AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER Review; "This Three-Hour Snoozefest Is All Style, No Substance"

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER Review; "This Three-Hour Snoozefest Is All Style, No Substance"

Avatar: The Way of Water is an undeniably impressive visual spectacle, but beyond that, there's not much to love about a movie that, while epic, is surprisingly boring to watch. Find our full verdict here!

Review Opinion
By JoshWilding - Dec 18, 2022 03:12 PM EST
Filed Under: Avatar
Source: SFFGazette.com

2009’s Avatar remains incredibly divisive among film fans (and often comes under fire unfairly), but it seems fair to say we can all agree that, from a technological standpoint, it was a groundbreaking piece of work from director James Cameron. Given how it pushed the boundaries of 3D and motion capture, even the first movie’s biggest detractors have been at least a little excited for Avatar: The Way of Water. Unfortunately, this is a movie that might be best enjoyed if you turn the sound off, sit back, and pretend you’re watching a very, very long VFX reel. 

While this long-awaited sequel looks utterly flawless, there’s really not much more to it. Clocking in at three hours (and boy, it definitely feels that long), the movie sees the RDA return to Pandora, leading to war between humans and the Na’vi resuming before Jake and his family set off to hide out with the watery Metkayina clan. And that’s about it. While they’re pursued by a resurrected "recombinant" Miles Quaritch, much of Avatar: The Way of Water is devoted to Jake and Neytiri’s children as Cameron drops breadcrumbs for Avatar 3, 4, 5, 6, and however many other follow-ups he plans to inflict on the world.

That may seem harsh, but it feels a lot like this sequel is made for an audience of one as the filmmaker indulges in playing around with VFX and telling a story that means a lot to him, but gives the viewer very little to be invested in. Characters we fell in love with last time are now oddly unlikeable, and new additions are so poorly fleshed out, they’re basically just pretty-looking extras. Why, for example, should we care about Kiri beyond the fact that she's retconned to life as Dr. Grace Augustine's mysterious daughter? Say what you will about the first movie's inspirations, but the story of paraplegic Jake Sully inhabiting a powerful alien body before falling in love with one of the inhabitants of the planet he's been sent to subjugate was a moving tale. There's nothing here that resonates in the same way, resulting in an oddly hollow adventure that's boring, not bold.

The movie meanders along, devoting an awful lot of time to exploring Pandora’s depths. Not quite as interesting as the Na’vi culture we were introduced to back in 2009, we hit a lot of familiar plot beats, many of which are recycled from our last visit to the planet. There isn’t really much of a story, and by the time all is said and done - and we really wouldn’t consider this a spoiler, but look away now if you’re concerned - the stage is set for a threequel that promises a battle between Jake’s new people and the RDA…which we’ve literally just seen. The opening of the movie is epic, as is the final act, but by the time you reach the latter, you’ll be desperate for the movie to end. 
 


Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña don’t get a huge amount to do this time, leaving Stephen Lang to steal the show. Brought back to life without any memories of his death but on a mission for revenge, he’s a fascinating character, and delivers many of Avatar: The Way of Water’s standout moments. The young cast is excellent, even if their respective story arcs are clichéd (a subplot about Lo'ak and one of Pandora’s Tulkuns is beyond tedious). Jack Champion, meanwhile, delivers what could be a star-making performance as the Quaritch’s human son, Spider, and is perhaps the most compelling character to spend time with. Kate Winslet sadly proves to be a non-factor, while Sigourney Weaver being cast as a teenager stands out as one of the most laughable casting decisions in recent memory. 

There’s a fair bit to like about Avatar: The Way of Water, with the visuals at the top of that list. Cameron is hard to top when it comes to action, and you can’t help but sit back and be impressed when the action heads underwater. Both Aquaman and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever beat the sequel to the punch when it came to deep-sea settings, but only this movie will truly leave you in awe of what’s playing out on screen. The 3D, while very good, doesn't wow as much as expected, and though we’d be remiss to say it often feels like a 3D conversion, we’re unsure whether the novelty has worn off or if Cameron has pushed the format as far as it can possibly go. Simon Franglen’s rousing score nicely compliments what we watch on screen, and there’s not a single scene that can be faulted in terms of VFX. This might be the best-looking film ever made; it’s just a shame that’s all there really is to it. 

