Promise Fulfilled: “Avatar: the Way of Water” (2022)

Let me be clear: I’m not a James Cameron apologist; he doesn’t need one. I still couldn’t care less about “Titanic” and the first “Avatar” is still a bloated snooze fest absent, you know, a compelling story, characters, interesting plot. You know, the basic building blocks of storytelling. That said and out of the way, “Avatar: the Way of Water” has me back on Team Cameron.

This is one of the tightest scripts he’s come up with, along with actually giving Sam Worthington a chance to really act and for that matter, opening up the characters overall to breathe and establish themselves as unique personalities. That there is a wealth of talent on hand is clear from the beginning, but it took me time to get beyond the Na’vi character design and in general get used to the higher frame rate. 

I kind of don’t want to go on too much about the film, believe it or not, because I really do think it needs to be seen and in a theater and in 3D. It is more than just a gorgeous visual experience or merely a technical marvel, though it is both of those. It is certainly as immersive as the first “Avatar” but Cameron has spared no expense to expand the reach of the Na’vi civilization and its clans, build a world not so different from earth in some ways (and very, very different in others…floating mountains and giant forests, untrammeled by technology and industrial development…yeah, I take it back: Pandora is very different from Earth…)

To be sure, Cameron and his team are telling a fairly simple story, but they have smartly taken their time to do so and yes, three hours is just barely enough time. I see why he shot both this movie and its sequel at the same time. All four sequels, by the way, are written; but Cameron has said that he will turn the directing duties over to someone else for the last two in the series. I really hope that those are better sequels than what became of the Terminator franchise as it passed into other hands. 

A recap with no spoilers is pretty easy to do, since much of the plot was laid out in the trailers. Jake Sully is now, of course, a Na’vi and he and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña, just killing it!) are now parents of two sons and two daughters but with the return of the Sky People on a mission to establish Pandora as a new Earth since the old one is dying, the military’s directive is to tame “the hostiles”, the people whose planet the Earthians want to take over. The main target is Sully since he’s been organizing and carrying out effective raids on the invaders, their camps and supply chain. Leading the mission to find and terminate Sully is Stephen Lang’s General Quaritch’s clone cum Na’vi avatar. Essentially, the clone is a different person from Quaritch but not by much, he has Quaritch’s memories and experiences and by osmosis, his human predecessor’s evil and ugliness. In some ways, he’s more human, though, here than in the previous film.

We saw in the previews that Jake and his family have to leave their forest world and are eventually taken in by the Metkayina, one of the sea clans, modeled on the Māori and who have adapted to living by and in the ocean. We have the dual dramas of a family holding together or trying to, in a new world, and the onslaught of genocide that they are bringing to another people. Again, the parallels with the oppression of indigenous populations is not subtle and that, frankly, is a plus.

So, too, are the ecological and environmental themes pretty up front. If this film gets anyone to take seriously just how much we despoil the world, it will be worthwhile. For sure, the first “Avatar” treated these themes, too, but here, a greater sense of urgency weighs on the characters (and us) because, this is frankly just a plain better across the board film. It’s important that we spend so much more time with the Na’vi and the different clans, and we begin to feel our allegiances with them early on. If by any chance, you find yourself saying “go, Earthers!”, you may want to ask why you’re watching this film.

Thirteen years on from the first film, Sully and Neytiri are less reckless and still fearless. But oh those kids! The eldest son and eldest child is the kid his younger brother measures himself against, more mature where the younger is impulsive, and like many older kids who are still very much kids, is terrible at looking after the more headstrong younger one. Kiri, the oldest daughter and second oldest (I think) child, is adopted and seems to be the biological daughter of Sigourney Weaver’s Dr. Grace Augustine. However, no one knows who the father is. It is strongly hinted that Kiri is possibly the scion of both Grace and Eywa, the very soul of Pandora. More on that theory as we go along, but note that Kiri is also played by Sigourney Weaver, the caliber of actor who at sixty-nine is playing a teenager has only been matched by Barbara Harris, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Tom Hanks. T’uk, the youngest, is not only adorable, but proves to be as much a badass in her own way. 

