Avatar – La via dell’acqua, the review of the new blockbuster by James Cameron

When Avatar came out in 2009 we were in the middle of another era. 3D seemed to be the technology that would define the future of entertainment, Marvel had just begun to grind successes with Iron Man, COVID was unknown and Putin had handed over the seat of President of Russia to Medvedev. It’s true, the pieces of the 2007 economic crisis were still being picked up, but at least we were still reigning World Champions…

13 years of wars, pandemics and two failed qualifiers later, following a long gestation, we return to the cinema to see the direct sequel to the film which still holds the box office record to discover that, despite everything, nothing has changed in Pandora indeed things were going rather well. At least until we arrived.

Let’s find out what happened in the review of Avatar – The way of water.

Once upon a time in Pandora

Avatar – The Water Way opens with Jake Sullythe reckless marine played by Sam Worthington who had found himself somewhat by chance to control the avatar of a Na’vi on an alien planet, who has now definitively become part of the People and, after his victory over humans, he enjoys peace alongside Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), the warrior princess he fell in love with in the first film. The two start a family and within a few years find themselves surrounded by 4 children and a sort of pet. They’re not all natural: the big one, Kiri, was born from Grace Augustine’s avatar, the doctor played by Sigourney Weaver, who became mysteriously pregnant and gave birth to the baby while she was unconscious.

The years pass quickly and life between the Na’vi and the remaining humans on Pandora flows peacefully, at least until the sky men they do not return en masse, ready to resume the exploitation of the planet from where they were forced to interrupt it.

A return that surprises no one except Jake Sully who, instead of having organized the defenses of the Na’vi so as not to find them unprepared for the arrival of the invaders, has spent his time enjoying the family, managed in a somewhat ‘ military and patriarchal. Despite this rigid upbringing, the children, led by the reckless second son Lo’akto prove themselves worthy of their father they will do everything to get into trouble, forcing the ex marine to flee into exile in order to protect his loved ones and keep them away from the war.

The choice, therefore, is to seek asylum Metkayinaa tribe of Na’vi who live in a remote area of ​​Pandora in close contact with marine flora and fauna, to the point of having changed their physiognomy to be more agile and faster in the water.

Social and environmental issues

The canvas of Avatar – The via dell’acqua therefore broadly retraces that of the original film. The Sully family will initially have to face the distrust of a people not only from the different culture, but also from the peculiar physical characteristics. One thing that makes them different, also because they are mestizos. All this at least until, between a fistfight and a bravado, they fail to win the trust of the new people and become an integral part of the new tribe, overcoming all differences, learning the Water Way (everything is born and returns to the sea) and discovering the wonders that this new part of Pandora hides.

Trust that, however, will be put to the test again since Colonel Miles Quaritch, the bad guy from the first film played by Stephen Lang, whose consciousness and memories we discover to have been stored on Earth and inoculated inside the body of a Na’vi avatar. Sent back to Pandora to finish the job, Quaritch’s sole purpose will be to eliminate Jake Sully, so as to weaken the local resistance. He will be the one to chase the Sullys in every corner of the planet, to (re) endanger the balance between the flora and fauna and the inhabitants of the planet and to bring the Na’vi back to war.

Obviously he will try to do it by any means, trampling on nature, to be exploited to build the new human settlement and to recover every useful resource, but also by exploiting every man and half placed at its disposal. The scenes in which she showcases his brutality are different, but you immediately notice that there is something different about him. And let’s not talk about the fact that he’s several feet tall and blue…

Unlike the first Avatar, in fact, Quaritch is not a completely evil character: during the film he will show a more human side, perhaps because he is influenced by the Na’vi nature or by the fact that he has found something he believed lost on the planet. An element that will confuse both the viewer, who will find himself without reference points and well-defined alignments, and himself, decidedly less efficient and ruthless in pursuing his goal.

Not all centered

Despite taking all the time he needs to paint this second Pandora fresco, James Cameron in Avatar: The Water Way fails to give compactness to the filmat least not in the way he managed to do it with the first film.

Some characters, for example, appear during the early stages of the film, but then are not explored and disappear, such as the “good humans” left on Pandora, Quaritch’s war companions, or General Ardmore (Edie Falco) , who is introduced as a strong woman who is at the heart of the new colonization of Pandora, but is then forgotten. Other protagonists, on the other hand, are somewhat confused characters: Neytiri is a strong and independent woman, but who lets herself be bossed around by her husband, a loving mother, but who is unable to accept non-Na’vi, even those who are friends. In this regard, even less focused is Spider, a human boy left behind by the settlers who grows up together with the Sullys, absorbing the local customs and traditions. Over the course of the film, the boy will teach the Na’vi culture to his enemies without too many problems, while remaining faithful to his friends. Not to mention his ability to find himself – rather ridiculously if you consider that he is a prisoner – always in the middle of the war councils and the most important decisions of humans, constantly in his loincloth and jumping like a monkey. The choice that, to give a more youthful cut to the new generation of protagonists, everyone calls themselves “bro”, even in the midst of the battle for the fate of the planet or in a wild Pandora forest, is also a bit out of place. We fear it’s a decision that will get old soon, as soon as this way of speaking goes out of style.

It is also a pity that the environmental issues have not been explored further. Some scenes of destruction of nature are visually very powerful and touching, but now these themes are even more central than 13 years ago and riding them more would have given more impact to the whole script.

Also because the cut given by Cameron to the protagonists suffers, perhaps even more than in the first chapter, from that patriarchal view, rigid, backward and a little American where the father is the undisputed head of the family and the one in charge of protecting it, the children fall into line and respond with a curt “yes” to his reproaches and that issues are always resolved with weapons in hand. Sure, we’re talking about an action film that should entertain for a good three hours and ten minutes, but it didn’t take much to make the writing more modern and fresh.

Visually stunning

What keeps you glued to the screen, however, is the technical and technological side of Avatar – La via dell’acqua. Cameron has outdone himself and not only made the digital actors even more real and detailed, but he has dramatically expanded the imagery of his series with new creatures, biomes and very exciting environments.

The effect of the water, the underwater scenes, but also the combat ones show a care and a really obsessive level of perfectionism, which justifies the $400 million spent on making the film. The interactions between men and Na’vi are many, with proportions maintained in every situation and a truly exemplary fluidity.

Again the 3D is non-invasive, nor used in a caricature way, but gives greater depth to the scenes and roundness to the faces. Avatar: The Water Route is still a film that should be enjoyed in a good theater, with a level sound system and a quality screen, so that you can feel the vibrations as the Sky People return to Pandora or be able to enjoy every detail of the skin of Jake and his children. James Cameron’s show deserves to be enjoyed to its fullest glory.

The underwater scenes, the realization of the creatures that populate Pandora or the details of every vehicle or weapon featured in the film are superior to anything seen in cinema and they set new standards that will be difficult even to reach.

In this way, between a spectacular assault on a running train and the exploration of a wonderful seabed, between the discovery of new Pandora traditions and new protagonists, the film passes quickly without too much effort, filling your eyes and ears with breathtaking landscapes , lots of action and some good feelings. Just like the first Avatar did.