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Watching "Avatar," I felt sort of the same as when I saw "Star Wars" in 1977. That was another movie I walked into with uncertain expectations. James Cameron 's film has been the subject of relentlessly dubious advance buzz, just as his " Titanic " was. Once again, he has silenced the doubters by simply delivering an extraordinary film. There is still at least one man in Hollywood who knows how to spend $250 million, or was it $300 million, wisely.

"Avatar" is not simply a sensational entertainment, although it is that. It's a technical breakthrough. It has a flat-out Green and anti-war message. It is predestined to launch a cult. It contains such visual detailing that it would reward repeating viewings. It invents a new language, Na'vi, as "Lord of the Rings" did, although mercifully I doubt this one can be spoken by humans, even teenage humans. It creates new movie stars. It is an Event, one of those films you feel you must see to keep up with the conversation.

The story, set in the year 2154, involves a mission by U. S. Armed Forces to an earth-sized moon in orbit around a massive star. This new world, Pandora, is a rich source of a mineral Earth desperately needs. Pandora represents not even a remote threat to Earth, but we nevertheless send in ex-military mercenaries to attack and conquer them. Gung-ho warriors employ machine guns and pilot armored hover ships on bombing runs. You are free to find this an allegory about contemporary politics. Cameron obviously does.

Pandora harbors a planetary forest inhabited peacefully by the Na'vi, a blue-skinned, golden-eyed race of slender giants, each one perhaps 12 feet tall. The atmosphere is not breathable by humans, and the landscape makes us pygmies. To venture out of our landing craft, we use avatars--Na'vi lookalikes grown organically and mind-controlled by humans who remain wired up in a trance-like state on the ship. While acting as avatars, they see, fear, taste and feel like Na'vi, and have all the same physical adeptness.

This last quality is liberating for the hero, Jake Sully ( Sam Worthington ), who is a paraplegic. He's been recruited because he's a genetic match for a dead identical twin, who an expensive avatar was created for. In avatar state he can walk again, and as his payment for this duty he will be given a very expensive operation to restore movement to his legs. In theory he's in no danger, because if his avatar is destroyed, his human form remains untouched. In theory.

On Pandora, Jake begins as a good soldier and then goes native after his life is saved by the lithe and brave Neytiri ( Zoe Saldana ). He finds it is indeed true, as the aggressive Col. Miles Quaritch ( Stephen Lang ) briefed them, that nearly every species of life here wants him for lunch. (Avatars are not be made of Na'vi flesh, but try explaining that to a charging 30-ton rhino with a snout like a hammerhead shark).

The Na'vi survive on this planet by knowing it well, living in harmony with nature, and being wise about the creatures they share with. In this and countless other ways they resemble Native Americans. Like them, they tame another species to carry them around--not horses, but graceful flying dragon-like creatures. The scene involving Jake capturing and taming one of these great beasts is one of the film's greats sequences.

Like "Star Wars" and "LOTR," "Avatar" employs a new generation of special effects. Cameron said it would, and many doubted him. It does. Pandora is very largely CGI. The Na'vi are embodied through motion capture techniques, convincingly. They look like specific, persuasive individuals, yet sidestep the eerie Uncanny Valley effect. And Cameron and his artists succeed at the difficult challenge of making Neytiri a blue-skinned giantess with golden eyes and a long, supple tail, and yet--I'll be damned. Sexy.

At 163 minutes, the film doesn't feel too long. It contains so much. The human stories. The Na'vi stories, for the Na'vi are also developed as individuals. The complexity of the planet, which harbors a global secret. The ultimate warfare, with Jake joining the resistance against his former comrades. Small graceful details like a floating creature that looks like a cross between a blowing dandelion seed and a drifting jellyfish, and embodies goodness. Or astonishing floating cloud-islands.

I've complained that many recent films abandon story telling in their third acts and go for wall-to-wall action. Cameron essentially does that here, but has invested well in establishing his characters so that it matters what they do in battle and how they do it. There are issues at stake greater than simply which side wins.

