Image by Tania Van den Berghen from Pixabay To close out the year, James Cameron (The Terminator, Aliens, Titanic) and Hollywood have delivered a film more than a decade in the making. Avatar: The Way of Water, Cameron’s three-hour-long sequel to his 2009 smash hit, has a lot to live up to in terms of financial success (despite a brief knock in 2019 due to the release of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame, Avatar retains the coveted status of being the highest-grossing film of all time with a total box office take of nearly three BILLION dollars).
In weighing the pros and cons of writing this blog now, I considered the fact that I could wait six years when the supposed fourth Avatar sequel is set to hit theaters and do a retrospective on the entire franchise (which I might still do 😊). However, I threw caution to the wind and ultimately decided to dive into Cameron’s majestic, breathtaking, and immersive CGI world of Pandora now as well. Simply put, the time felt right for me to revisit the first Avatar movie before seeing the sequel in theaters. Having seen it back in 2009 when I was a mere pre-teen and then rewatching it at home on DVD multiple times, I have not gone back and revisited the original Avatar film with my matured cinematic sensibilities. Plus, I figured it’d be best to have the movie fresh in my mind before sitting down in the theater for three hours to take in the sequel. So, without further ado…LET’S GET STARTED! Avatar (2009) For a summary of the production and release of Avatar, click here. Upon a rewatch of a film that I haven’t seen start to finish in almost ten years, James Cameron’s Avatar (in my humble opinion) holds up as one of my favorite films of his. To be clear, I’m not saying it’s one of his best movies. By any inkling of an objective metric that can be used to measure a film’s quality and longevity, I cannot say with the utmost confidence that Avatar is one of the greatest films of the last decade (let alone of all time). But, since I lack any nostalgic sentiment for the Terminator series and his less iconic movies such as The Abyss and True Lies didn’t stick with me after watching them, 2009’s Avatar remains in my top-three favorite of Cameron’s feature films. To get right to the point, Cameron is undeniably a fantastic cinematic storyteller. In crafting his very own fictional universe in Pandora and a dystopian future for humanity, he manages to set Avatar apart from the “shared universe” trend rampant in recent blockbuster filmmaking. To do so, he fills his playbox with lots of exciting and unique creatures, environments, and histories while also leaving plenty of mystery to explore and expand upon in future installments of the franchise. At the heart of Pandora’s eclectic ecosystem are the Na’vi. A humanoid, blue-skinned species that serve as a great foil to the humans of Cameron’s dystopian future for a number of reasons. Primarily, they exist harmoniously with their planet’s environment and everything that inhabits is (at least everything native to Pandora). As a result, Avatar presents a not-so-subtle (but still pressing and narratively relevant) message about the importance of human beings devising a way to exist co-dependently with the natural world to avoid both the destruction of their own species and all others in the process. While this message is not presented in the most sophisticated or delicate manner, Cameron nevertheless makes the movie relevant to a modern audience and a modern world despite its reliance on well-trodden narrative tropes. But, before I get to that, I have to touch on the groundbreaking filmmaking on display in Avatar. Of course, I’m not the first one to say that this movie exemplifies technological breakthroughs in computer-generated imagery and motion-capture performance that continue to influence big-budget moviemaking to this day. Yet, when I sat down to rewatch Avatar only a few weeks ago, I was absolutely stunned how little I noticed anything akin to the visual effects in the movie feeling “dated” in any significant way. While I do have some issues with the film’s CGI of the late-2000s, it remains incredibly impressive given where most movies were at the time. Of course, Avatar was not created in a bubble. Quite the opposite; it built upon the progress made in motion capture used in movies like The Phantom Menace and The Lord of the Rings trilogy with characters such as Jar Jar Binks and Gollum, respectively. However, nobody can deny that Cameron took those improvements and crafted a process of capturing the actors’ performances and crafting a completely digital cinematic vista led by fully-CG characters for the big screen. In other words, very few movies managed to even come close to the achievements pulled off by Cameron and his cast and crew in Avatar for over a decade. But what about the story? Of course, any detractors of the movie constantly point to its derivative narrative as its major weakness and the thing that holds it back from greatness. And, upon rewatching Avatar, I can’t help but largely agree. While I do think some of the critics of this movie tend to downplay its awe-inspiring