Avatar: The Way of Water
Cert: 12 A
Released Friday
★ ★ ★
In 2009, amidst the excitement surrounding new and innovative 3D technology in film, Titanic director James Cameron released Avatar, a sci-fi fantasy that was to become the single highest-grossing film of all time - a record that remains unbeaten. Thirteen years later, Cameron is now back with a belated sequel to that film in Avatar: The Way of Water.
Distributed by 20th Century Studios - an offshoot of the Disney corporation - and co-produced by Cameron alongside Jewish producer Jon Landau, the film is written by Cameron in collaboration with married American screenwriting duo Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver - Silver is the granddaughter of the late legendary Jewish Hollywood screenwriter Sidney Buchman.
The action takes place over a decade after the events of the first film. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a former human, is now a fully-fledged member of the Na’vi species thanks to the Avatar programme. Jake and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) have been married for some time and have 3 children of their own and one adopted daughter (played by Sigourney Weaver), who was born to a now-deceased avatar and an unknown human father. The family’s idyllic life on planet Pandora is shattered when an old enemy returns looking for vengeance.
As Jake, Neytiri and their brood wrestle with their own guilt over putting their tribe at risk, the family finds itself on the run from its forest dwelling. Finally landing on a group of islands populated by the Metkayina - an oceanic Na’vi clan - the Sullys are invited to stay as long as they agree to earn their keep. As Jake and Neytiri get accustomed to their new surroundings, the Sully children struggle to come to terms with their new lives.
Nobody could ever accuse James Cameron of doing anything by halves. Here he has once again delivered a 3-hour long sci-fi action adventure on a grandiose scale. Focusing on his original pro-environmentalist message of the first film, the Terminator films creator delivers a sequel which is undeniably well-intentioned, if a little repetitive.
While there are certainly some great performances - possible via impressive motion capture rendering - it is impossible to ignore the fact that the film's screenplay feels more than a little baggy in the middle. And while we all collectively marvelled at the first film's ingenious use of 3D, that technology already feels a little outdated and nowhere near as exciting as it once was.
Avatar: The Way of Water does exactly what is expected from it even if it eventually fails to move the narrative beyond the obvious "good guys Vs stereotypical villains" tropes. On the whole, this was an enjoyable watch, but at 3 hours running time, be prepared for the possibility of tlking several breaks throughout.
