Avatar: The Way of Torture
Directed by James Cameron, ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ is a sequel to the 2009 sci-fi adventure film, ‘Avatar’, and it seems to be ticking the same boxes as the original — high in ticket sales, low in quality. Don’t worry, no spoilers ahead.
At 3 hours 12 minutes long, Avatar 2 more than overstays its welcome. Annoyingly, the first hour was rather promising, giving me a false sense of hope for the rest of the film. The problems became apparent, when the Sully family finally made it to the water village (what the film is centred around) and there were still two hours left to go.
Some of the young additions to the cast breathe wonderful new energy in this world. As for our returning cast members, it was a step backwards. Stephen Lang is as one-dimensional as ever. It’s a wonder why they didn’t kill him off in the first film — oh wait, they did — then it’s a wonder why he’s back. Zoe Saldana was a big positive in the original, but she takes a back-seat in this one, and when she does appear, she’s laughably hysterical. Sam Worthington — well — he’s Sam Worthington. Wherever he’s been for the last 13 years, he certainly hasn’t been learning how to act, and Cameron’s weak script only draws attention to that.
The first Avatar has been heavily berated over the years, with many agreeing that it was cliché, and heavy on the cheese. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the hotly anticipated sequel makes its predecessor seem like Shakespeare. If you’re tired of having to work things out for yourself at the movies, don’t worry, Cameron understands how unintelligent you are, and makes sure you are spoon-fed every piece of information you need, so that nothing is left for the imagination.
Entirely new technology was created to help James Cameron shoot his underwater scenes on this project. While the results may be visually impressive, clearly, he has never heard the phrase ‘less is more’. Instead of leaving the cinema hungry for more, I couldn’t wait to escape the suffocating blue images.
What is the ‘way of water’ you ask — maybe holding your breath underwater? But I honestly couldn’t be sure.
So, if you have 3 and a half hours to put aside, and you’re done watching your grass grow — see ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’. It’s in cinemas all across the globe, ready to take your money.
