Avatar: The Way of Water – Worth the Watch?

Avatar: The Way of Water was the anticipated sequel of James Cameron’s 2009 Avatar. Avatar was originally made famous for its incredible CGI—which outshone anything that’s been seen before its time—rather than its story, and with 13 years of waiting, fans were expecting something amazing.

The Way of Water follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) as the chief of the Omaticaya Clan of the Na’vi 14 years after humankind was expelled from Pandora. To most of the Na’vi’s surprise, the humans return to colonize Pandora due to Earth dying. Jake Sully, determined to defend his family, leads the insurgency against the humans.

The Way of Water did deliver perfectly in some aspects. In CGI and special effects, it blew its predecessor out of the water. The SFX, due to the main setting of the movie being heavily water, had to be don’t meticulously. As liquid causes light to fracture and scatter, the special effects were going to be an incredibly difficult task. However, the team did an amazing job.

However, animation aside, the movie was quite average. The plot was very predictable. When watching the movie, it was very easy to tell what was being set up and how it is going to affect future events.

In fact, some of the plot of The Way of Water felt recycled from the first Avatar movie. You can even pick out thematic and visual elements from some of James Cameron’s more famous movies, Titanic and The Terminator. While these weren’t necessarily bad things by themselves, combined with the feeling or repetition of the older Avatar, it came to feel like  lazyier writing.

Not to say the movie was a complete Frankenstein of other movies. The Way of Water still told its own story with its own elements. And while the story told is mediocre, Avatar: The Way of Water should still definitely be a watch for anyone, as it is a continuation of the amazing CGI that people can expect from James Cameron’s Avatar series.