Cameron promised he'd unveil the next generation of 3-D in "Avatar." I'm a notorious skeptic about this process, a needless distraction from the perfect realism of movies in 2-D. Cameron's iteration is the best I've seen -- and more importantly, one of the most carefully-employed. The film never uses 3-D simply because it has it, and doesn't promiscuously violate the fourth wall. He also seems quite aware of 3-D's weakness for dimming the picture, and even with a film set largely in interiors and a rain forest, there's sufficient light. I saw the film in 3-D on a good screen at the AMC River East and was impressed. I might be awesome in True IMAX. Good luck in getting a ticket before February.

It takes a hell of a lot of nerve for a man to stand up at the Oscarcast and proclaim himself King of the World. James Cameron just got re-elected.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Avatar (2009)

Rated PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking

162 minutes

Sam Worthington as Jake Sully

Zoe Saldana as Neytiri

Sigourney Weaver as Grace

Stephen Lang as Col. Miles Quaritch

Michelle Rodriguez as Trudy Chacon

Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge

Joel David Moore as Norm Spellman

CCH Pounder as Moat

Wes Studi as Eytukan

Laz Alonso as Tsu'tey

Dileep Rao as Dr. Max Patel

Matt Gerald as Corporal Lyle Wainfleet

Written and directed by

• James Cameron

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‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Review: It’s Even More Eye-Popping Than ‘Avatar,’ but James Cameron’s Epic Sequel Has No More Dramatic Dimension

The underwater sequences are beyond dazzling — they insert the audience right into the action — but the story of Jake Sully and his family, now on the run, is a string of serviceable clichés.

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There are many words one could use to describe the heightened visual quality of James Cameron ’s original “ Avatar ” — words like incandescent, immersive, bedazzling. But in the 13 years since that movie came out, the word I tend to remember it best by is glowing . The primeval forest and floating-mountain landscapes of Pandora had an intoxicating fairy-tale shimmer. You wanted to live inside them, even as the story that unfolded inside them was merely okay.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” has scenes that will make your eyes pop, your head spin and your soul race. The heart of the movie is set on At’wa Attu, a tropical island reef where Jake Sully ( Sam Worthington ), the Na’vi insurrection leader who started off as a disabled U.S. Marine and became a Pandora forest dweller through his Avatar identity (he’s basically a half-breed), his now-wife, Neytiri ( Zoe Saldaña ), and their four children have taken refuge from the “Sky People” — the corrupt military cutthroats who are now fighting to colonize Pandora so that the people of Earth can have a future. On the island, Jake and his family form an uneasy alliance with the Metkayina clan, who live in harmony with their aquatic surroundings, and who look a lot like the Na’vi except that their skin is light teal and they have Maori-like tattoos.

“The Way of Water” cost a reported $350 million, meaning that it would need to be one of the three or four top-grossing movies of all time just to break even. I think the odds of that happening are actually quite good. Cameron has raised not only the stakes of his effects artistry but the choreographic flow of his staging, to the point of making “The Way of Water,” like “Avatar,” into the apotheosis of a must-see movie. The entire world will say: We’ve got to know what this thrill ride feels like .

At its height, it feels exhilarating. But not all the way through. Cameron, in “The Way of Water,” remains a fleet and exacting classical popcorn storyteller, but oh, the story he’s telling! The script he has co-written is a string of serviceable clichés that give the film the domestic adventure-thriller spine it needs, but not anything more than that. The story, in fact, could hardly be more basic. The Sky People, led again by the treacherous Col. Quaritch (Stephen Lang), have now become Avatars themselves, with Quaritch recast as a scowling Na’vi redneck in combat boots and a black crewcut. They’ve arrived in this guise to hunt Jake down. But Jake escapes with his family and hides out with the Metkayina. Quaritch and his goon squad commandeer a hunting ship and eventually track them down. There is a massive confrontation. The end.

This tale, with its bare-bones dialogue, could easily have served an ambitious Netflix thriller, and could have been told in two hours rather than three. But that’s the point, isn’t it? “The Way of Water” is braided with sequences that exist almost solely for their sculptured imagistic magic. It’s truly a movie crossed with a virtual-reality theme-park ride. Another way to put it is that it’s a live-action film that casts the spell of an animated fantasy. But though the faces of the Na’vi and the MetKayina are expressive, and the actors make their presence felt, there is almost zero dimensionality to the characters. The dimensionality is all in the images.

