‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Review: A visual wonder to watch

Go for it and catch it with a charm and the presentation, not to mention peer pressure.

Hyderabad: Welcome back James Cameron. Welcome back to Pandora, the lush green habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system. It was way back in 2009 that the blue people stole our heart. Avatar: The Way of Water is an in-depth exploration of Jake Sully’s life in Pandora and how the planet continues to exist.

It has been nearly a decade since the war to colonize Pandora. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is no longer a human driving an avatar. He is not only a Na’vi (people of Pandora) but also the Toruk Makto and has the responsibility to guide the entire community that lives in the forest and worships. He is no longer just the Olo’yekton. He is a father to five children now – Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) and Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and his daughter Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Blis), his adopted daughter Kiri, born from Grace Augustine’s inert Na’vi avatar (Sigourney Weaver), and a human boy named Spider (Jack Champion).

He is happily married to Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña). The sky people comeback one day, and it is the old enemy Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) packaged in a new personality – the Recombinant – an avatar embedded with the memories of a human. Miles succeeds in taking Spider hostage.

Aware of the danger Spider’s knowledge of his whereabouts poses to their safety, Jake and his family banish themselves from the Omaticaya and retreat to the Metkayina reef people clan. Even though some tribesmen deride Jake and his children for their genetic human heritage, the family is given shelter. The family learns the ways of the reef people, Kiri develops a spiritual bond with the sea and its creatures, and Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) befriends Tsireya (Bailey Bass), the daughter of clan chief Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and his wife Ronal (Kate Winslet).

To reveal anything more is unjustifiable. You have hints of James’ earlier films throughout the film. Somebody with a wherewithal to scale the levels of human imagination must carry out the possible test on James and his team to understand at what level these masters imagine and how far it goes.

While the marine world of the Metkayina is eye catching, one can easily lose oneself in the tulkun’s expressive eyes and the ethereal wings of the sea creatures. Very Life of Piesque. The design of the military vehicles is mind-boggling.

All actors who play the blue people deserves huge credit. Sam Worthington no longer has a human body to time and again shine as his real self, he is entirely a Na’vi and he does not disappoint. Even with the VFX, you feel his pain. Zoe Saldaña is outstanding. Her emotional breakdown scene in the first outing pales in comparison to what she does this time around. Kate Winslet is Kate Winslet.

The drawback of the film, notwithstanding the ‘predictable at times’ script is the length. Almost as long as Veer Zara. At a time when people are screaming for Indian filmmakers to cut the films to under 120 minutes, it does not brood well to have James Cameron give you a 192-minute outing.

The bulk of this film hinges on the same question Sarah Connor asks in the “Terminator” movies—fight or flight for family? Feel free to swim in this emotional ocean of life. Go for it. Catch it with a charm and the presentation, not to mention peer pressure.