Review: 'The Way of Water' Lives Up To The Iconic Cameron-esque Flair

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Magnificent avant-garde special effects. Dazzling motion-capture performances. Engaging story. Graceful balletic movements. And the cinematic genius of James Cameron. All these make “Avatar: The Way of Water” buoy in a sea of resplendence suffused with paeans to the filmmaker’s other blockbusters, “The Abyss,” “Titanic” and “Terminator.”

Nearly 13 years since the visionary filmmaker took the cinematic sphere by storm in the original classic, Cameron is once again poised to take our breath away in the long-awaited fantasy sequel. For sure, his fans are dying to find out if the Academy Award-winning filmmaker has outdone himself this time around.

Rest assured, the new movie is a blinding visual feast with lush vibrant neon colors, so intense that the “Avatar” world feels tactile, all while immersing audiences in a sprawling epic of war, struggles and tragedies.

And yes! The storyline in “The Way of Water” is more captivating compared to the one in the original.

(Tip: It would be best to see this eye-popping spectacle on an IMAX 3-D screen with Dolby sound.)

In his new outing, Cameron takes us on a return voyage to the planet of Pandora where the saga continues more than a decade after the events of the first film. Many will recall that the natives of this new world are the peace-loving Na'vi, a blue-skinned, golden-eyed race of slender giants, each towering at least 9 feet tall. For humans to survive Pandora’s unbreathable atmosphere, they must be wired up to their Na’vi bodies or avatars.

Sam Worthington reprises his role of former U.S. marine Jake Sully, who is now a full-fledged Na’vi married to his Pandoran wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña). The couple, along with their sons Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) and Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and adopted daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), have enjoyed a familial bliss together — that is, until their lives in the forest community of Omaticaya are threatened upon the arrival of the human “sky people.”

As in the first film, the Pandorans are portrayed with high regard for peace and harmony while Earthlings are still brutish and greedy for power.

Leading the charge is the baddie Col. Miles Quatrich (Stephen Lang), who has the marching orders to colonize Pandora and to kill Jake. It’s just a matter of time before Quatrich and his troop get wired up to their Na’vi avatars. But little do they know that an unexpected twist is about to take place as they carry out their mission.

Eventually, the Sully family seek refuge in the water Na’vi community of Metkayina, where audiences will take delight in the magical and mesmerizing undersea creatures. Meanwhile, subplot after subplot happens with some character development presented. Toward the end, the 192-minute film might feel somewhat overlong. However, the 30-minute action-packed finale will leave audiences wanting more.

How about Cameron's use of the high frame rate (HFR) as a tool? Well, the 3D action scenes feel incredibly more seamless and more realistic, given that they play back at 48 frames per second instead of the standard 24 frames per second. This HFR makes the Pandoran wildlife look so real right before our eyes.

On the surface, “The Way of Water” is a story about familial love, pains and sufferings. The underlying story, however, is Cameron’s take on the refugee crisis around the world. He has managed to convince his audience to invest in this allegory — though at times, it feels as if the visual spectacle had derailed his focus to deliver a nuanced story.

See it.

In all, “The Way of Water” lives up to the iconic Cameron-esque flair.

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