So, as we look to the future, and at least one more Avatar movie on the horizon, it’s beginning to feel like this sci-fi franchise is already running on fumes. Cameron no doubt has a master plan, but this is a three-hour movie that delivers about thirty minutes of story, so what is there really left to do on Pandora? There are teases for exciting developments, including Jon Landau’s recent mention of exploring Earth, but we’re not sure it’s even worth coming back for any of that. 

Avatar: The Way of Water’s epic visuals are impossible to find fault with, but with a paper-thin, painfully boring story and little in the way of character development, this three-hour snoozefest is all style, no substance. 

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marvel72
marvel72 - 12/18/2022, 12:59 PM
I heard that the dialogue is shit but visually stunning,sounds like a Zack Snyder movie.

And I enjoy the shit out of them.
Taonrey
Taonrey - 12/18/2022, 1:23 PM
@marvel72 - so pretty much like the first one
marvel72
marvel72 - 12/18/2022, 1:32 PM
@Taonrey -

defenderofthefaith
defenderofthefaith - 12/18/2022, 12:59 PM
Hard to stay awake for 3 hours if you are bored.
EZBeast
EZBeast - 12/18/2022, 1:05 PM
Not shocked you didn’t love it as there is nothing comic related…

Personally I liked the movie and my friends had a great time. I couldn’t believe I never felt bored the whole 3 hours. Only a few scenes took me (us) out of the feel, specifically those ridiculous crab machines…

Would definitely check out again!
dragon316
dragon316 - 12/18/2022, 2:48 PM
@TheFireForce - not that I care people who are avatar fans will like it I don’t watch beyond the trailer and Chris stuck up man no more I saw picture of his video I knew he would like it before I clicked video looking at his shirt is give away

TyrantBossMedia
TyrantBossMedia - 12/18/2022, 1:05 PM
That’s saying a lot since Josh gave The Last Jedi and Birds of Prey 5 stars.
EZBeast
EZBeast - 12/18/2022, 1:07 PM
@TyrantBossMedia - my personal favorite review was of cherry, 5/5…

It was one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen…
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 12/18/2022, 1:08 PM
@TyrantBossMedia - so if he says, it’s good, it’s bad, and if he says it’s bad, it’s good?
marvel72
marvel72 - 12/18/2022, 1:09 PM
@TyrantBossMedia - You should see his She-Hulk review.
TyrantBossMedia
TyrantBossMedia - 12/18/2022, 1:20 PM
@marvel72 - I'm afraid to
marvel72
marvel72 - 12/18/2022, 1:27 PM
@TyrantBossMedia -

Matador
Matador - 12/19/2022, 7:31 AM
@TheWalkingCuban - Bizarro Josh is good

TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 12/19/2022, 10:14 AM
@Matador - yeah he’s always on point
THEDARKKNIGHT1939
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 12/18/2022, 1:05 PM
I don't really have anything against this franchise, but this shit had me loling:



marvel72
marvel72 - 12/18/2022, 1:31 PM
@THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - The underwater scenes look better than the underwater scenes from Wakanda Forever.
LlamaLord
LlamaLord - 12/18/2022, 2:12 PM
@marvel72 - The underwater scenes in WF were nothing special. Even Aquaman has it beat.
marvel72
marvel72 - 12/18/2022, 5:03 PM
@LlamaLord - I agree.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 12/18/2022, 1:06 PM
Taking my kids to watch it this week, I’ll let them be the judges. If they enjoy it, I enjoy it. If they don’t like it, I don’t like it. I’m not going in with a bad time on my mind, ruining their experience.
vegetaray
vegetaray - 12/18/2022, 1:06 PM
Stop and think about this a second everybody…Wilding actually ranked Thor Love and Thunder better than the way of water…This alone should automatically invalidate every single review he ever does again…