Last, there’s “Spider” who, we glean early on, is Quaritch’s progeny, he was too young to be cryogenically frozen to return to Earth, so he stayed behind with the researchers and scientists that the Na’vi deemed were safe to remain. He very much gives off the feral child from “Mad Max: the Road Warrior”’s vibes, but he really loves the Na’vi and in particular, the Sullys and within that family unit, Kiri. 

With all this, the backstory establishes the stakes and what hung over me throughout the film was the genocide that seems inevitable over the arc of these films. The Sully family is the canary in the mine and you realize that even if Quaritch’s clone wasn’t in pursuit of Jake, the invasion would still happen. I am not looking forward to seeing how dire this gets, but I am very much looking forward to the third installment.

If you saw the trailers and if you’ve been in a movie theater or watch streaming services or regular broadcast TV, or YouTube, or you do not reside in a remote area (where, good for you, I say!), chances are you have seen some of the sequences with whales, flying icthyosaurs, and the general wonder of the planet; but believe me when I say that you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. The more we spend time among the Na’vi and their worlds, the more wondrous it becomes. 

“The 3D shows you a window into reality; the higher frame rate takes the glass out of the window.” — James Cameron

I’ll go into greater technical details separately, but right now, I have to say that this film is so much better looking, more tactile, and more “real” than I thought it would be possible for a film to be. The Venice Camera that Cameron had developed is part of the new tech that came out if the R&D problem-solving but something even simpler that I really didn’t think would work (because I generally hate it) was using a higher frame rate (get used to seeing HFR in the coming years). I’m not sure, but I think Cameron used several different speeds, some were 48 frames per second, some were 60 fps, and some were even 120 fps (I think; I really want to do more research and geek out in the second part of this.)

This results in a motion smoothing similar to what you see in televisions equipped with the capacity for streaming at a higher frame rate. It annoys the holy hell out of me. “Casablanca” should not be sharp edges and 48 fps movement. No, no, no. But here, because Cameron is doing something unique, really unique, it works. I don’t want this to be an industry standard, but for films that are establishing this kind of immersive reality, it’s a logical step. 

The smoother movement actually helps aid in diminishing any “uncanny valley” issues that might be there. I was on the lookout for something, anything that looked plasticine or fake and I am happy to say that as otherworldly much of the environment is, surfaces looked like they belonged to real objects with mass and volume. I think that was the other issue that had to be addressed by me convincingly enough to just let go of everything and enjoy the film as a story.

To get back to it, about the Metkayina; they are a peaceful clan led by Cliff Curtis as the noble Tonowari and his wife Ronal played by the amazing Kate Winslet (I’m not just saying this because she’s Kate Effing Winslet; the woman set a record among the cast for holding her breath close to seven minutes underwater!). His oldest son is kind of a dick early on but it sets the scene for the Tulkun (the whale like creatures that are hunted for their age regressing brain fluid) Payakan. 

Tonowari and Ronal’s daughter Tsiereya (Bailey Bass, embodying as much empathy and understanding as Weaver does as Kiri) and son Aonung are given the responsibility of introducing the Sully children into the ways of Metkayina. Lo’ak is smitten pretty obviously and early on (and the attraction is mutual). Similarly, Jake is tutored directly by Tonowari and other senior Metakayina and though we don’t see much of it, Neyetiri is supported by Ronal. 

One of the key things here is how Cameron and his writers balance the relationships. There is obviously mutual respect between Jake and Neyetiri and Tonowari (if not Ronal, not at first, anyway). The kids of both families act like, well, kids. There is mischief that leads to potentially dire consequences that leads to closer bonds between Ko’ak and Tonowari’s son Aonung (Filip Geljo playing headstrong just as well as Britain Dalton as Ko’ak; they both handle the rivals-to-friends transition beautifully and with no affectation).