Reviewed at AMC Empire, Dec. 6, 2022. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 192 MIN.

• Production: A Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 20th Century Studios release of a 20 th Century Studios, Lightstorm Entertainment production. Producers: James Cameron, Jon Landau. Executive producers: David Valdes, Richard Baneham.
• Crew: Director: James Cameron. Screenplay: James Cameron, Rick, Jaffe, Amanda Silver. Camera: Russell Carpenter. Editors: David Brenner, James Cameron, John Refoua, Stephen E. Rivkin. Music: Simon Franglen.
• With: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Britain Dalton, Sigourney Weaver, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, Giovanni Rabisi, Kate Winslet.

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Avatar: The Way of Water review: A whole blue world, bigger and bolder than the first

Thirteen years on, James Cameron takes Pandora under the sea in an astonishing, at times overwhelming sequel.

Leah Greenblatt is the critic at large at Entertainment Weekly , covering movies, music, books, and theater. She is a member of the New York Film Critics Circle, and has been writing for EW since 2004.

In The Terminator , Arnold Schwarzenegger's cyborg assassin is famously sent back from 2029 to rain death and cool Teutonic one-liners on the good people of 1984. For nearly four decades now, that film's creator, James Cameron , has also seemed like a man outside of time, an emissary from a near-future where movies look like something we've only imagined them to be: liquid metals, impossible planets, boats bigger than the Ritz. Avatar: The Way of Water (in theaters Friday) brings that same sense of dissociative wonder. What fantastical blue-people oceania is this? How did we get here? And why does it look so real ?

The answer to that first question, as several hundred million fans of the original 2009 Avatar already know, is a mythical place called Pandora. The next two land somewhere between vast technology, sweat equity, and God (and, at this New York press screening at least, a slightly smudgy pair of 3D glasses). The Way of Water is, indeed, spectacularly aquatic, though not quite in the way that the six-time Oscar winner's eerie deep-sea thriller The Abyss was, or even the vast, ruthless North Atlantic that swallowed Leonardo DiCaprio and 1,500 other doomed souls in his Titanic . This is circa-2022 James Cameron, which is to say he makes it seem a lot like 2032 — a world so immersive and indubitably awesome, in the most literal reading of that word (there will be awe, and more awe, and then some more) that it feels almost shockingly new.

It's also very much a Cameron movie in that the plot is, at root, blood simple: good, evil, the fate of the free world. Former Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington ) has permanently shed his human form to become full Na'vi, the extreme ectomorphs with Smurf-colored skin whose peaceful pantheistic ways have long clashed with their would-be conquerors from Earth, the rampaging, resource-greedy "sky people." There's still an American military base there, led by the brusque, efficient General Frances Ardmore (a bemused Edie Falco , incongruous in a uniform). But the Na'vi largely run free, hunting and cavorting and swooping through the air on their dragon-bird steeds, singing the songs of the rainforest and raising little blue babies with swishy tails.

Jake and his Na'Vi princess, Neytiri ( Zoe Saldaña ), now have three offspring of their own, along with an adopted teenage daughter named Kiri ( Sigourney Weaver ), the child of the late Dr. Grace Augustine (whom Weaver plays once again in flashbacks), and an orphaned human boy called Spider (Jack Champion), a loinclothed Mowgli they treat more like a stray cat than a son. Jake is the stern patriarch, still a soldier to the bone, and Neytiri is the gentle nurturer; the children, beneath their extraterrestrial skin, are just happy, jostling kids. But when the DNA imprint of Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) is recovered by science after his fiery defeat in the first film and poured into the healthy body of an Avatar, the resurrected officer vows revenge: While Ardmore & Co. continue to efficiently strip-mine Pandora, he will settle for nothing less than his former protegé's dishonorable death.

And so Sully and his family are forced to flee, hiding out among the reef-people clan of Metkayina. The taciturn chieftan ( Fear the Walking Dead 's Cliff Curtis ) and his wary wife (congratulations if you can tell that's Kate Winslet ) are reluctant to let strangers into their world, especially when they come trailing danger and forest dirt behind them. Socially, most Metkayina are only as welcoming as they strictly need to be, and the Sully family soon finds that living in harmony with the sea also means a steep learning curve for land-bound Na'vi — new customs, new modes of transportation, new ways of breathing.

