Alright, everyone, today, we are going to be reviewing the latest follow up to the one, and only 2009 film, Avatar, that I’m sure many of us had long anticipated since that film’s release. Wow, it’s hard to believe that a sequel has finally come thirteen years later, you know? Anyway, let’s dive into Avatar’s sequel, Avatar: The Way Of The Water.
Plot: When a familiar threat returns to the planet of Pandora, it is up to Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who is now leader of the Na’vi tribe on Pandora, his wife, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), their children (James Flatters, Britain Dalton, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, and Sigourney Weaver), and the rest of their tribe to save their forest, and the rest of the world of Pandora once, and for all.
Well, now that many of us have wait thirteen years for a sequel like this one, was Avatar: The Way Of The Water worth the wait? Well, for the most part, yes, it absolutely was for quite a few reasons that we shall discuss now. First of all, there are the visuals in this film. I saw this film in 3D last week. Let me tell you, as you watch this film, and the visuals, it is worth the 3D price. That is unless you have the AMC, or even Regal deal, where you can see a certain amount of films for free per week. Then seeing this film for 3D for free makes it worth your time even more. I mean from shots like with any of the characters flying, to any scenes that involve swimming fast underwater, it is so breathtaking how amazing the visuals, even more so when experienced in 3D. Even during the climax, when events become really, and intense, it’s interesting how well done the visuals are even then.
Now, how about the story? Well, to a degree, this sequel can feel somewhat similar to the first film. And no, that’s not bad in this case. In fact, I’m sure many of us can agree that it’s supposed to work that way. That is especially due to this movie going in a newer direction this time around. I mean with us not only getting to spend a little bit of time in the forest, but also getting to see more of the world of Pandora, especially seeing some sea creatures, getting introduced to a new tribe that lives by the ocean, and things like that, it makes the story even more interesting. Yes, it could still have a feel to films like Pocahontas, or Dances With Wolves, or movies like them. But, you know what, that’s probably for the best in this case. Oh, and did I forget to mention how people would be interested to see the amount of plot twists that surprisingly occur throughout this film? Okay, with any of these Avatar films, I will admit that I expected this film to be much more predictable than it was in the end. However, likely either in order to make this film more interesting, or some other reason, James Cameron, and his film crew end up creating more plot twists than one would expect, and end leaving the audience mostly likely more satisfied than expected. Don’t get me wrong, the end does leave things open for the third film (as I’m sure will be the case for the third, and fourth, and, well, however many Avatar films James Cameron plans on making. Still, people will probably most likely be glad with how certain events turn out as this film progresses. Yes, the story could potentially be a little slow in the beginning. However, it probably works to it’s advantage in this case simply because that’s probably more to develop the characters better, both the old, and newer ones. I was surprised, at first, to find that this film was going to have a running time of three hours, and ten minutes (190 minutes altogether). Still, even though that may be a little long, it was probably for the best that it ended up being that long just so that the story, characters, the world building, and more were better developed.
Next, there is some of the symbolism, and certain messages in this film. I mean the whole deal about the water having no beginning, and no end, sure, it could potentially have a little bit of a New Age deal to it. Still, on the other hand, it can also have hidden Christian themes in terms of how God, the Author of life, has no beginning, and no end. It’s just like how, in the first movie, the Tree Of Pandora, the Na’vi inhabitants had to depend on it for help, and being the source of their life overall. It’s interesting how both the first, and second Avatar films seem to have parallels to Christianity, you know? Finally, in this regard, there’s also the message about how one must be willing to do what’s right, and make the right choices, even when it could be costly sometimes, along with other ones like not letting anyone define you except, well, you yourself.
As for the music, instead of James Horner, like in the first film, we get a composer named Simon Franglen. Even though he may not have quite the same style as Horner did, he does help capture the spirit of the first film whenever possible. I mean with the some of the same instruments, and music overall, Franglen does in fact help take this film to a whole new level with the music that he go tributes to this film.
So, with all that said, are there any flaws to this film? Well, for one, there were some gaps in terms of questions that ended up remaining unanswered. Though that’s not entirely the case, some of these could leave the viewer a little too confused at points. Additionally, I’m not sure if the F-bomb was the best thing to have in a PG-13 rated film. Okay, even words like the “d” word, and the “h” word are inserted in more ma to re films like these. However, since when is the “f” word inserted in a PG-13 rated movie as well? Just a thought! Oh, and one other thing to note is that the film could have explained things like how the relations with the water people, and the forest people were, like if they were good, or bad, and things like that.
And that’s my review for Avatar: The Way Of The Water. Even if the first film might have been a little better, this sequel does still have quite a few things going on for it. I’m not sure why this film did leave some questions unanswered. Whether that was because the filmmakers wanted us to wait until the third film for those questions to be answered, or some other reason, you got me. Also, even if there were many things developed well in this film, there were other aspects that this film could have probably elaborated on even more. Still, at least the good outweighed the bad by a really big long shot in this case. If you haven’t seen Avatar: The Way Of The Water. I can guarantee that by the end, you’ll be glad that you did see this film, since it is that good. That being said, definitely try to make a point either this week, or next, to see it, and you’ll most likely have the time of your life while watching it.
Final Grade: B+
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