It is through a “hunting mission” that leads to Ko’ak being abandoned that introduces Payakan and is our entree to the Tulkun. Ko’ak bonds with Payakan even more upon learning that the Tulkun is an outcast from his species, for taking action against Sky People who murdered his mother before his eyes. The Tulkun are very anti-violence and regardless of the reasons, retribution is never sought; I will tell you right now that the hunting of the Tulkun who is Ronal’s spiritual sister and her calf was among one of the most upsetting things I’ve seen on film. It reminded me of every Greenpeace intervention of whale hunting without anyone there to intervene on the creature’s behalf. 

What we do learn on this little expedition is where the boundaries are (and how genuinely porous they are to kids who want to get into trouble). The water clans are surrounded and protected by a reef system; beyond the reef is forbidden to children; but as you can imagine, kids will be kids. 

Ko’ak doesn’t mean to be a troublemaker, but he is trying to stake his claim to maturity in the shadow of his brother Neteyam about whom I’ve said little because he deserves his own moment. As played by Jamie Flatters, Neteyam carries himself with confidence and his father’s sense of duty and situational awareness. In the fight scenes, Neteyam is a steady guide to getting the younger kids to safety and holding his own in battle. He also knows when he’s screwed up (and he does, boy, does he…worst baby-sitter ever); and has no problem defending his siblings against Aonung and his friends when they start in on the Sully children. (There’s a great scrapping scene that anyone who’s been in a schoolyard dust-up can relate to…and after it’s settled, Jake takes a little pride in knowing that Tonowari’s son and his friends came out worse for wear; it’s a small moment but both Worthington and Flatters sell it beautifully.)

We spend less time with the Resources Development Administration (RDA) this time around because, of course, the Avatar epic rests on the shoulders of Sully and his family. The time we do spend with the RDA may strike some people as heavy-handed and exaggerating the more awful aspects of the Administration’s mission to extract resources and subjugate the native population of Pandora. However, when it comes to that mission as defined and described, the heavy-handedness is writ large by the oppressors themselves. And we are they, frankly. 

The new general who activated Quaritch’s clone and his Avatar cohort is less of a hard-on than Quaritch was/is, but she (Edie Falco just being so damn good) is as determined to bring the Na’vi to their knees and accomplish the RDA’s goals. The RDA Avatars, led by Quaritch 2 (I guess this might be more accurate, but I’ll keep it to Quaritch as we go along) are all Marines with nothing more than the mission in mind and by way of an earlier incursion in the forest, captured Spider and when torturing the kid to give up the Sullys’ location, Quaritch enlists him as an interpreter, rigging him with a location monitor so the kid won’t get far even if he is able to escape.

As the action moves along, Cameron shows Spider more or less training the RDA’s Avatar squad in the language and how to tame the Mountain Banshees (the flying mounts the forest Na’vi travel on). Cameron uses shrewd editing throughout to show the parallel developments between the learning curves of Quaritch and his men and the Sullys among the Metkayina. The RDA looms in the background and hangs over the film like a nuclear cloud.

I wish I could say more but I really don’t want to spoil anymore than I may have. There are deaths along the way that land, really land. To Cameron’s credit (again), none of the “family lessons” approach anything like Hallmark sappiness. The characters are so grounded that, were it not for the extraterrestrial setting and alien design, there is no way for this to devolve into crass sentimentality or easy manipulation. To be sure, “Titanic” aside, sap really doesn’t show up in his films; and even in “Titanic”, it’s hard to decry what’s sappy and what’s just lame writing. Sorry, I’ll stop that. 

Another huge improvement over the previous film is how clearly defined the action is - and this is saying a lot; whatever reservations I have about “Avatar”, there was no Michael Bay spatial confusion or MCU muddiness (seriously, the second units on the Marvel films are really good, but there are more than a few battle sequences that get lost in the beige monotone of smoke and what sometimes reads as unfinished CGI), let alone Zack Snyder’s quasi-Jason Bourne shaky cam added into the mix. 