accomplishments just to tear it down and get attention for such negativity, I understand why some people find the story of Avatar boring or unoriginal. In a sense, it is. While its narrative structure is very reminiscent of other movies like Dances with Wolves and Princess Mononoke (the former of which is far superior to Avatar), such trappings were used for a very good reason: they are effective and powerful. Let’s start with the first act, which admittedly is a bit slow and weighed down by tons of exposition. Some of this is necessary to establish both important bits of world building for Pandora but also set the stakes of the journey of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington)—both physical and emotional—as he arrives on Pandora to fill his twin brother’s shores. Furthermore, the slow-build nature of the first hour of Avatar fleshes out the cultural intricacies of the Omaticaya. Through the eyes of Sully and his increasingly charming interactions with the fierce Na’vi woman Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), the audience falls in love with the natives of Pandora and, subsequently, becomes emotionally invested in their livelihood and their future. All of this occurs without ever realizing it due to the spectacle nature of the film. This, in essence, is the underappreciated brilliance of films like Avatar. Due to making us care about the Na’vi, we are emotionally heartbroken when the human military goons—led by Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang)—destroy the natives’ sacred place Hometree. All for the financial wealth they plan to harvest from the ground beneath the Na’vi land. In exchange for monetary gain, they burn parts of Pandora to ash. This heart wrenching tragedy that marks the height of the second act is where Avatar (in my humble opinion) is elevated from a good-enough blockbuster to a solidly entertaining and emotional film. From the low point of this loss for the Na’vi, Sully’s journey propels forward as he seeks to right the wrongs that both his species and he personally has committed against Pandora. The result? An action-packed, tense, and altogether awesome climactic battle in the third act that brings both the major story threads and the film’s themes of environmentalism and redemption together in a very effective manner. Again, this narrative structure is by no means new to moviegoers but it remains a highly compelling story structure that provides opportunities for great scenes to show off acting, characterization, and action. In this respect, Avatar excels from beginning to end. All that said, I don’t think the unoriginal nature of the film’s screenplay is what holds it back the most. Largely because most viewers just want to be entertained, and Avatar certainly does that. Ultimately, the major narrative flaw which (in my humble opinion) keeps the movie from achieving the status of a “modern classic” is its reliance on the unsavory (no pun intended) “white savior” storytelling trope. While the film is obviously a fictional tale, the plight of the Na’vi (a blue-skinned alien culture being exploited and colonized by a largely homogenous group of trigger-happy humans) bluntly echoes the travails and tribulations of indigenous Americans that were colonized and brutalized at the hands of European explorers and conquerors. Furthermore, by transcending his own broken human body to earn the trust (and later on defend) the Na’vi by physically transforming into one of them, Jake Sully undoubtedly fits the definition of a “white savior” (despite the movie ending with him rejecting his humanity, and thus “whiteness,” by permanently becoming a Na’vi). In other words, Avatar meets most of the criteria of this device (see the above link to my blog on the subject back in February). To reiterate what I said there, however, a tropey movie can still be entertaining and interesting to watch. But, there is no denying that Cameron’s screenplay for the film is by no means its biggest strength. So, is Avatar a great film? Well, it’s certainly no Titanic. 😊 In all seriousness, the first Avatar movie is a thoroughly entertaining romp that lays a very solid foundation. The breathtaking environments of Pandora and groundbreaking use of visual effects changed cinema forever, and set a new standard for modern sci-fi films that took other studios many years to even come close to achieving (Josh Brolin’s Thanos in the last two Avengers films and Andy Serkis’s Caesar in the modern Planet of the Apes trilogy being successful examples of coming close). That being said, its structural and character flaws hold it back from true cinematic excellence across the board. However, after my rewatch of Avatar, I am far more excited to see the sequel than I was even a few months ago. Can it top Aliens as my favorite James Cameron sequel to date? Even more unlikely, can it surpass Titanic to become my favorite James Cameron film of all time? We’ll just have to wait and see. 