Just when you thought you couldn't be amazed anymore by the lavish spectacle that James Cameron provided in the first film, prepare to be "wowed" all over again-and then some! He continues with ground-breaking filmmaking, expanding the world of Pandora to the islands and ways of the Metkayina Clan of the Navi. James Cameron reminds me of Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time) who is literally creating an entire world, from culture to language, to religion, mysticism, etc. I'm not sure many people understand the incredible scope, and it's certain that he's not done yet as the third film is set to explore yet another clan of the Navi.
We spend the first hour back in the forest with Jake, Neytiri, and their new family as the story takes place some 14 years after the first film. The family has three blood children in Neteyam, Lo'ak, and Tuk. Kiri is another adopted member who was born from Grace's avatar under mysterious circumstances. There are theories that Grace may have been conceived by Eywa. Lastly, we have "Spider," a human boy left behind from the first exodus of humans, knowing that a baby would never survive cryo. We learn that he's the son of Quaritch, initially unbeknownst to Quaritch himself. The Sully's accept Spider, well, everyone except Neytiri who believes Spider belongs with his own kind.
The surprises don't stop with Kiri and Spider as Quaritch had his memories and personality downloaded before the last battle on Pandora where he died. He's since returned to Pandora in an avatar body, far more menacing and dangerous than he was the first time out along with some members of his former team who were also placed into avatar bodies. Quaritch has one mission: to kill Jake Sully.
Jake and a reluctant Neytiri flee the forest with the hope that Quaritch won't find them. And this is where the story really takes off as the Sullys find a new home with the Metkayina Clan-Navi of the sea. They are teal-colored with several physical attributes borne of the evolutionary patterns of their race, and the Sullys find themselves having to learn a completely new and often foreign way of life.
The theme of this entry is family. And we quickly find that Lo'ak is the "black sheep" of the family. He can never seem to do anything right, and he is constantly in his older brother's shadow. He constantly looks for any validation or positive feedback, especially from Jake, but he never really finds any. He's reputed to be careless and reckless, which is actually true to a point. However, Lo'ak finds new hope in two new companions: Tsireya, the tribal princess of the Metkayina clan who takes an instant liking to Lo'ak, and a rogue Tulkun (a whale-like creature), Payakan who is an outcast. Obviously Lo'ak feels he has a lot in common with Payakan, and ironically, this begins one of the most profound and touching relationships of the entire film.
The second most fascinating new characters is Kiri. Voiced by Sigourney Weaver, she's a 14-year-old girl who feels disconnected from everyone-except for the planet itself as well as Spider. It's clear she feels a resonance with Eywa as Kiri finds herself most at home with the life of the planet. In fact, in a deleted scene, Kiri wins her ikran simply by asking it to be her friend. She doesn't have to go through the whole "taming" process. By the end of the film, it's clear that due to her connection to Eywa, Kiri is destined to be the "Big Gun" of the group. She's able to showcase her potential in the battle in this film.
We are also given another interesting premise in the debate of whether to fight or not fight. To kill or not kill. We learn that the Tulkun will not fight or kill under any circumstances as they allow one of their own, and her newborn calf, to be killed in a very disturbing scene. However, as soon as Payakan sees his friend in danger (Lo'ak), he doesn't hestitate to act and do whatever it takes to protect and save him. However, one cannot overstate the wisdom of nonviolence. However, even Gandhi stated:
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. Violence is any day preferable to impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent."
James Cameron's love for the ocean return full force. I don't think an underwater film has ever done like this nor as convincing. You feel as though you're there. You quickly forget that this is nothing more than a CGI feast for the eyes as everything was filmed in a large tank. Actors and actresses had to train for nearly a year to hold their breath underwater (many of them eclipsing 5 minutes, with Kate Winslet breaking Tom Cruise's record at 7 minutes and 14 seconds!). Of course, it's one thing to hold your breath. It's another thing entirely to act and even fight underwater!
The action sequences aren't quite as large as the previous film, but they're impressive enough, especially when Payakan gets into it to save his friend (Lo'ak). The film focuses more on family and characters than the first film, delving even more deeply into cultural exploration with the Metkayina as well as introducing the majestic Tulkun and their own culture! There are certainly more heartfelt and touching moments as well as some that will have you cringing and gritting your teeth when you see just how cruel and greedy humans can be. Make no mistake. This isn't about Cameron preaching that people are bad. He's, hopefully, inspiring enough of us to make different and better choices. It's never wrong to point out that someone is going in the wrong direction, especially if it's not in the direction they say they want to go.