You know where you are in relation to environment, interior or exterior (the denouement takes place on a sinking craft that frankly, puts “Titanic” to shame…I know, I said I’d stop, but it’s relevant that Jon Landau, Cameron’s producing partner pointed out that they were able to do and show more angles now than they were capable of back in 1997). Owing to the higher frame rate, too, there is a greater clarity in where objects are struck, where they land, etc. with little smudging or mist around contact to obfuscate what might be janky CGI. 

I’ve touched on some of Cameron’s themes and preoccupations, but let’s consider a couple in further detail. The environmental catastrophe is central and bundled with genocide because the two are intricately and intimately related, in Pandora as on Earth. It’s often a truism that science fiction/fantasy/speculative fiction is not about the future; everyone from Jules Verne to Robert Heinlein to William Gibson traffics in trying to make sense of the present moment under the guise of what might be. As much as our technology may change, humanity often does not. In dystopian fiction, if there is a change, it is often not for the better.

I don’t know where Cameron’s epic is going to land. Given his “Terminator” films and “Aliens”, I somehow doubt we’ll see a “happy ending” or unequivocally emotionally positive conclusion to the series. We didn’t get one here and that’s all for the best. The sense of calm before the storm is a close, perhaps too-close, analog to where we in the present, stand before climate change, environmental carnage, and increasing movements around the world to oligarchy and repressive regimes. 

“The way of water connects all things. Before your birth and after your death.”

Zooming in on the families and clans, there is an acute sense of time having passed and continuing to, to a degree rarely seen in a film like this. We see births and deaths play out and all of it framed in the visual metaphor of water as time.

It’s lovely and haunting and terrifying when the human conflict plays out on and in the ocean. The depth charges that wreak havoc on Tulkun is the very same damaging torture our technology inflicts on whales and other sea creatures here on our own planet. Do I need to mention the slaughter, polluting, and plundering of our oceans? 

That the Earth is dying in the present film runs parallel to the origins of genocide in the fight for resources but also, oppression of any group by another for utter power. In some ways, our very sense of humanity sometimes seems to be dying. Consequently, the idea of the Other as being the link that can save us from losing empathy and sympathy is a kind of throughline in both this film and its predecessor.

Quaritch, however, may turn out to be a more interesting character as the series progresses (this isn’t a spoiler: Stephen Lang has talked publicly about how he’s read all four of the sequel scripts); as a clone, he is both Quaritch Prime in a kind of almost abstract sense, but as Quaritch2, it would be interesting to see him grapple with a sense of identity as a kind of twin to Sully. 

Jake was accepted into the Na’vi for recognizing the wrong being done to them and fighting with them to prevent their enslavement/extinction. His body wrecked, he had no choice but to merge with his Na’vi avatar and while it would be easy to say, he’s “gone native”, it might be more accurate to say that he’s the first bridge to a different species; Kiri is likely the other. In any case, Jake has a firm sense of who he is and has the love and support of his family and their newfound extended family among the Metakayina. His sense of self is rooted in that love, in family. 

Quaritch is not so fortunate. He has, effectively, no one, and juxtaposed with the Sully family and for that matter, the other Na’vi clans, he is a de facto outcast before he’s even started. 

The film thus raises questions about how our identities are formed and interrogates the value and richness of family structures, some flourishing and supportive, others destructive and toxic. At the same time, we see choices made and the value of limits imposed by family dynamics (and strategies both in a military and societal context) and what occurs when those limits are tested or exceeded, for both good and ill. There is danger in that kind of excess but also much to be learned as a result and the movie returns to this each time Ko’ak disobeys or another kid decides to wander off.

There is also a remarkably skillful look at the sense alienation that often insinuates itself as we grow. Kiri and Ko’ak mirror one another but how they deal with it is different. Ko’ak bonds with the outcast Tulkun and perhaps we’ve all felt that when we turn to the family pet as a child and say, “you’re my only friend.” But alienation is deeper than that as we get older; honestly, I don’t see Ko’ak’s sullen sense of self lasting but I do wonder about Quaritch’s. Kiri has a completely different and probably greater destiny ahead of her, so any sense of being strange or other is likely to be subsumed as she grows across the series.