😊 Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) [NOTE: This blog contains spoilers for “Avatar: The Way of Water.” You have been warned.] Walking out of the theater after seeing Avatar: The Way of Water, I was struggling to process my feelings about it. While I knew that it was a good movie, I was unsure if it met my expectations. And then I thought: could it ever meet my expectations, or anybody’s for that matter? Coming out more than a decade after the first Avatar film, the anticipation for what James Cameron cooked up throughout the mid-to-late 2010s was as high as it could ever be. Particularly after rewatching the first movie, I was very excited for what Cameron would do to craft a more original and compelling narrative while also continuing to innovate the technology needed to make such a film. To start with the biggest strengths of The Way of Water, it unsurprisingly ups the ante when it comes to innovative filmmaking from a technological standpoint. I won’t spend much time on this point because it will undeniably be a universal point in its favor, but Cameron continues to prove his ability to utilize computer technology in designing a visual spectacle. The most notable improvement on display here, in my humble opinion, is the advancements made in motion capture. Not only does it easily trump the first Avatar, but I think it will end up setting a new bar for capturing actors’ performances in this manner due to just how in touch the technology is now with every subtle emotion on the actors’ faces. Simply put, this movie doesn’t work without the motion capture and I think Cameron one-upped himself in that respect. Besides just the visual spectacle of The Way of Water, I personally appreciated Cameron’s willingness to flesh out the tribal cultures and histories of Pandora as proof that this world is potentially rich as a sci-fi fantasy cinematic sandbox. Akin to the Omaticaya’s intimate spiritual connection with their environment and all its creatures, the Metkayina that were introduced in this movie have an even more fascinating emotional bond with the reef and the creatures of the ocean (notably the whale-like tulkun). This serves an important narrative purpose, of course, but I just appreciated how Cameron doubled-down on the strong environmentalist bent of the first film without being as extremely in-your-face about it and making it about these characters connecting with the world. When it comes to the film’s structure and pacing, I definitely have my issues that I’ll get to later. However, I surprisingly found myself embracing the exposition-heavy first act. While most movies that do this frustrate me, I think The Way of Water needed this due to the fact that its predecessor came out thirteen years ago. Thus, it effectively serves to establish the various dynamics of Jake Sully’s family (particularly his and Neytiri’s relationship with their children and the kids’ relationships with each other). But it also does enough to explain away how both Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang’s characters are “resurrected” in new forms (with Weaver’s Grace being “immaculately conceived” by Eywa in the form of thirteen-year-old Kiri and Lang’s Quaritch having his DNA implanted into an Avatar like Jake did in the first film). Which brings me to one of the biggest surprises about the movie: Cameron’s use of Quaritch. To be clear, Lang is still very much playing a villain here. However, I think the creative decision to put that character into a Na’vi body is fascinating, and the execution somehow made the idea even better. Not only does Quaritch allow himself to be exposed to the traditions and language of the Na’vi, but his burgeoning protectiveness (and eventual love) for Miles “Spider” Socorro (Jack Champion)—who is Quaritch’s son—ended up being one of the more interesting relationship dynamics of The Way of Water (despite how little screen time it was given). By the end, I’m more interested in how their connection to each other evolves over the next several sequels than many other relationships introduced in the movie. And, of course, Cameron knows how to make his third-act finales epic and action-packed. While the final battle of The Way of Water does not remotely rival the sinking of the famous cruise liner in Titanic, Ripley killing the Xenomorph Queen in Aliens, or even the sky battle in the first Avatar film, it is still a tense and thrilling action sequence that has plenty of fun bits to chew on from start to finish. Primarily, it manages to fulfill the promise of the movie’s first two acts by playing on the audience’s investment in Jake’s family to raise the stakes and put them all in lethal danger. There’s also lots of fun action moments involving the Metkayina and their animals deliciously murdering the human soldiers and whalers; what’s not to like about that?! 