Avatar: The Way of Water

[Jeremy Blackman]

'Avatar 3' Will Introduce Some Evil Fire Na'vi, Hints James Cameron: 'I Want to Show the Na'vi From Another Angle'

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/avatar-3-fire-navi-james-cameron-pandora-civil-war-1235477758/

 In James Cameron's "Avatar" and "Avatar: The Way of Water," moviegoers are introduced to two different Na'vi clans, the forest-dwelling Omaticaya and the water-dwelling Metkayina. Both tribes are peaceful and only resort to violence when their land is seized upon by humans. However, audiences might soon find out that not all Na'vi are good Na'vi. James Cameron told France's "20 Minutes" (via Total Film) that the next installment, the still-untitled "Avatar 3," will introduce a third clan of Pandora that shows off the Na'vi's darker side.

Cameron said "Avatar 3" will explore "different cultures from those I have already shown. The fire will be represented by the 'Ash People.' I want to show the Na'vi from another angle because, so far, I have only shown their good sides."

"In the early films, there are very negative human examples and very positive Na'vi examples," the director continued. "In 'Avatar 3,' we will do the opposite. We will also explore new worlds, while continuing the story of the main characters. I can say that the last parts will be the best. The others were an introduction, a way to set the table before serving the meal."

[Jeremy Blackman]

Saw it again, this time sans IMAX, in RealD 3D with HFR. Do all the 3D screenings have HFR? Probably. Anyway, the whole thing was presented in the IMAX aspect ratio on a normal-size screen without even pretending to be IMAX. Interesting.

I think I pinpointed the things that still bother me:

Spoiler: ShowHide

Spider makes several scenes worse by constantly yelling or begging. "This is wrong! What you're doing is wrong!" or "Let her go! Please just let her go!" He's definitely less annoying when he's not doing that.

I was a bit harsh on the acting, but mostly it's the way actors enunciate Ts ("it is"), clearly reaching for a well-worn accent stereotype.

But my estimation of the film has actually gone up significantly, and now I think it's probably better than the first. Avatar is very simple – a strength, mostly. The second movie decides to be much messier and weirder and just kind of does whatever it wants at all times.

Avatar 1 has an elegant, potent message. Avatar 2 has a lot more on its mind, and through the mess ends up being more thematically rich. Especially thinking about the Tulkun and everything surrounding them, including their history. You could also write a thesis on the blue marines – there's a reason images of them are becoming memeified in way you didn't see with the first movie.

It's a bit schizophrenic about when it wants to hold your hand and when it absolutely doesn't. On balance, I find a lot of joy in the way Avatar 2 resists explanation or insert shots where you've been trained to expect them.

The tropes felt less tropey on second watch, for whatever reason. And the characters worked much better for me, especially Jake's family. Cared about them a whole lot more this time.

The last 10 minutes is like a little masterpiece of a short film, a stunning coda that's just pure cinema. We get something like that to conclude Avatar 1, but this takes that feeling to a new level.

Both screenings were kind of like my experience with Dune. It wrecked me. I felt like my tiny human consciousness was barely capable of dealing with the magnitude of the beauty.

[OstrichRidingCowboy]

It's Inglourious Basterds for liberals, your honor.