That last is, naturally, key. We can and hopefully, do grow out of our sense of being cast aside when realize that it’s only us; fixating on the negative elements of our existence and sense of self or self-worth is building walls around us that constrict and confine. If we don’t break those down ourselves, it’s quite likely life will do it for us. Whether we learn from that or not is the next question.

“Avatar: the Way of Water” is thematically rich, for sure, but it’s also some of the fleetest story telling while engaging some of the best world-building I’ve seen in cinema. I have to admit that Cameron is getting me to eat crow. A little. And yes, a Cameron Crowe pun was somewhere just fighting to get out.

I know I take the mickey out of Cameron as a screenwriter, but his best work is in collaboration with others. For the four sequels, he brought the team of Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver on board for screenplay as well as story. The two have 2020’s “Mulan”, “The Relic”, “Jurassic World”, and  Rupert Wyatt’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” on their resume. Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno on story. Friedman had background with Cameron by way of “The Sarah Connor Chronicles”, but also wrote the script for Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds”. Salerno wrote “Armageddon” and “Alien vs. Predator”, neither of which are “Dr. Zhivago”, but the fact is that everyone involved has extensive work with propulsive storytelling and Jaffa and Silver have a proven track record for writing multiple narrative threads (and good, solid dialog, something that Cameron sometimes struggles with). 

We know it’s a gorgeous looking film but there’s more to a movie than pretty. Russell Carpenter’s work here is a career best and yes, I’m taking into consideration, “Ant-Man” and that other little Cameron indie pick, “Titanic”. Carpenter goes back with Cameron to “True Lies.”

Once you’ve got your a cinematographer that can give you the scenes you need, how you put them together in a narrative, particularly one with several threads to weave together, you better have a decent editor. Or three. Cameron, no slouch himself, shared editing duties with David Brenner (yes, yes, “Justice League” - both versions, “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice”, but also, “Kate and Leopold”, “Independence Day”, and two of Oliver Stone’s better films; “The Doors” and “Born on the Fourth of July”), John Refoua who did the editing for the previous “Avatar”, and Cameron’s documentary “Ghosts of the Abyss”) and Stephen E. Rivkin (also part of the first “Avatar” team, “My Cousin Vinny”, a couple of “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, and one of my favorite Cameron-associated films, “Alita: Battle Angel”!!!) Altogether, this is a team that knows its way around an editing bay.

Peter Zuccarini did the heavy lifting as Director of Photography for the underwater work. If there is any justice, he’ll get a nod for some of the most remarkable work ever. 

The technical stuff deserves its own entry, but there are plenty of resources elsewhere to do a deep dive. For the moment, consider some of the following:

WETA FX, the team behind the wonderment, had to use three Amazon Web Services data centers due to the capacity that was being asked in rendering the film. Each frame equals about 8,000 threads, which translates roughly as 3,000 CPUs running for an hour. One. Frame. 

The aspect ratio varies according to type of release (IMAX, standard, or 3D). 3D is 1:85: 1. There were four different types of cameras employed, including the Sony CineAlta Venice Rialto which was customized for greater versatility and 3D capture. 

Cameron pointedly emphasizes that any “animation” was primarily motion capture. On dry land, that’s tricky enough, but the underwater sequences resulted in having to develop new AI to adapt to the reflectivity inherent in water. There’s so much more but the point is that the film’s budget ($350 million to $460 million) has yielded technological innovation and frankly, a truly awe-inspiring film.

As I write this, “Avatar: the Way of Water” has brought in $1.401 billion dollars. An estimated budget of one billion dollars for all four sequels has been put out there. This is money well-spent and I say that as someone who frequently wonders if the immense amount of money generated by the film industry couldn’t be better applied elsewhere.

I am very much inclined to say that “Avatar: the Way of Water” has landed on my top 20 list of 2022 (there are other films, you know), but along with “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, I can’t think of another blockbuster that has approached weightier matters better or more effectively. 

I will wrap up by saying that it would be borderline criminal to see this in standard definition or on a small screen. It’s a sumptuous spectacle in the best sense of those words.

Click here for my Oscar Post-Mortem.

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