Performances across the board are fantastic, which is saying a lot given how many new characters are introduced in this film. The young cast more than hold their own with the veterans, and I found myself connecting with them to the point where I couldn't wait to see more of them. Lo'ak, Kiri, and Tsireya were my standouts, but seeing Jake and Neytiri fighting side-by-side (which we never saw in the first film) was a thing of pure beauty! Mother and father fighting for the lives of their children, and Zoe Saldana showed us that Neytiri is never someone to be taken lightly, especially in battle.
Two brief scenes that stood out for me, are first when Tsireya tells Lo'ak, "I see you" in such a pure, sweet and emotional way, especially against the backdrop of a purple, pink sky. The second is when Jake finally tells Lo'ak, "I see you" after Lo'ak saves him from the ship. This may be the very first time that Jake begins to believe in his son. I love the line "I see you" from these films. "Namaste" from India means the same thing, or more specifically, "I see the God in you." These two scenes certainly made me feel that. It is also interesting to note that, perhaps Jake's slight disdain for Lo'ak stems from the fact that he and Lo'ak are very much alike, especially if you remember Jake from the first film. Both are fearless and both are prone to taking risks. However, now that he has a family, Jake is much less so now than before.
There were only a few minor issues I had with the story. The one that stood out the most for me was that toward the end of the battle, the Metkayina were suddenly nowhere to be found, except for Tsireya who had reluctantly gone back with Tuk to save Kiri. So, where were Tonowari and Ronal? Do you really think they wouldn't be in the thick of it in order to make sure that their daughter was safe? That made no sense to me. I understand that Cameron wanted to focus on the Sullys but this was an error on his part to overlook something like this.
Jake learns that, as a father, keeping your family safe is a number one priority, but sometimes, even that comes at a price. He realizes that running isn't a option; that sometimes, you have to fight. I'm guessing that in the future films, Jake is going to explore Pandora and find as many clans as possible to help him fight the Sky People. After all, the Sky People are no longer interested in mining Pandora. They want to take over and make it their home. And in that journey, I'm looking forward to learning more about Pandora and the people and animals that live there. Only human arrogance and ignorance causes people to believe that technology is factor that measures the evolutionary advancement of a species, when in fact, technology is one of the most primitive measuring sticks to use.
I think a lot of people were perhaps disappointed that most of the focus in this film was the development of the children, which actually makes sense from a time perspective as well as from a story perspective.
Avatar 2: The Way of Water is a perfect, sweeping, grand entry into the Avatar Saga. I can see why it took James Cameron 13 years to finish it (along with the third film), but I'm grateful that he put everything into it. I don't mind waiting if the finished product is as good as this one! I'm already looking forward to returning to Pandora for the next film!
We spend the first hour back in the forest with Jake, Neytiri, and their new family as the story takes place some 14 years after the first film. The family has three blood children in Neteyam, Lo'ak, and Tuk. Kiri is another adopted member who was born from Grace's avatar under mysterious circumstances. There are theories that Grace may have been conceived by Eywa. Lastly, we have "Spider," a human boy left behind from the first exodus of humans, knowing that a baby would never survive cryo. We learn that he's the son of Quaritch, initially unbeknownst to Quaritch himself. The Sully's accept Spider, well, everyone except Neytiri who believes Spider belongs with his own kind.
The surprises don't stop with Kiri and Spider as Quaritch had his memories and personality downloaded before the last battle on Pandora where he died. He's since returned to Pandora in an avatar body, far more menacing and dangerous than he was the first time out along with some members of his former team who were also placed into avatar bodies. Quaritch has one mission: to kill Jake Sully.
Jake and a reluctant Neytiri flee the forest with the hope that Quaritch won't find them. And this is where the story really takes off as the Sullys find a new home with the Metkayina Clan-Navi of the sea. They are teal-colored with several physical attributes borne of the evolutionary patterns of their race, and the Sullys find themselves having to learn a completely new and often foreign way of life.
The theme of this entry is family. And we quickly find that Lo'ak is the "black sheep" of the family. He can never seem to do anything right, and he is constantly in his older brother's shadow. He constantly looks for any validation or positive feedback, especially from Jake, but he never really finds any. He's reputed to be careless and reckless, which is actually true to a point. However, Lo'ak finds new hope in two new companions: Tsireya, the tribal princess of the Metkayina clan who takes an instant liking to Lo'ak, and a rogue Tulkun (a whale-like creature), Payakan who is an outcast. Obviously Lo'ak feels he has a lot in common with Payakan, and ironically, this begins one of the most profound and touching relationships of the entire film.
