‘Avatar: The Sense of Water’ is the cinematic experience of the year, a technical marvel with a soul

They say patience is a virtue and James Cameron has made it a philosophy of life and work. The ‘Terminator’ and ‘Titanic’ director had the biggest break of his career in 2009 with ‘Avatar’, which would go on to become the highest-grossing film of all time (‘Avengers: Endgame’ momentarily snatched the title from him , but recovered easily with a theatrical re-release). Obviously, after that success, which was a real technological revolution and made 3D fashionable, the studio that owns the film, 20th Century Fox (now owned by Disney), immediately asked for a sequel. But Cameron doesn’t take any project lightly, and to continue something so visionary and cutting-edge, he needed to go one step further.. Something for which the cinema was not yet prepared.

In the years that followed, Cameron devoted himself to studying technology and exploring the ocean floor on expeditions that became a personal passion and greatly influenced the sequel to Avatar. After more than a decade of gestation, on December 16, the result of such a company, ‘Avatar: The Sense of Water’ finally hits theaters worldwide, ready to fulfill Cameron’s promise to surpass the former in terms of ambition and visualization. And the assurance (or bravado, depending on how you look at it) with which the director talks about the film is more than justified, because With this sequel, Cameron reaches new heights (or perhaps it is more appropriate to say new depths) to give us images never seen – and felt – at such a level on a cinema screen..

“Avatar: The Sense of Water” takes place approximately 15 years after the events of the original film. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is fully established as the leader of his Na’vi clan in Pandora and in recent years he has formed a large family with Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), together with whom he is raising five children, three biological and two adopted (practically are Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie of Pandora). Parenthood increases the risk for the couple, who now not only face the enemies who keep threatening to destroy their planet, but also the fear of losing what they hold most dear. Their relative peace is interrupted by the return of Quaritch, who returns as a Na’vi after dying in the first episode. If in ‘Avatar’ the villain played by Stephen Lang was moved by greed for Pandora’s resources and the desire for power, on this occasion his main motivation is revenge. This leads Jake and Neytiri to flee their home to protect their own, seeking refuge with a Na’vi clan that lives in the ocean.. Despite the initial reluctance of the new guests, and without losing sight of the threat that haunts them, the family of strangers will eventually be welcomed into this aquatic community, where they will learn to adapt to their lifestyle and discover an unknown side of the beautiful nature by Pandora.

From the first moment we step back into this imaginative and detailed universe and take flight over its beautiful landscapes with Jake and Neytiri, your eyes will bulge. If the first ‘Avatar’ at the time was a shock thanks to 3D and some visual effects that still resist in 2022 (there are current blockbusters with worse effects), ‘The sense of water’ reaches a literally incredible level. It can take a while for your retina to get used to the realism and sharpness of your images, but once inside, the amazement does not cease during the more than three hours of shooting that the film lasts, in which Pandora comes to life exuberantly in every corner. If there is an expression to define ‘Avatar: The Sense of Water’ it would be “immersive experience”. Experience, because this is something more than cinema, it’s a film that you experience firsthand and with all five senses, and engaging because it invites you to enter headlong and not leave until the end credits expire. At the end, we can say that we have really been to Pandora.

But is that, When we first dive into Pandora’s ocean, that experience becomes completely overwhelming.. This is where Cameron unleashes his obsession with the ocean and takes the film beyond just a technological gimmick to something very personal. By immersing yourself in the characters, one perceives the filmmaker’s passion, not only for what he is showing us (imbued with what he himself has experienced and passed through the filter of the wildest imagination), but also for what he is telling us, reaching the heights of visual beauty that also have considerable emotional weight.

One of the controversial points regarding the first “Avatar” was its story. Although everyone agreed in praising its undeniable technical and visual section, many criticized Cameron for having something very unoriginal. Comparisons to ‘Pocahontas’, ‘Dances with Wolves’ or ‘FernGully’ appeared quickly and remained over time to discredit the film. However, what was seen in its day as a lack of originality can now be recontextualized as a simple and effective story that picks up platitudes from stories about colonialism that had been told so many times before and would be told again (‘Black Panther : Wakanda Forever’, without going any further). But that’s another discussion. Separate assessments on whether we were unfair to Cameron for the script of ‘Avatar’ or not, the truth is that With ‘El sentido del agua’, the director embarks on a new narrative path, with a more complex, exciting and own plot.

