Avatar: The Way of Water will premiere worldwide next week, but the film’s blue carpet premiere was held last night in London. With that comes the wave of first impressions that seem unanimous in agreeing James Cameron has made something worth watching.
The Avatar sequel will land in theaters 13 years after the first movie wowed many thanks to what were bleeding edge visual effects at the time. Cameron has again aspired to this feat, bankrolled by a massive production budget believed to be in the $350-400 million region that would make it the most expensive film ever made. With that in mind, Avatar: The Way of Water faces an uphill battle toward profitability, but according to those who saw the film Cameron's visual artistry could fuel the right word of mouth.
For example, Collider's Perri Neminoff notes that Cameron's visuals are just as mind-blowing as one would expect but that “technical feats always feel in service of character & world-building” to make for an overall incredible movie. Fandango's Nikki Novak was even more impressed, saying the sequel is an improvement from the first Avatar, adding that the “Only repeat from the OG is that 'never experienced anything like it' awe" while teasing a slight Titanic nod from Cameron. Film critic Scott Mantz turns down the dial a bit to say “the story itself is weaker than the first and feels drawn out at 3 hours & 10 minutes” but Avatar: The Way of Water does admittedly possess the most impressive special effect he’s ever seen, and unlike others, he made sure to inform his audience that he saw the movie in 3D.
Meanwhile, The Atlantic's Josh Horowitz says Avatar 2 is exactly how blockbusters should be made, calling it “Emotional, visceral, and as big as movies get." ComicBook's Brandon Davis pretty much agrees and adds that the film features a “more complex story than the first with solid emotion,” albeit still needing some room for character growth. In any case, one aspect that most people agreed on is that Avatar: The Way of Water does warrant its running time, as the movie clocks in at 3 hours and 12 minutes of pure CGI magic.
These first few comments will certainly bode well for Cameron's movie, although critics are not the only ones throwing praise at Avatar 2, as Guillermo del Toro shared his thoughts on Avatar: The Way of Water recently. Despite this first audience consisting solely of movie writers and critics, none of them seem worried by the Avatar sequel's ability to bridge the 13-year gap between the two movies, something that’s believed could hurt the film given there’s a full generation that may still not be familiar with the first one.
Overall, if anyone has any gripes with the film, those seem to focus on its story, but that was never really the first Avatar's strongest point. Instead, it was the ability to wow audiences thanks to its visual world-building. At the very least, Avatar: The Way of Water is promising a cinematic spectacle that may lack the 3D novelty of the first one, though quite the head-turner nonetheless.
Avatar: The Way of Water is scheduled for release on December 16, 2022.
Source: @PNemiroff, @MovieMantz, @NikkiNovak, @joshuahorowitz, @BrandonDavisBD,