Review of Avatar: The Way of Water

The first Avatar movie did not exactly break new grounds when it came to storytelling, so when Avatar 2 is pretty much a rehash of the first movie, something else has to stand out. Like the effects. Well, the effects are very impressive, but so were the effects in the first movie. An evolutionary step up indeed, but nothing truly revolutionary from a viewers point of view. To me, that leaves the characters to captivate the audience, and unfortunately they are as two-dimensional as in the first movie. Often marred by cringe worthy dialogue and klichéd teenage drama not even worthy of a late 1980's sitcom. It is as if Cameron once again caters for the lowest denominator to make sure as many people as possible are lured to the box office. I fully understand that, as a lot of money are at stake, but I miss the Cameron of old, willing to take risks and challenge us as an audience. Oh, but what about the movies messages you ask? As for the movies messages, which are obvious even to a 6-year old, I am sure most will agree on them, and yet, they somehow seem like low hanging fruit, with over the top antagonists lacking any redeeming qualities. With 1980's thematics instead of true eye openers. As a viewer you are left with an empty feeling of deja vu once the end credits start rolling, where you ought to feel rage and a desire to save the world based on a fresh perspective. Yes, we know indiginous people have been treated poorly whenever invasions have occurred throughout the centuries, but that goes for any invaded population throughout history and not just the so called nature people. We also know that whale hunting is bad from the perspective of those who does not base their survival on a species. But it all amounts to nothing new. Given the movies lack of substance, it is at least one hour too long, and I have no urge to revisit Pandora in the coming sequals, as nothing truly exciting seems in store for us. I will watch the sequals, off course I will, but mainly because it seems unlikely that we once again will be served the same dish in a slightly re-arranged manner. Crossing fingers!