I had been waiting for this day for the last few years, ever since I came to know that Mr. Stickler James Cameron was mulling over the idea of a sequel to his magnum opus Avatar. Every year followed had full of buzzes that Avatar 2 was going to be released soon. In fact, Cameron delayed the release at least seven straight times. Maybe that was a trick to make the audience waiting, a clever tool to mint money. But Cameron is definitely not a businessman. The man who has given us gems for the last four decades has literally achieved everything any creative individual would like to have in his kitty. The famous Terminator franchise ( only the first two had the touches of the master craftsman ), True Lies, Titanic, Avatar – he has seen success like none else has ever dreamt of. Be it the box office or the awards show, Cameron has been the cynosure always. Very few people are aware of one of his earlier creations Abyss which made me love the heart behind every Cameron movie. In a nutshell, expectations from Avatar- The Way of Water was sky high in the truest sense.
Has Cameron been able to satiate my appetite? I would say, partially. This new Avatar version has everything, from brilliant graphics, unreal action scenes to mesmerizing depiction of a world where we all want to be deported in our wild dreams. Hang on, it is not the end of it. Avatar 2 misses the points where its predecessor had scored from aces. After coming out of the theatre, I must admit that I had moments when I was yawning. I seriously expected so much from Cameron. And may be that expectation is the only thing I am not able to give it a perfect 10 or even 9 or 8. Avatar was created when the term VFX was unheard of. Avatar was an ethereal experience where you became one of the members in Pandora. Unfortunately, the sequel tries too hard to match the quality of its predecessor with so much improved VFX and CGI. But sadly enough, it fails to strike the cords the way that epic did exactly thirteen years back.
The ever lovable Jake Sully and Neytiri have now a family and with the desire to protect his family from the wrath of the earthly beings, Sully takes them to an island. How the theme unfolds and whether he is able to protect his family forms the central plot of it. Was I the only one who missed Pandora? Pun intended.
There are moments of brilliance in this movie. There are scenes which are going to give you real goosebumps. But those are not perpetual like the original Avatar and you really don’t miss the world as you had done after coming out from the theater after watching Avatar thirteen years back. With a runtime of 192 minutes, Avatar 2 at some points makes you think, why on earth did Cameron spend so many years for such a poorly edited movie. Had it been crispier, it would have surely left more lasting impressions. But, alas ! Cameron was so much obsessed with his penchant for showing the world that he cares for the environment, he missed the moot, the story.
Overall, Avatar sequel is an ordinary action film with loads of scenes with unbelievable visual brilliance. But that alone does not make you fall in love with the characters instantaneously as its predecessor did. The character building is pathetic to say the least and apart from the imaginary marine creatures, you really don’t feel for any of the characters.
Even Spielberg or Nolan had some off days at the office. Cameron would like to forget the memories of Avatar 2 and I am sure an ace creator like him would surely understand his folly and make us enthralled again with the sequel of the Way of Water. Till then he is not the King of the World. Did I miss the point that this movie has so many memories of Titanic ? But Rose even though being present in the cast could not spell a cast like the 1911 tragedy Titanic. If you miss this in the theatres, you are not a fool. But if you do, you are certainly wise in saving money.
My rating 6.5 out of 10