After setting the 3D movement in cinema with the first Avataar movie, which then went on to become the norm in Hollywood, 13 years ago, #AvatarThe WayofWater, brings back the same visual impact, cinematic beauty, imagination, and emotions just the way big cinema is supposed to.
James Cameron’s second coming of this magnum opus impresses with the same immersive spectacle, even as its ambition is more more modest than the first one. Exactly in the spirit of our times, where the magnificent nature everyday is forcing us humankind to find our modesty. Showing us our place. Reminding us who’s the boss. Again (COVID) and again (climate change) and again (extreme weather all over), and again…
The story begins more than a decade after Jake Scully, now the leader of the N’avi tribe, living happily ever after with his family of wife Neyitri, two sons (Neteyam and Lo’ak) daughter (Tuk) and adopted kids (Kiri and human boy Spider, Colonel Miles Quartrich’s son left behind on Pandora, after being defeated by Jake in the first film). And once again, the humans (or the sky people,) with their nothing-has-changed ambition to colonise the planet Pandora, send Quartrich as a N’avi clone with a bunch of other clones, as troops to kill Jake Scully and conquer their land…. And as it turns out the sea. We meet a new tribe of the water people, the Metkayina, and the same old story is repeated.
Not a new story you say? But that’s classic Cameron isn’t it? Think the Aliens series, the Terminator series, Titanic, Abyss. The prowess of his film making is never about the plot , it’s always about the concept. It’s never about the story, but about the story telling. It’s never about the cleverness, always about emotions. It’s never about the pace, always about the idea that needs to be lived with. And most importantly, it’s not about the characters in the film, but about how they make you feel as an audience.
And that’s precisely why it’s always larger than life. Because that’s what it takes to make us feel what the movie wants us to feel.
Avatar The Way of Water, wants us to feel four primary emotions, which hit the spot, perfectly. One, a collective hatred for imperialism, that increasingly is being called out as perhaps the single biggest evil of humanity, responsible for all the mess we are in. Two, a collective love for nature, with an urgency to live in harmony with it, on “its” terms, not ours. Three, a personal appreciation of the things that really matter in our lives, our family and our friends. And four, a personal commitment to the roles each of us individually and uniquely can play in the service of our community. And it’s these four emotions that make the film both timeless in essence and yet highly timely for our lives today.
And the way it makes us feel, is through the sheer beauty of the art that is on display, in all its colourful splendour, presented in the form of 3D. Cameron takes full advantage of all the tech advancement in the last decade to lift his craft to an almost VR-like experience for a full three hour joy ride. (The game version likely to be coming out anytime now). It’s like after the first Avataar, he asked the question: what’s more beautiful than the forest? The answer, is the ocean, of course.
Yes, it’s a bit long. Because when was the last time we ever sat still for a whole 3 hours! (3 hours 10 mins to be precise). In the era of 30 mins to 60 mins episodes on our favourite OTT channels, 5-10 seconds brain dumbing insta reels, and quick scrolls of all content, James Cameron demands our full time and attention and emotions in Avataar, Way of Water. The film asks us to stop, feel and appreciate. Because all good things like that need time. And I, for one, felt it was absolutely worth it.
My advice: Watch it in theatres or don’t watch it at all.
With the forest and the ocean done, I can’t wait for the next alternate-Nat Geo world that Cameron will seek to create. The dessert? The mountains? Or May be even urban jungles? May be we need to wait another 13 years. Because after all, all good things take time.
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