Despite maintaining that relative simplicity that characterizes his projects and makes them so efficient and accessible, Cameron spreads the story of Jake and Neytiri using their children to open plots that will undoubtedly mark the future of the saga. This is another of the aspects in which the human being behind the visionary genius can be felt, since as he himself has acknowledged on several occasions, he was inspired by his own experience as a father of teenagers to write this chapter of the saga. Pandora. Thus we accompany the new Na’vi generation, the children of Jake and Neytiri, who begin their respective personal journeys, framed in that universal tension between parents and children, the clash between the protective instinct of the former and the need to rebel against the search for one’s identity experienced by the latter. The result is a full-fledged family film, about the whole family and about the family.

In this sense, the interpretative work of the cast should be underlined, which has also been taken to a higher level. While we were already familiar with motion capture when the first film based on Andy Serkis’ work on “Lord of the Rings” was released, we didn’t fully realize how much, beneath those blue digital creatures, there were human beings acting, lending them gestures and emotions. More than a decade later, we have the tools and knowledge to praise the performances of Worthington and Saldaña, who gave Jake and Neytiri their all. In the course between the first and second installments, both actors have been parents and formed their respective families, it goes without saying that, like Cameron, they have also channeled their own experience to bring their characters to life in this new phase of their lives. . Worthington is all poise and determination in his role as a caring leader and father; but Saldaña notably stands out with a ragged and visceral performance, which will once again cause debate as to whether the motion capture performances deserve award recognition. (spoiler: they deserve it).

A special mention deserves Sigourney Weaver, who returns to the saga playing a new character, Kiri, after the death of her doctor Grace Augustine at the end of the first episode. At 73, Weaver gives birth to a 14-year-old teenager, a Na’vi and a human hybrid, for which the ‘Alien, the Eighth Passenger’ actress spent a lot of time with teenagers to emulate their gestures and their way of communicating, what he fused with his own teenage memory in a fascinating work that once again exemplifies the possibilities of the motion capture technique. Kiri is -together with Lo’ak- the character who best connects with the new generations and who best represents the ecological message and communion with nature which is the backbone of the saga and above all pump this sequel. While it’s clear we’ve only scratched the surface of her potential, her character ends up taking on some importance in the film and helps further the Pandora mythology, hinting at a very exciting future in the series.

A film that invites a return to cinema and 3D

If there is a fault to be found in the film, it is that, with more than three hours running time, the last hour can suffer and the climax takes too long, running the risk of exhausting the viewer. In addition, she is held back by impulses that are repeated compared to the first installment and which, at times, can cause déjà vu (after all, the villain is the same and the conflict between humans and Na’vi for Pandora’s resources, too). Not to mention that that third act is a direct homage to “Titanic”, which can be a stimulus or a defect depending on the perspective from which you look at it. And speaking of ‘Titanic,’ Cameron’s much-hyped reunion with Kate Winslet falls a bit in the middle, with a character not getting much use out of it. Something that also happens to Jake and Neytiri’s human son Spider (Jack Champion), whose Mowgli-like Pandora storyline perhaps needed more work.

On the other hand, the more conservative Cameron emerges in the way he treats Jake, which makes the film – despite its strong heroines, warriors who give their all and fight during pregnancy – overemphasize the idea of ​​the father as protector and head of the family. ; patriarchal instincts that speak to us of a very traditional family, but which however can be understood if we remember that, In his own way, Cameron tells his story as a father, passed through the Na’vi filter..

Despite everything, “Avatar: The Sense of Water” is an almost complete experience on all levels. A show full of images of overwhelming beauty, environmental poetry, touchable plots and action scenes of great strength and vigor. A monumental achievement which, while relying so much on technology, does not neglect sentiment and finds the heart of its story. Despite all of this, this sequel manages to outdo the first film. Cameron was right when he said it didn’t matter when we went to the bathroom, because we wish we could see her again. This is the effect of ‘The sense of water’, a film that should be viewed in the best possible conditions (the best room, the biggest screen, and yes, in 3D), and which has the power to erase any hint of doubt about Cameron and the future of this saga. He says a converted skeptic.

Note: 9

The best: The sensory experience without equal that it offers, the interpretations and that, this time, the story is more up to the technique and leaves you wanting more.

Worse: Although it’s almost always fun, with those more than three hours of duration, it can become a bore in the end. A certain repetition of patterns that takes away freshness. Miss Kate Winslet.