I am fascinated by James Cameron in many ways even if I do not care for his films all that much. Because he does not release films constantly, it is easy enough to drop in on what he is up to. His Avatar films are fascinating if nothing else even if they are distinctly Not For Me ultimately. Or as I have previously written, “I find Cameron a fascinating part of film history, and I am glad he exists. But he continuously makes impressive spectacles that I simply do not give a fuck about.” Here is what I think of them.
Just as I felt back in 2009, my 2022 re-watch of Avatar left me feeling underwhelmed and decidedly unenthused by the prospect of watching more sequels. Like, my god, this movie is so goddamn boring. Besides all the very valid broad and specific criticisms of this movie that are out there, I honestly just cannot get past just how dull the whole thing is. It drags and drags, and there is such minimal fun let alone excitement. And I do not think the visuals were all that impressive despite what I imagine was just an insane amount of work to make it happen.
2. Avatar: Fire and Ash [2025]
Fire and Ash feels like a true Part 2 to Way of Water. It has the same strengths and weaknesses of that film for the most part. It is a gripping epic that plays with classic tropes (for better or, more often, for worse). This film does some interesting stuff with frame rate and POV to make some flying and action sequences truly unique. The film sacrifices a lot of the intimacy of the battles for larger scale which was less satisfying. Beyond that, I don’t think there is much else that needs to be said. WOULD I watch more of these films? Sure. But I do not need to.
1. Avatar: The Way of Water [2022]
The Way of Water is in many ways the most impressive thing that James Cameron had ever done up until this point in his career. Way of Water is Cameron using all his gifts and all his skills to make an absolutely spellbinding epic that **should** cause an emotional impact similar to something like Star Wars. It should leave filled with feelings of hope and wonder and inspiration. And instead the world of Avatar just makes you feel icky and gross. There is just no getting around the inherent problems with the origins of this premise, and I am not sure if it is possible for me to get past. (Nor am I sure I wanted to get past them.) But man. At the same time. What a picture. The contradictions of life make it worth analyzing.
The Reel World 