It is impossible to talk about without sounding hyperbolic. But James Cameron鈥檚 sequel is a truly dazzling cinematic experience that will have you floating on a blockbuster high.
No matter if you鈥檝e spent a second of your life in the past 13 years thinking about what鈥檚 happening on Pandora or how Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Salda帽a) are getting on, assuming you remember their characters鈥� names. 鈥淭he Way of Water鈥� will make awe-struck believers out of even 鈥淎vatar鈥� agnostics like me, at least for three hours and 12 minutes. The film isn鈥檛 just visually compelling, either, it鈥檚 spiritually rich as well 鈥� a simple but penetrating story about family and the natural world that is galaxies better than the first.
About that run time: Three hours and 12 minutes sounds excessive, but there is something decidedly decadent about really committing that much time to a movie in a theater. When the filmmaker is purposeful with that time, as Cameron is and many others have been before him, it鈥檚 a uniquely rewarding experience. In other words, it鈥檚 not a big ask. And you鈥檒l forget all about checking the time from the first shot of Pandora and Jake鈥檚 earnest exposition about what鈥檚 been going on in the past decade.
He and Neytiri have three kids now, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), Lo鈥檃k (Britain Dalton), Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss) and an adopted teenage daughter, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), and they鈥檙e happy living in the forest. 鈥淗appiness is simple,鈥� he says. 鈥淲ho ever thought that a jughead like me could crack the code?鈥� So, of course, it can鈥檛 last. The humans are on the hunt for Jake, with a familiar antagonist leading the charge. And soon his family is on the run, taking up home in another part of Pandora, on the water with a new tribe led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) who reluctantly grant them refuge and try to teach them how to live on the water.
It鈥檚 worth noting that Cameron has not stuffed the film with mind-numbing, wall-to-wall action and needlessly complicated plot. There are long stretches of movie where we鈥檙e simply exploring the environment with the characters, delighting in the intricacies of a reef or basking in the beauty of giant sea creatures. Sometimes we鈥檙e just sitting in the water with Kiri who is also sitting in the water. It is not advancing the action in any obvious way. It is not even really developing characters. It just is, and it鈥檚 serene. You imagine that anyone without his clout would have a hard time justifying something similar.
The action is there, too, of course, and it鈥檚 exciting because you鈥檝e become invested in the family and worried about the kids who are never where they鈥檙e supposed to be and are often in danger because of it. And though we know there are more sequels coming, and one already wrapped, this is not the kind of franchise where anyone is guaranteed to get a fake superhero death. Sure there is some 鈥淎vatar鈥� silliness, including the fact that the word 鈥渂ro鈥� is uttered about 8,000 times, but there is something admirable about the straightforward dialogue and emotions at play, too. No one is snarking their way through this ordeal.
鈥淣ever doubt James Cameron鈥� has become a bit of a rallying cry lately, at least among those left on Twitter. It鈥檚 all the more extraordinary as the once-mythical sequels had become a kind of joke in the years since the first movie. Even as 鈥淭he Way of Water鈥� release date actually approached the 鈥渨ho cares?鈥� chorus intensified. Had anyone really thought twice about 鈥淎vatar鈥�? But Cameron knows his way around a thrilling sequel, and the water for that matter (and references his own greatest hits in this film, too).
But then people saw it and the tune changed. There is something comforting about the fact that we are capable of intense, collective cultural whiplash. That 鈥渨ho cares?鈥� can turn to uncynical amazement in an instant. Is that the magic of the movies? Of continuing to push the bounds of the big screen experience? Of betting big on weird-sounding stories about giant blue environmentalists instead of superheroes every so often? Maybe it鈥檚 just the magic of James Cameron.
鈥淎vatar: The Way of Water,鈥� a 20th Century Studios release in theaters Thursday, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for 鈥減artial nudity, intense action, sequences of strong violence, some strong language.鈥� Running time: 192 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.
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MPA Definition of PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