But that, of course, is where Cameron and his untold scores of studio minions get to shine: The world both above and below the waterline is a thing to behold, a sensory overload of sound and color so richly tactile that it feels psychedelically, almost spiritually sublime. The director, who penned the script with married screenwriting duo Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver ( Jurassic World , Mulan ), tends to operate in the grand, muscular mode of Greek myth (or if you're feeling less generous, the black-and-white clarity of comic books). The storytelling here is deliberately broad and the dialogue often tilts toward pure blockbuster camp. (Not every word out of the colonel's mouth is "Oorah," but it might as well be; Jake speaks fluent Hero Cliché, and the Na'vi boys say "bro" like they just escaped from Point Break .)

And yet the movie's overt themes of familial love and loss, its impassioned indictments of military colonialism and climate destruction, are like a meaty hand grabbing your collar; it works because they work it. The actors, performing in motion capture, do their best to project human-scale feelings on this sprawling, sensational canvas, to varying degrees of success. Saldaña's mother-warrior makes herself ferociously vulnerable, and Weaver somehow gets us to believe she's an outcast teen; Worthington often sounds like he's just doing his best to sound 10 percent less Australian. Even the non-verbal creatures — bioluminescent jellyfish as delicate as fairy wings; whales the size of aircraft carriers, with four eyes and flesh like an unshelled turtle's — have an uncanny anthropomorphic charm, stealing several moments from their speaking counterparts.

By the third hour, Cameron has shifted into battle mode, and the movie becomes a sort of rock opera, or a sea-salted Apocalypse Now ; the "Ride of the Valkyries" thunder rarely feels far behind. The scale of mortal combat in those moments is, one could say, titanic, though it turns out to be a more personal reckoning for Sully and his family too. The final scenes are calculated for maximum impact and not a little bit of emotional manipulation; at 192 minutes, the runtime is almost certainly too long. It's strange, maybe, or at least wildly uncritical, to say that none of that really matters in the end. The Way of Water has already created its own whole-cloth reality, a meticulous world-building as astonishing and enveloping as anything we've ever seen on screen — until that crown is passed, inevitably, in December 2024, the projected release date for Avatar 3 . Grade: A–

Related content:

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Movie Reviews

Movie review: 'avatar: the way of water'.

Bob Mondello

Filmmaker James Cameron's sequel to the biggest worldwide box office hit of all time, "Avatar: The Way of Water," has been in the works for more than a decade.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

"Avatar: The Way Of Water" opens this week on close to 54,000 screens worldwide. It's the sequel to the highest-grossing film in movie history, and filmmaker James Cameron says he waited 13 years to make it so that film technology could catch up with his vision of the moon Pandora. Here's critic Bob Mondello to tell us, without spoilers, how that vision plays out.

BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE: More than a decade has passed since the Na'vi sent Pandora's invading humans packing, and their world seems to have more or less healed. The rainforests are as lush as you remember and is filled with digitized wonders. Jake Sully, the first film's hero, having given up his human body for his avatar one, is now tall, blue and handsome on a permanent basis, and proud papa to four kids who call him sir and follow his orders...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER")

JAMIE FLATTERS: (As Neteyam) I'm a warrior like you. I'm supposed to fight.

MONDELLO: ...Intermittently. His wife, Neytiri, has to remind him occasionally that they're his family, not his squad. But everything's basically fine until just a few minutes into the movie, they spot what looks like a new star in the heavens and realize that the sky people are back. Now, may I just say right here that I don't much like wearing 3D glasses. But when the sky people lit up the forest as they were landing and sparks floated persuasively enough out into the auditorium to have me briefly worrying about the hair of the woman sitting in front of me, I decided I was on board. The visuals in this movie are astonishing, everything you'll have heard and then some, especially when Sully realizes that the humans are after him personally and he and his family join another branch of the Na'vi...

