Going to the cinema is one of my favorite things. I like films because they give us an opportunity to experience situations which are hard to take place in real life. They can satisfy our desires and imagination.
The film genre I like the most is science-fiction because it is about ideas, exploration, new universes and cultures. It stimulates imagination. This is what I was expecting to experience when I chose to go see the newly released Avatar movie. And it was exactly what I had expected. James Cameron who has long been considered a pioneer in cinema and who has directed movies like « The Terminator » and « Titanic » didn’t disappoint me.
The first Avatar blew away audiences back in 2009, pioneering 3D and spectacular sci-fi that Cameron delivered. The film takes us to a faraway future on a planet named Pandora, where humans of Earth have set up a mining operation and disrupted the lives of Na’vi, the humanoid natives of Pandora. In an effort to interact with them, the humans have created an « Avatar’, which is the body of a Na’vi, operated by the consciousness of a human. Jake Sully, a paralyzed former Marine, becomes mobile again through one such Avatar, falls in love with a Na’vi woman and is drawn into a battle for the survival of her world.
After eight delays over many years, the second movie called “Avatar 2 – The Way of Water” was released in December 2022. The action takes place among the underwater reefs of Pandora, where Jake who has lived on Pandora for many years after making the choice to permanently transfer his human consciousness into his Avatar body and become the new leader of the Na’vi people, started a family with Neytiri, a Na’vi native. The family is forced to flee their home because of the colonizing forces of the RDA and their mining operations that have returned to Pandora.
Avatar 2 explores unknown parts of Pandora and focuses on underwater life. Although it was a bit long (3 hours), the visual effects and details truly make you feel like you are transported to another world. They are absolutely amazing. Definitely, a spectacle worth watching in IMAX 3D. Acting is another big plus, each performer having their physical and vocal traits passed on to the characters. The sounds and the music also add a new dimension to the movie experience.
I found the movie beautiful and emotional, even though it had too many war scenes. I’m tired of bad guys with guns and bombs destroying everything left and right. The plot of the film is simple, there are no plot twists and many reviewers said it was predictable. And it was predictable but, in a manner, we usually expect from a film. Personally, I would have loved something that had nothing to do with the human colonizers. I would have preferred a more spiritual and intimate approach and the movie to be like an adventure movie and less about blowing things up. I hope to see that in the next movie.
The Avatar universe is so vast that there are infinite possibilities within the world to keep creating more tales. Disney plans to release three more Avatar sequels every two years through 2028 and according to its calendar, Avatar 3 is set for release in December 2024.
Avatar 2 – The way of waters might not be a film that changes your perspective of life through self-reflection, but overall, it is a great movie.