Happy New Year, and Welcome Back!
Throughout Christmas, I found the fandom split on a single film that had come out a few days before Christmas. A film that, myself included, didn’t want to watch. The trailer seemed bare. It looked like a retread and tossed in powers for one of the characters. It looked like it was going to be a mess.
Yes, I am talking about Avatar: The Way Of The Water. When the trailer first hit youtube, everyone discussed how the film looked blah, how it wouldn’t make a billion dollars as the first had. No one cared about the movie anymore cause it had been so long, which is an unfounded argument as Top Gun took everyone by storm this summer and grossed a Billion that even Wakanda Forever couldn’t do.
So here we are, almost three weeks since its release, and I have watched the film twice. Yes, six hours of my life are gone for entertainment. And If you noticed the heading of this Blog, it is Titled: Spectacle.
I named it Spectacle because that’s what Avatar: The Way Of The Water is.
It is a filmmaking spectacle. It ensnares the senses and delights the eyes. It is an excellent film in its achievements. Sixteen days into the film’s release, it has already crossed the billion-dollar threshold. And despite some of its hate. The film, as I see it is amazing.
The story is simple enough. For our hero Jake Sully the movie is about running and hiding. A threat has returned to Pandora, and Jake wants to protect his family. Since the last film, he and his wife have been busy. That is the gist of the film. The three-hour run-time is saved for growing the world around them and the new characters, the children.
Like it or not, the movie is a Spectacle.
It revels in being a cinematic wonder as the film looks even better than its original. I saw it in regular 3D and Imax laser 3D.
In regular 3D, the film looked amazing. The moments hit and landed and were glorious to see. (I was not that big a fan of the 1st one. It was just Pocahontas in space. but it was a good film.) The characters carry most of the film in the moments of no action. It was led by solid acting and performances that were awe-inspiring.
On the Imax 3D, the film stumbles. It could have been the theater. I saw it at AMC. But, there was a slight lag, and the two characters looked off during the end battle. I think Imax is too perfect for most films, Or again maybe it was the theater. But, when the Imax did work, The film remained a Spectacle.
If you hate or love it, Avatar the way of water is a film of a lifetime, even if you marvel at the effects and hate the story being told. The film needs to be seen in theaters. Sadly more movies are not seen in theaters, only big films. At least this time, the film in question is a Spectacle.