MONDELLO: ...A beach-dwelling turquoise clan that spends a good deal of its time underwater. This being submerged part is the technological advance James Cameron was apparently waiting on, and it's plenty dazzling. I mean, he's already made "Titanic" and "The Abyss," so he knows his way around a wading pool. But between the tattooed four-eyed whales and the rideable flying fish, he's arguably treading new water here - not so much in the plot department where he's recycling everything from "Moby Dick" and "Finding Nemo" to his own greatest hits reel, whole scenes that could have been lifted from "Aliens," "Terminator" and "Titanic." That said, in between the battles and breathtaking visuals, there are clever touches that have nothing to do with images, as when he brings back folks who died in the first "Avatar" - Sigourney Weaver's scientist, for instance.

SIGOURNEY WEAVER: (As Grace Augustine) It's like the entire biosphere of Pandora is aware and capable of this cognitive response.

MONDELLO: Her spirit now presents as Sully's adopted Na'vi daughter...

SAM WORTHINGTON: (As Jake Sully) What is it?

WEAVER: (As Kiri) I feel her, Dad.

MONDELLO: ...An environmentally sensitive 14-year-old...

WORTHINGTON: (As Jake Sully) Feel who?

WEAVER: (As Kiri) Eywa.

MONDELLO: ...Voiced by Sigourney Weaver.

WEAVER: (As Kiri) I hear her breathing. I hear her heartbeat.

MONDELLO: While I shouldn't go into specifics, for long stretches, this movie belongs to the kids. Think young adult fiction. As lessons are learned, rivalries morph into friendships with the more aquatic teens...

FILIP GELJO: (As Aonung) Keep up, forest boy.

MONDELLO: ...And things get set up for "Avatars" three, four and five. The concentration on family is new this time, but the thing that stayed constant so far is the filmmaker's obviously sincere passion about the environment. It was there at the start, Pandora's ecosystem in perfect balance until the arrival of humans, and "Avatar: Way Of Water" doubles down on that notion - no more talk of strip-mining unobtainium, possibly because it sounds silly. Now the reason humans have come to Pandora is they finally wrecked planet Earth and need a new planet to despoil. That, as Cameron is well aware 13 years after the first "Avatar," doesn't sound silly at all. I'm Bob Mondello.

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“Avatar: The Way of Water,” Reviewed: An Island Fit for the King of the World

By Richard Brody

Fifteen years separated “The Godfather Part II” from “Part III,” and the years showed. The series’ director, Francis Ford Coppola , enriched the latter film with both the life experience (much of it painful) and the experience of his work on other, often daring and distinctive films with which he filled the intervening span of time. By contrast, James Cameron , who delivered the original “ Avatar ” in 2009, has delivered its sequel, “ Avatar: The Way of Water ,” thirteen years later, in which time he has directed no other feature films—and, though he doubtless has lived, the sole experience that the new movie suggests is a vacation on an island resort so remote that few outside visitors have found it. For all its sententious grandiosity and metaphorical politics, “The Way of Water” is a regimented and formalized excursion to an exclusive natural paradise that its select guests fight tooth and nail to keep for themselves. The movie’s bland aesthetics and banal emotions turn it into the Club Med of effects-driven extravaganzas.

The action begins about a decade after the end of the first installment: the American-born Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) has cast his lot with the extraterrestrial Na’vis, having kept his blue Na’vi form, taken up residence with them on the lush moon of Pandora, and married the Na’vi seer Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), with whom he has had several children. The couple’s foster son, Spider (Jack Champion), a full-blooded human, is the biological child of Jake’s archenemy, Colonel Miles Quaritch, who was killed in the earlier film. Now Miles has returned, sort of, in the form of a Na’vi whose mind is infused with the late colonel’s memories. (He’s still a colonel and still played by Stephen Lang.) Miles and his platoon of Na’vified humans launch a raid to capture Jake, who, with his family, fights back and gets away—all but Spider, whom Miles captures. The Sully clan flees the forests of Pandora and reaches a remote island, where most of the movie’s action takes place.