😊 I hope it’s clear that I liked a lot about The Way of Water. But there are some notable flaws of the movie that (in my humble opinion) hold it back from surpassing the first Avatar film and from being one of my favorite films of the year. And, unfortunately, a lot of my positives about the movie also have drawbacks to dive into (pun intended 😊). Ultimately, a lot of the things that don’t work about the film for me have to do with its runtime. Simply put, I don’t think Cameron’s screenplay or his team’s editing serves its three-hour-plus length and thus the movie doesn’t earn such a gargantuan runtime. For me, a lot of these problems should have been fixed in the second act by stripping down and shortening the amount of time that Jake’s children spend bonding with the ocean and its creatures. To be fair, some of the most breathtaking sequences in The Way of Water are during this portion of the movie (notably Kiri effortlessly bonding with the reef). However, I just think Cameron could have shortened many of these scenes and cut out at least twenty minutes of the movie to make it a little more digestible to regular moviegoers. Regarding the pacing, there is a lot in the film (particularly the second act) that feels like Cameron just setting up sequels rather than focusing on servicing the story he’s telling in this movie. From the teasing of the truth about Kiri’s origins to the dynamics between Jake’s family and the Metkayina—particularly his second son Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and the Metkayina chief’s daughter Tsireya (Bailey Bass)—I just think there should’ve been additional passes on the screenplay in order to focus in on specific relationships. Instead, the cast feels bloated and the filmmakers’ efforts to make audiences care about all of them end up falling short. In other words, there is no good excuse Cameron can make to justify me not caring at least a little bit about all of the primary and secondary characters given the film’s extensive length. While all of Jake’s kids get moments, they are not all equally interesting or compelling. Likewise, I felt that other new characters like Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and Ronal (Kate Winslet) were sadly underutilized (especially given the caliber of actors playing those characters). Again, this is most likely due to Cameron’s desire to set up sequels and thus maybe I’ll be more forgiving of this movie’s bloated cast in a few years. But, right now, I was quite disappointed in my lack of emotional investment in some of these key characters that clearly have more of a journey to go on in the future. When it comes to the film’s narrative structure, The Way of Water is simultaneously less and more derivative of its predecessors. On the one hand, it does not closely follow the “white savior” narrative trope by making the third-act payoff about parents saving their children (which includes Neytiri and Tonowari, both played by actors of color, leading the charge). As a result, it does feel less formulaic by leaning in on the family story. That being said, I was underwhelmed by how much this movie’s middle act so closely copied that of the first Avatar movie. Instead of Jake learning the ways of the Omaticaya by bonding with the forest creatures while falling in love with Neytiri and butting heads with her betrothed Tsu’tey (Lazaro Alonso), it is now Jake’s children learning the ways of the Metkayina by bonding with the sea creatures while butting heads with Tonowari’s sons and Lo’ak falling in love with Tsireya. Ultimately, my hopes for a story that was more unique while equally as emotional as the first film just weren’t satisfied with this sequel. All of this is to say that The Way of Water, while technologically superior in every way to the first Avatar film, still has a lot of the narrative baggage of Cameron relying too much on predictable narrative structure without injecting enough emotion or invoking enough empathy for these individual characters. Furthermore, the zany nature of the human villains (with the exception of Quaritch in this movie) went from tolerable before to a bit ridiculous now. So, do I think that The Way of Water is a better movie than its predecessor? Maybe it is, but I enjoy the first Avatar movie more. Overall, what are my thoughts on James Cameron’s Avatar films? Having seen the first two entries in this blossoming epic science-fiction franchise, I remain optimistic about its future. I think there is still plenty of promise in the world building of Pandora and this “dying Earth” that keeps getting referenced but never shown. Furthermore, I look forward to secondary characters in The Way of Water getting more of the spotlight in the next few movies. However, I worry that Cameron is too powerful for his own good. In my humble opinion, he not only needs a more merciless editing team but also a co-writer (or maybe two) to help him reign in his more novelistic tendencies in order to craft an effective screenplay for the next few movies. We’ll see if that happens, But, for now, we just have to wait and see what comes of the Avatar series. What do you like and dislike about both Avatar films? Are you excited for or dreading the multiple planned sequels? What opinions of mine do you find absolutely ridiculous? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, this has been… Yours Truly, Amateur Analyst
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Austin McManusI have no academic or professional background in film production or criticism; I simply love watching and talking about movies. Archives
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