The long-awaited sequel to “Avatar” has arrived and with “Avatar: The way
amazingly lavish cinematic creation that will set new standards for
visuals. The movie takes place several years after the original and finds Jake
(Sam Worthington), and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), happily raising a family on
Pandora. Their two sons and a daughter is joined by Kiri who is a curious
addition as she was born from the Avatar of their late friend Grace.Their happy life is upended when the humans return in force and resume
their destructive assault on the ecosystem which is sacred to the native
Na’vi and once again places them in conflict with the humans and their
advanced technology.Jake is able to lead successful attacks which have become a real problem
for the humans and they have unleashed a new threat to eliminate Jake; an
Avatar-based force with the memories of the late military unit commanded
by Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang).
Convinced that eliminating Jake is the key to victory, Quaritch, and crew
lead a campaign to drive out Jake which drives him and his family deep
into Pandora to save the natives from harm.
They settle in a village of aquatic natives who are at home in the water
the same way that the Na’vi are in the jungle. Despite some early
friction, Jake and his family look to learn their ways.
At this point, the film spends a great deal of time with stunningly shot
and jaw-dropping visuals of the characters and the underwater visuals
which is the new 3D is truly amazing. Those who have an issue with the
three-hour and change run time of the film likely could point to this part
of the film as an area that could have been trimmed but in doing so
audiences would miss the magic and splendor of the visual treats that
Cameron and his team have created. In other Director’s hands this could
have been seen as self-indulgent but Cameron infuses the scenes with an
energy and wonder which makes them a joy to behold.
When danger eventually arrives Jake and his family must face it head-on to
save not only their family but their new friends as the bonds of life,
friendship and family are the key driving elements of the story.
I cannot praise the visuals enough as they surpassed my expectations and
it was a real delight to catch up with Jake and the world of Pandora as
well as extend the storyline which the sequel does very well by
introducing new motivations for the humans as well as new locales,
creatures, and threats to meet the action requirements of the film.
With the third film already in post-production, I cannot wait to see what
comes next as “Avatar: The Way of Water” surpassed the original for me and
has been my favorite film of the year and one that should not be missed.
5 stars out of 5