The island is the home of the Metkayina, the so-called reef people, who—befitting their nearly amphibian lives—have a greenish cast to contrast with Na’vi blue; they also have flipper-like arms and tails. They are an insular people, who have remained undisturbed by “sky people”—humans. The Metkayina queen, Ronal (Kate Winslet), is wary of the newcomers, fearing that the arrival of Na’vis seeking refuge from the marauders will make the islands a target, but the king, Tonowari (Cliff Curtis), welcomes the Sullys nonetheless. Unsurprisingly, the foreordained incursion takes place. An expedition of predatory human scientists arrive on a quest to harvest the precious bodily fluid—the sequel’s version of unobtainium—of giant sea creatures that are sacred to the Metkayina. The invading scientists join the colonel and his troops in the hunt for Jake, resulting in a colossal sequence that combines the two adversaries’ long-awaited hand-to-hand showdown with “ Titanic ”-style catastrophe.

The interstellar military conflict is the mainspring of the story, and a link in what is intended to be an ongoing series. (The next installment is scheduled for release in 2024.) But it’s the oceanic setting of the Metkayina that provides the sequel with its essence. Cameron’s display of the enticements and wonders of the Metkayina way of life is at once the dramatic and the moral center of the movie. The Sullys find welcoming refuge in the island community, but they also must undergo initiations, ones that are centered on the children and teen-agers of both the Sullys and the Metkayina ruling family. This comes complete with the macho posturing that’s inseparable from the cinematic land of Cameronia. Two boys, a Na’vi and a Metkayina, fight after one demands, “I need you to respect my sister”; afterward, Jake, getting a glimpse at his bruised and bloodied son, is delighted to learn that the other boy got the worst of it. Later, when, during combat, trouble befalls one of the Na’vi children, it’s Neytiri, not Jake, who loses control, and Jake who gives her the old locker-room pep talk about bucking up and keeping focus on the battle at hand. The film is filled with Jake’s mantras, one of which goes, “A father protects; it’s what gives him meaning.”

What a mother does, beside fighting under a father’s command, is still in doubt. Despite the martial exploits of Neytiri, a sharpshooter with a bow and arrow, and of Ronal, who goes into battle while very pregnant, the superficial badassery is merely a gestural feminism that does little to counteract the patriarchal order of the Sullys and their allies. Jake’s statement of paternal purpose is emblematic of the thudding dialogue; compared to this, the average Marvel film evokes an Algonquin Round Table of wit and vigor. But there’s more to the screenplay of “The Way of Water” than its dialogue; the script (by Cameron, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver) is nonetheless constructed in an unusual way, and this is by far the most interesting thing about the movie. The screenplay builds the action anecdotally, with a variety of sidebars and digressions that don’t develop characters or evoke psychology but, rather, emphasize what the movie is selling as its strong point—its visual enticements and the technical innovations that make them possible.

The extended scenes of the Sullys getting acquainted with the life aquatic are largely decorative, to display the water-world that Cameron has devised, as when the young members of the family learn to ride the bird-fish that serve as the Metkayina’s mode of conveyance; when one of them dives to retrieve a shell from the deep; and when the Sullys’ adopted Na’vi daughter, Kiri (played, surprisingly, by Sigourney Weaver, both because she’s playing a teen-ager and because it’s a different role from the one she played in the 2009 film), discovers a passionate connection to the underwater realm, a function of her separate heritage. The watery light and its undulations are attractions in themselves, but the spotlight is on the flora and fauna with which Cameron populates the sea—most prominently, luminescent ones, such as anemone-like fish that light the way for deep-sea swimmers who have a spiritual connection to them, and tendril-like plants that grow from the seafloor and serve as a final resting place for deceased reef people.

Putting the movie’s design in the forefront does “The Way of Water” no favors. Cameron’s aesthetic vision is reminiscent, above all, of electric giftwares in a nineteen-eighties shopping mall, with their wavery seascapes expanded and detailed and dramatized, with the kitschy color schemes and glowing settings trading homey disposability for an overblown triumphalist grandeur. It was a big surprise to learn, after seeing the film, that its aquatic settings aren’t entirely C.G.I. conjurings—much of the film was shot underwater, for which the cast underwent rigorous training. (To prepare, Winslet held her breath for over seven minutes; to film, a deep-sea cameraman worked with a custom-made hundred-and-eighty-pound rig.) For all the difficulty and complexity of underwater filming, however, the movie is undistinguished by its cinematographic compositions, which merely record the action and dispense the design.

