bold, beautiful and very blue

Even if you happen to don’t keep in mind any of the characters, you most likely keep in mind watching Avatar within the cinema. A ground-breaking, visually beautiful movie that introduced 3D motion pictures to the plenty, James Cameron’s sci-fi epic sits proudly atop the all-time international field workplace (take that, Avengers: Endgame), regardless of claims it’s a “forgotten blockbuster” with little cultural affect. Naturally, there are just a few sequels deliberate.

The first of those is Avatar: The Way Of Water. At simply over three hours, it’s even longer than the unique – although it by no means drags. We open on the luxurious, lovely planet of Pandora and are shortly reacquainted with the Na’vi, seven-feet tall, blue aliens who name it residence. More than a decade has handed because the first movie, which noticed paraplegic ex-marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) hand over his human kind to stick with lover Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) in paradise. Now they’re busy elevating a household – and are very blissful by all accounts.

Unfortunately, the return of Jake’s ‘sky people’ (us) threatens to mess the whole lot up. Earth is dying, its folks want someplace new to dwell, and Pandora supplies the proper resolution. Cue one other immersive, action-packed journey, however this time with a extra nuanced message. Whereas Avatar bashed its viewers on the pinnacle with repeated references to spirituality and the stability of life, The Way Of Water is primarily about household (although there may be one gut-wrenching scene that makes for a simplest anti-hunting advert). It finds a plausible technique to convey again characters from the primary film, and units up the overarching plot for future instalments. This is sharp, thought-about storytelling.

Although there’s a familiarity to The Way Of Water, it has a freshness too. The characters really feel lived in, particularly Jack Champion’s feral human Spider, Jake and Neytiri’s rebellious son Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Sigourney Weaver’s wide-eyed Na’vi teen Kiri. There’s additionally a renewed sense of curiosity and surprise at play right here. The youthful Na’vi discover Pandora – and we uncover extra of their residence’s breathtaking locales alongside them. Cameron is bolder with world-building this time round, buying and selling in relatable human characters for various tribes, up to date expertise and expansive landscapes. The woodland continues to be attractive to take a look at, however the scenes set on, round and within the ocean blow the whole lot else out of the water. Much of the solid have been required to study freediving abilities – and the outcomes are like nothing we’ve seen earlier than.

This does imply that The Way Of Water generally comes off like a nature documentary – all hovering strings and sweeping crane photographs. And but the chaotic, angst-fuelled finale is so tense and thrilling that it may need come from a James Bond movie. Bigger, bolder and undoubtedly higher than the unique, Avatar: The Way Of Water pushes the technical boundaries of cinema with out feeling like a science experiment. It actually does must be seen on the most important display doable by way of a pair of awkward 3D glasses. Unlike its predecessor although, you received’t neglect this expertise in a rush.