. Some of the returning characters are also left feeling like they remain stuck without much development. Neytiri definitely gets the worst of this here. But the story is also a massive improvement over the original. It replaces the cold and rather impersonal military action-driven story of the first film with an intimate story about family, giving it an emotional touch that makes its gorgeous universe all the more alive.

In the years since the first Avatar, it has been easy to become cynical about the franchise. While the film might have been pretty to look at, it wouldn’t be unfair to say that the story felt a little too basic and underdeveloped. The question that is very fairly asked is “how is James Cameron going to make four sequels to this movie? What more story is there to tell?” The Way of Water very firmly makes the case for continuing along with Jake Sully and his family. Avatar: The Way of Water is a supremely entertaining sci-fi epic. Cameron has crafted a film that is a massive improvement upon the original entry, offering an exciting, grand, and wonderful continuing chapter. More than anything, it has made me hungry for our next visit to Pandora, although, hopefully, it doesn’t take thirteen more years to get here.

Avatar: The Way of Water is now playing in theatres.

Avatar: The Way of Water information
Directed by James Cameron
Written by James Cameron, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver
Starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, James Flatters, Britain Dalton, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, and Kate Winslet
192 minutes
Released December 16, 2022