Avatar: The Way of Water
{4/5} “‘When I met your father… I tried to kill him.’ ‘It was love at first sight.'”
Avatar: The Way of Water, released in 2022
Jake and Neytiri have 4 kids and have a happy life on Pandora. Then humans return to the planet and start battling the Na’vi again. Colonel Quaritch is dead, but he had a clone made — and that clone is now on Pandora, looks like a Na’vi, and wants revenge on Jake. The humans are on Pandora not just to mine it this time but to make a new home for humanity, because Earth is dying.
This is the long-gestating sequel to Avatar.
It is, of course, visually stunning.
As for the story, it’s a bit similar to the first one. The characters don’t seem to learn anything significant, and didn’t learn things they should have learned from the events of the first movie.
It’s about the beauty of the natural world, and the aggressive lack of empathy of some humans.
I was a bit frustrated with the lack of understanding between adults and children, and between one tribe and another.
The behind-the-scenes filming is astonishing — they did motion capture underwater, which had never been done before.
This one is worth watching — I’m just not sure the story they’re telling is worth 5 movies in total.
Stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang. Directed by James Cameron (Aliens). Simon Franglen’s music pays generous, and deserved, homage to James Horner’s original score.