Yet Cameron’s frictionless, unchallenging aesthetic is more than decorative; it embodies a world view, and it’s one with the insubstantiality of the movie’s heroes, Na’vi and Metkayina alike. They, too, are works of design—and are similarly stylized to the point of uniform banality. Both are elongated like taffy to the slenderized proportions of Barbies and Kens, and they have all the diversity of shapes and sizes seen in swimsuit issues of generations past. The characters’ computer-imposed uniformity pushes the movie out of Uncanny Valley but into a more disturbing realm, one featuring an underlying, drone-like inner homogeneity. The near-absence of characters’ substance and inner lives isn’t a bug but a feature of both “Avatar” films, and, with the expanded array of characters in “The Way of Water,” that psychological uniformity is pushed into the foreground, along with the visual styles. On Cameron’s Edenic Pandora, neither the blues nor the greens have any culture but cult, religion, collective ritual. Though endowed with great skill in crafts, athletics, and martial arts, they don’t have anything to offer themselves or one another in the way of non-martial arts; they don’t print or record, sculpt or draw, and they have no audiovisual realm like the one of the movie itself. The main distinctions of character involve family affinity (as in Jake’s second mantra, “Sullys stick together”) and the dictates of biological inheritance (as in the differences imposed on Spider and Kiri by their different origins).

Cameron’s new island realm is a land without creativity, without personalized ideas, inspirations, imaginings, desires. His aesthetic of such unbroken unanimity is the apotheosis of throwaway commercialism, in which mystery and wonder are replaced by an infinitely reproducible formula, with visual pleasures microdosed. Cameron fetishizes this hermetic world without culture because, with his cast and crew under his command, he can create it with no extra knowledge, experience, or curiosity needed—no ideas or ideologies to puncture or pressure the bubble of sheer technical prowess or criticize his own self-satisfied and self-sufficient sensibility from within. He has crafted his own perfect cinematic permanent vacation, a world apart, from which, undisturbed by thoughts of the world at large, he can sell an exclusive trip to an island paradise where he’s the king. ♦

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Avatar Reviews

“Avatar” remains a transporting experience – an entertaining blend of old-fashioned adventure and technological wonder.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 8, 2024

'Avatar' is not just a visual display. It contains heart, humor, and all the aspects needed to make it a well-rounded story. Sure, the script could have been punched up with something more poetic and less obvious. Still, it’s not a bad egg.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Jan 9, 2024

To be sure, this is an engaging experience in every sense, from the dramatic to the visual to the visceral. This is how blockbusters should be.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Aug 28, 2023

STUNNING epic. Zoe Saldana performance… A fantastic one

Full Review | Jul 25, 2023

It’s the world of Pandora married to the groundbreaking technology used to bring it to life that makes "Avatar" impressive, but it otherwise comes across as hollow, spectacle for the sake of it with little else to offer.

Full Review | Jul 6, 2023

Cameron is a master filmmaker whose movies will endure long after he stops making movies.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jun 23, 2023

While the visuals might rate four stars, the screenplay guarantees this falls well below more compatible marriages of substance and style found in such ground-breakers as the original King Kong, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Cameron’s own Terminator films.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 16, 2023

A groundbreaking technical achievement in filmmaking. The impressive visual effects and amazing world building more than make up for one of Cameron's weaker stories. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 8, 2023

Combining cutting-edge technology with classic, earnest storytelling is firmly the hallmark of this series, and it honestly gave me almost everything I wanted from it.

Full Review | Dec 16, 2022

Three hours breeze into deep relationships, action-packed sequences, and a tale that deserves to be repeatedly seen in cinema. #diandrareviews

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Dec 14, 2022

It’s not just that we’ve seen the tale before… it’s that every aspect of the screenplay is terrible.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Dec 7, 2022

Cameron’s epic can still thrill the audience with breathtaking set pieces, bring them to tears with moving moments, and amaze people willing to explore a fantasy land like no other.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Oct 12, 2022

Avatar still elicits much of the same wide-eyed wonderment.

