Avatar: The Way Of Water

Avatar: The Way Of Water is long. It’s also very blue. It’s also got a bit of a grating script and could quite easily be taken as culturally insensitive (or worse.)

It’s everything you’ve likely heard bandied around, but it also might just be one of the prettiest films ever made and almost certainly a pivotal, game-changing moment for the industry much like its predecessor.

James Cameron has spent the eternal wait between films well, pushing the technology to the absolute limit. You’ll be stunned to learn that he hasn’t cast actual blue aliens in this and shot it on a real planet it’s that lifelike. The CGI (especially in 3D which we must now hope doesn’t have a resurgence!) is out of this world and it’ll leave your jaw agape in parts.

For such a long film there’s not a huge amount of plot. For all Cameron’s good intentions in making this the biggest franchise ever, there isn’t a character that a child is going to want as a action figure for Christmas. Hell, there isn’t a character you’re likely to remember the name of come the closing credits which is downright shocking.

However, keeping the stakes high but the relative core of the film small does work to its advantage. Like its blockbuster sequel brethren, this film introduces the children of the last film’s key players, adds a more threatening version of the same Big Bad, sprinkles in some new supporting characters (a different tribe of Na’vi) and a few more intriguing potential reveals (sadly saved here for future instalments).

Unfortunately, focusing on the youngsters and back-seating Jake and Neytiri (still the most interesting character here) doesn’t give the plot any more depth than the first. Whilst it all coheres nicely and the set pieces are uniformly fantastic, the script lacks a little something and the push towards more ‘youthful’ language amongst the kid characters is potentially going to mean this film dates horrendously. There’s also a very valid argument for some cultural insensitivity here which is concerning.

What must be admired though is the sheer look of the thing, it’s so far beyond anything we’ve seen before akin to the first time loading up the high-definition PlayStation 3 compared to the PlayStation 2. At times it’s like a Blue Planet documentary, just basking in the wildlife of Pandora fills a large proportion of the plus-three hour run time and you won’t mind one bit.

The glistening rain falling on the Na’vi’s skin in moonlight is so photo-real that it’s hard to fathom. Visually it’s a nigh-on essential watch.

Sadly though it’s a hard film, and franchise, to actually like. A gamechanger in technology, a visual treat, a cinematic delight, an immersive experience but very much a ‘demo’ for other films to run with.

4 stars ****