In no universe is Avatar 2 a worse movie than whatever that last Thor movie was…
defenderofthefaith
defenderofthefaith - 12/18/2022, 1:14 PM
@vegetaray - I actually agree with Josh on this one and disagree with you. Love and Thunder was better to me than this Avatar sequel.
EgoEgor
EgoEgor - 12/18/2022, 1:37 PM
@vegetaray - I watched both... Love and Thunder is a [frick]ing joke compared to this.
vegetaray
vegetaray - 12/18/2022, 1:41 PM
@defenderofthefaith - Hard pass on ever watching Love and Thunder again…The Way of Water was very middle of the road and nowhere near the groundbreaking achievement James Cameron is touting it as being, but it’s certainly preferable to how borderline nonsensical Love and Thunder ended up turning out…
EskimoJ
EskimoJ - 12/18/2022, 1:55 PM
@vegetaray - He also loved BvS.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 12/18/2022, 1:59 PM
@vegetaray - I liked love and thunder, and the reviews are opinion based. You liking something and someone else doesn't, don't invalidate their opinion
vegetaray
vegetaray - 12/18/2022, 2:11 PM
@EskimoJ - Yikes!

It’s Wilding though so I’m sure 90% of the stuff that he posts (aliases content included) are simply to drive up click numbers…
Acidust
Acidust - 12/18/2022, 2:27 PM
@vegetaray - right in the money
FreelancePeacekeeper
FreelancePeacekeeper - 12/18/2022, 1:07 PM
The first Avatar was the most overrated movie of all time, with one dimensional characters and a boring story. I avoid 3D effects, so that was never going to be a selling point to me. It's visually stunning, but a mediocre film at best. This sequal sounds like a lot of the same.

James Cameron has made some great movies, but he thinks his Avatar movies are masterpieces. Far from it. I think he needs an ego check. Maybe lackluster box office results will do that.
vegetaray
vegetaray - 12/18/2022, 1:16 PM
@FreelancePeacekeeper - Might not be too far off honestly…It was estimated to pull $175 million domestic this weekend but only managed $134…This week coming up will tell the story of how this will play out…I think it’ll hit 1 billion but it’ll be on the back of the worldwide totals making up for the sagging domestic numbers…

For me it was exactly on par with the first movie…Absolutely visually stunning, but the plot was definitely middle of the road…Cameron appears to have made the same mistake he did with the first movie in that he sunk all his focus into the visuals while running with a generic script…
Origame
Origame - 12/18/2022, 1:30 PM
@FreelancePeacekeeper - the whole point of this franchise is to be a fun blockbuster with groundbreaking vfx. That's all. Really don't see how you're getting this as anything more than that.
FreelancePeacekeeper
FreelancePeacekeeper - 12/18/2022, 2:20 PM
@Origame - I understand that, but they're still boring and over-hyped. And I really don't think Cameron understands that either. The way he talks about the Avatar franchise, while putting down other movies that are supposed to be "fun blockbusters", i.e. Comic book movies, is obnoxious.
Origame
Origame - 12/18/2022, 2:26 PM
@FreelancePeacekeeper - he's only really compared them in terms of effects and cultural relevance. When it comes down to effects, no doubt the avatar movies beat out the standard mcu film. In terms of popularity he's admitted superhero movies are more popular. He hasn't even gone Scorsese by suggesting that's a problem.
Matador
Matador - 12/19/2022, 7:35 AM
@vegetaray - You mean after re-re-releasing Avatar 2 throughout the years it might get to a billion.
dracula
dracula - 12/18/2022, 1:08 PM
same old same old

think ill rewatch the real avatar soon
dracula
dracula - 12/18/2022, 1:09 PM
EZBeast
EZBeast - 12/18/2022, 1:09 PM
@dracula - it’s funny how the title of this film could actually work as an actual avatar the last airbender film.
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