Movie Review/Avatar: The Way Of Water

In 2009, director James Cameron gave the world the movie "Avatar". The film, about a man posing as a member of the Na'vi race on the planet Pandora, takes blockbuster action to new heights only when he sides with the Na'vi against their greedy friends. It is the first film to earn more than 2,000 billion dollars at the worldwide box office. In fact, it currently holds the top spot on the worldwide charts, excluding the four subsequent reissues.

Creatively, both critics and audiences were impressed with the look of the film, which was made with innovative CGI, and the film won Academy Awards for visual effects, art direction and cinematography. But there has been some ups and downs surrounding the story, with unfavorable comparisons to Dances with Wolves among other sources. Over time, these oddities increased as the glamor of the look faded and the story remained the same. Now, 13 years later, it's time to return to Pandora with Avatar: The Last Airbender, but is it worth the trip? Was the original worth the trip? My answer is yes!" – that was then, and this is now.

The new film follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), now a full-fledged neophyte, and the family he starts with his wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). They have two teenage sons (James Flatters and Britten Dalton), a biological daughter (Trinity Jo Lee Place) and an adopted daughter (Sigourney Weaver), whose deceased mother was Dr. Grace Augustine (Weaver) in the first film. In fact, they may even have five children, as the remaining Spider-Man (Jack Champion) follows them everywhere.

Life is going well for the Pandora family, until humanity returns. Already not content with capturing the planet's natural resources, this time humans are looking for a new place to live, having created irreversible chaos on Earth. The claim that naval forces are forever dividing the planet is obviously not in doubt, so neutralizing the natives is a human task. Quaritch (Stephen Lang) the navel avatar of the villain from the first film. Apparently, he retained his human body before dying. The movie basically asks, "Do you want Stephen Lang back as a villain or not?" Yes, I apologize for the complicated explanation.

Jack knows that Quaritch and the humans will target him, so he and his family decide that they can no longer live in their ancestral home. They say goodbye to the tree tribe and go live with the reef tribe. The leaders of the new tribe (Cliff Curtis and Kate Winslet) do not welcome them, but at least they can stay despite being treated as outcasts. However, it's only a matter of time before a human catches up with the help of Quaritch's biological son, a captive spider.

The story is completely secondary to Avatar: The Waterway. The real star is once again the spectacular scenery, this time focusing on sea creatures and underwater plants, although there's plenty of eye candy on land too. After years of forcing filmmakers to settle for sometimes shaky CGI effects, it's nice to see Cameron bring them to their full potential. The film is sure to win a technical Oscar again and possibly play in the big categories (it's already nominated for Best Drama and Best Director at the Golden Globes). The script… well, with an emphasis on long-term storytelling, that is. the mysteries of this film remain unsolved, so it may play a role in the next sequel. We'll have more Avatar movies in the coming years, and I can't wait to see how this franchise redefines the blockbuster.

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Avatar: The Last Airbender is rated PG-13 for intense violence, intense action, partial nudity and strong language. Its duration is 192 minutes.

Contact Bob Garver at [email protected].