Avatar : The Way of the Water  - A breathtakingly immersive Cameron VFX fest

James Cameron with his 'Avatar' released in 2009 had worldwide audiences spellbound by like never before in cinematic history.  Now 13 years later, armed with technology that has developed tenfold, he has come up with the second instalment 'Avatar : The Way of Water'.  Whether the "King of the World" emulates his own record breaking success remains to be seen.

The hero and heroine of 'Avatar' Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) are now the happily married rulers of Pandora who have two sons, a daughter, an adopted daughter and an adopted son.  However their peace is shattered as their old enemy Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) who was killed in the original has been resurrected by scientists and like Sully has become a Na'vi avatar.   The colonel's only mission now is to hunt down his arch enemy and destroy his family.  Sully, wanting to protect his family, chooses to run rather than fight and after giving up his position as the chieftain of the tribe seeks asylum with the Metkayina clan who are reef people.  Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and Ronal (Kate Winslet) , the ruler couple of the clan, initially resist them but then give them asylum.  The Sully family then overcome barriers of adapting to the way of the water and are accepted by the water, its sacred creatures and the people.  However Quaritch comes hunting with his cronies with total destruction on his mind.  Will our heroes survive or not is what 'Avatar : The Way of Water' is all about.    

Acting wise the seniors Kate Winslet, Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Cliff Curtis live up to their reputations even though they all appear as avatars. But it is actually the impressive younger cast members, Jamie Flatters, Britain Dalton and Trinity Jo-Li Bliss who actually drive the story in this installment.  Jack Champion who plays the young boy Spider and who is one of the few who appears as a human has the meatier role and does full justice to it.

No prizes for guessing what works best in 'Avatar : The Way of Water' which is the breathtaking worlds of Pandora and the underwater and the creature effects, especially the tulkuns.  The subplot about Payakan the outcast tulkan and his connection to one of the kids is pretty interesting setting up for the mammoth cetacean's heroics against the villains. There are a handful of  philosophical themes explored in true Cameron style like for example Kiri,considered queer by others embracing nature and willing it to work for her and the very Indian concepts of breathing and oneness with nature.  Another subplot of the villain's son being brought up by the heroes also gives rise to twists and the cliffhanger end for the next Avatar movie.  Letting the younger generation take the lead for most parts of the film will surely help the box office prospects considering the film has to make tons and tons of money to recoup.

On the downside 'Avatar' being what it is has been watched and rewatched by most of the world and the novelty in it has sort of worn off which works against the Way of the Water. The wafer thin plot, a very basic revenge at the core and shortage of the wow moments makes the whole spectacle somewhat underwhelming.  The less said about the villain's action plans the better as it does not work up any emotion in the viewer. The original inspired the drawing of parallels between what happens on Pandora and right here on earth with regards to the decimation of indegenous people.  But the sequel is more content to just dazzle the moviegoer with the admittedly the best of visual effects and nothing more.

The cinematography and the editing are what you can expect from a  $350–400 million budgeted flick.  The background score is pretty generic much like the fight sequences. James Cameron's writing leaves a lot to be desired while his execution has set yet another benchmark in filmmaking.  Is he still cinema's master sorcerer? Hell yes! 

Verdict : Go with family and immerse yourself in this visually enchanting yarn.