Avatar: Path of Water ★★★
FANTASY (2022)
Direction: James Cameron
InterpretationsCast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver

The main characters are more similar in manner to a modern American family than to the philosophical, nature-friendly creatures of the first film.

Thirteen years after the first technologically revolutionary installment, James Cameron returns to the magical world of Pandora for another spectacular (and expensive) adventure. Our friends Jake and Neytiri now have a large family to take care of, with their own and adopted children. A new invasion of people, however, will force them to migrate in search of refuge to the places of a kindred race of amphibians who live in harmony with ocean creatures. Their pursuers, however, do not retreat far, and now the battle will be transferred to the seascape.

Cameron promised in advance that his film would surpass anything we’ve seen in terms of special effects and motion capture technology, and he kept his word. Especially the 3D projection of the new Avatar is a visual experience far superior to more expensive Marvel products or any that could compete with it. The way he brings the Pandora seascape to life with all its living creatures is simply unique, to the point where you can only stand and look at the greenish-blue waters as if they were real. In the end, this is perhaps the best part of the new film’s three-hour runtime, where Jake and his family – and we – are introduced to the water magic of a world located somewhere between Caribbean postcards and psychedelic dreams. . From there, of course, there is nothing special to stand on. The environmental messages are of course again present, even more intense and compelling than in the first part, although (naturally) they are more about the marine world, which is also threatened by human activity. However, the script here seems less thorough, or rather adapted to the needs of the times. Somehow the main characters in manners and ideas are more similar to a modern (American) family than to philosophically harmonious creatures from the original Avatar. Besides, exotic(?) rastas are unlikely to equalize the endless “bros” who bombard us, and the last, no doubt impressive, piece looks a little strange. There, perhaps for lack of a different script, we are seeing something like a tropical remake of Titanic, with scenes that directly refer to Cameron’s other big hit. In the next one, the Terminator will appear.