The second most fascinating new characters is Kiri. Voiced by Sigourney Weaver, she's a 14-year-old girl who feels disconnected from everyone-except for the planet itself as well as Spider. It's clear she feels a resonance with Eywa as Kiri finds herself most at home with the life of the planet. In fact, in a deleted scene, Kiri wins her ikran simply by asking it to be her friend. She doesn't have to go through the whole "taming" process. By the end of the film, it's clear that due to her connection to Eywa, Kiri is destined to be the "Big Gun" of the group. She's able to showcase her potential in the battle in this film.
We are also given another interesting premise in the debate of whether to fight or not fight. To kill or not kill. We learn that the Tulkun will not fight or kill under any circumstances as they allow one of their own, and her newborn calf, to be killed in a very disturbing scene. However, as soon as Payakan sees his friend in danger (Lo'ak), he doesn't hestitate to act and do whatever it takes to protect and save him. However, one cannot overstate the wisdom of nonviolence. However, even Gandhi stated:
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. Violence is any day preferable to impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent."
James Cameron's love for the ocean return full force. I don't think an underwater film has ever done like this nor as convincing. You feel as though you're there. You quickly forget that this is nothing more than a CGI feast for the eyes as everything was filmed in a large tank. Actors and actresses had to train for nearly a year to hold their breath underwater (many of them eclipsing 5 minutes, with Kate Winslet breaking Tom Cruise's record at 7 minutes and 14 seconds!). Of course, it's one thing to hold your breath. It's another thing entirely to act and even fight underwater!
The action sequences aren't quite as large as the previous film, but they're impressive enough, especially when Payakan gets into it to save his friend (Lo'ak). The film focuses more on family and characters than the first film, delving even more deeply into cultural exploration with the Metkayina as well as introducing the majestic Tulkun and their own culture! There are certainly more heartfelt and touching moments as well as some that will have you cringing and gritting your teeth when you see just how cruel and greedy humans can be. Make no mistake. This isn't about Cameron preaching that people are bad. He's, hopefully, inspiring enough of us to make different and better choices. It's never wrong to point out that someone is going in the wrong direction, especially if it's not in the direction they say they want to go.
Performances across the board are fantastic, which is saying a lot given how many new characters are introduced in this film. The young cast more than hold their own with the veterans, and I found myself connecting with them to the point where I couldn't wait to see more of them. Lo'ak, Kiri, and Tsireya were my standouts, but seeing Jake and Neytiri fighting side-by-side (which we never saw in the first film) was a thing of pure beauty! Mother and father fighting for the lives of their children, and Zoe Saldana showed us that Neytiri is never someone to be taken lightly, especially in battle.
Two brief scenes that stood out for me, are first when Tsireya tells Lo'ak, "I see you" in such a pure, sweet and emotional way, especially against the backdrop of a purple, pink sky. The second is when Jake finally tells Lo'ak, "I see you" after Lo'ak saves him from the ship. This may be the very first time that Jake begins to believe in his son. I love the line "I see you" from these films. "Namaste" from India means the same thing, or more specifically, "I see the God in you." These two scenes certainly made me feel that. It is also interesting to note that, perhaps Jake's slight disdain for Lo'ak stems from the fact that he and Lo'ak are very much alike, especially if you remember Jake from the first film. Both are fearless and both are prone to taking risks. However, now that he has a family, Jake is much less so now than before.
There were only a few minor issues I had with the story. The one that stood out the most for me was that toward the end of the battle, the Metkayina were suddenly nowhere to be found, except for Tsireya who had reluctantly gone back with Tuk to save Kiri. So, where were Tonowari and Ronal? Do you really think they wouldn't be in the thick of it in order to make sure that their daughter was safe? That made no sense to me. I understand that Cameron wanted to focus on the Sullys but this was an error on his part to overlook something like this.
Jake learns that, as a father, keeping your family safe is a number one priority, but sometimes, even that comes at a price. He realizes that running isn't a option; that sometimes, you have to fight. I'm guessing that in the future films, Jake is going to explore Pandora and find as many clans as possible to help him fight the Sky People. After all, the Sky People are no longer interested in mining Pandora. They want to take over and make it their home. And in that journey, I'm looking forward to learning more about Pandora and the people and animals that live there. Only human arrogance and ignorance causes people to believe that technology is factor that measures the evolutionary advancement of a species, when in fact, technology is one of the most primitive measuring sticks to use.
I think a lot of people were perhaps disappointed that most of the focus in this film was the development of the children, which actually makes sense from a time perspective as well as from a story perspective.
Avatar 2: The Way of Water is a perfect, sweeping, grand entry into the Avatar Saga. I can see why it took James Cameron 13 years to finish it (along with the third film), but I'm grateful that he put everything into it. I don't mind waiting if the finished product is as good as this one! I'm already looking forward to returning to Pandora for the next film!