#SpoilerAlert: 'Avatar: The Way of Water'—is bigger, better and more engrossing than 'Avatar'

I was seven when I saw Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet hang on for dear life in James Cameron’s Titanic. Fast forward 25 years and watching Jake Sully and his family do their best to not drown in Avatar: The Way of Water, once again, had me on the edge of my seat. This filmmaker sure knows his way around the water. And if you’ve got the best of VFX technicians and animators—working over several years, making every single frame stand out—there’s not much you can go wrong with. After all, Avatar is the benchmark. There were movies before and there have been after Avatar, but it’s stood its place in cinema when it comes to movies with visual effects. So much so that each one of us has at some point asked the same question—how do you better the 2009 film? Well, Cameron just did. 

And should anyone of us be surprised? This is the man who changed the positions of the stars for a scene in Titanic in the 3D re-release of the movie, 15 years later in 2012 because he wanted things to be scientifically accurate. With a host of scenes taking place underwater, Avatar: The Way of Water makes you feel like you’re scuba diving with the crew. You realize the importance of every single second and marvel at the art that you are witness to. What makes this experience even more memorable is not just the sights in Pandora, but the sounds. There’s so much written about what we saw in Avatar, and what people will see in this film, but the scenes shot in the lap of nature will make you realize how brilliant a job the people in the sound department have done. 

Despite the film being a lengthy three hours and 12 minutes, there’s no chance of you getting bored as each scene is better than the previous in terms of the visual spectacle on offer. What makes this viewing experience all the more better is its story, which takes its sweet time to build up in the first half and delivers a second half that is nothing short of spectacular.

For starters, Jake Sully, our protagonist is now a family man who seems to be enjoying life as Toruk Makto, the leader of the Na'vi. While the first film saw him being all brawn, it’s his brain that does the talking in this film. Having said that, emotions as well as rationale form a potent mix in making him the man everyone in Pandora looks up to. The other characters who stand out are Kirim Jake and Neytiri's adopted daughter, and Colonel Miles Quaritch (yup, he isn't dead). I love to hate antagonists when it comes to cinema, and Quartich, being a frustrating, yet menacing presence ticks all the right boxes. Lo'ak, Jake's second son is just what every second son is the rash brat who no one expects anything of, but rises to the occasion to save the day. 

While the first half does exactly what it should do—develop characters and set up the premise for the climax, it’s the second half where Avatar: The Way of Water comes into its own. With majority of the first half featuring shots done on the ground or in the air, you’re waiting to see the reason why Cameron named the movie so. And in the second half he goes ‘hold my beer, I’ll show you how it’s done’ in the second half and literally leaves us taking a deep dive into a whole new world underwater. We’re introduced to the reef clan of Metkayina and have our jaws drop to the floor as we witness the majestic aquatic whale-like creatures called Tulkun. 

It’s taken 13 long years for this film, but great things take time. After watching such movies, your respect for all things filmmaking and the people involved in it goes up manifold. Avatar: The Way of Water is visually breathtaking, with the scenes sending you into a trance. Cameron did it once, he’s does it again. Will he do it another time (a further three sequels to arrive in 2024, 2026, and 2028)? Never doubt him. He’s shown how to top a blockbuster.