Full Review | Oct 5, 2022

The emotional stakes presented in the final battle make it so powerful, going beyond the physical scale of the sequence and what the visual effects artists achieved to create a stunning, rousing piece of filmmaking.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Sep 30, 2022

Thirteen years after its release, 'Avatar' still proves to be an exceptional blockbuster that makes the most of a simple and predictable story, to develop a visually awesome and emotional experience that must be had in the cinema. Full review in Spanish.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Sep 28, 2022

The standard in modern blockbuster filmmaking. I don’t make the rules.

Full Review | Sep 26, 2022

A meaningful blockbuster that fails to play ignorant to craft or soul, it is no wonder that so many have fallen in love with the world of Pandora and the drama that takes place on it.

[W]atching Avatar‘s 4K HDR format on IMAX 3D looks more incredible and visually stunning than the original 3D version in 2009.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Sep 25, 2022

...still a gorgeous sci-fi epic, but the characters are nowhere near as detailed.

Full Review | Sep 24, 2022

Cameron and his artists have so lovingly imagined the moon of Pandora that every shot of the film contains new wonders.

Full Review | Sep 23, 2022

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Movie Review | 'Avatar'

A New Eden, Both Cosmic and Cinematic

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By Manohla Dargis

• Dec. 17, 2009

With “Avatar” James Cameron has turned one man’s dream of the movies into a trippy joy ride about the end of life — our moviegoing life included — as we know it. Several decades in the dreaming and more than four years in the actual making, the movie is a song to the natural world that was largely produced with software, an Emersonian exploration of the invisible world of the spirit filled with Cameronian rock ’em, sock ’em pulpy action. Created to conquer hearts, minds, history books and box-office records, the movie — one of the most expensive in history, the jungle drums thump — is glorious and goofy and blissfully deranged.

The story behind the story, including a production budget estimated to top $230 million, and Mr. Cameron’s future-shock ambitions for the medium have already begun to settle into myth (a process partly driven by the publicity, certainly). Every filmmaker is something of a visionary, just by virtue of the medium. But Mr. Cameron, who directed the megamelodrama “Titanic” and, more notably, several of the most influential science-fiction films of the past few decades (“The Terminator,” “Aliens” and “The Abyss”), is a filmmaker whose ambitions transcend a single movie or mere stories to embrace cinema as an art, as a social experience and a shamanistic ritual, one still capable of producing the big WOW.

The scale of his new movie, which brings you into a meticulous and brilliantly colored alien world for a fast 2 hours 46 minutes, factors into that wow. Its scope is evident in an early scene on a spaceship (the year is 2154), where the passengers, including a paraplegic ex-Marine, Jake (Sam Worthington, a gruffly sensitive heartthrob), are being roused from a yearslong sleep before landing on a distant inhabited moon, Pandora. Jake is woken by an attendant floating in zero gravity, one of many such aides. As Jake himself glides through the bright cavernous space, you know you’re not in Kansas anymore, as someone soon quips (a nod to “The Wizard of Oz,” Mr. Cameron’s favorite film). You also know you’re not in the gloom of “The Matrix.”

Though it’s easy to pigeonhole Mr. Cameron as a gear head who’s more interested in cool tools (which here include 3-D), he is, with “Avatar,” also making a credible attempt to create a paradigm shift in science-fiction cinema. Since it was first released in 1999, “The Matrix,” which owes a large debt to Mr. Cameron’s own science-fiction films as well as the literary subgenre of cyberpunk, has hung heavily over both SF and action filmmaking. Most films that crib from “The Matrix” tend to borrow only its slo-mo death waltzes and leather fetishism, keeping its nihilism while ditching the intellectual inquiries. Although “Avatar” delivers a late kick to the gut that might be seen as nihilistic (and how!), it is strangely utopian.

It doesn’t take Jake long to feel the good vibes. Like Neo, the savior-hero of the “Matrix” series played by Keanu Reeves, Jake is himself an avatar because he’s both a special being and an embodiment of an idea, namely that of the hero’s journey. What initially makes Jake unusual is that he has been tapped to inhabit a part-alien, part-human body that he controls, like a puppeteer, from its head to its prehensile tail. Like the rest of the human visitors who’ve made camp on Pandora, he has signed on with a corporation that’s intent on extracting a valuable if mysterious substance from the moon called unobtainium, a great whatsit that is an emblem of humanity’s greed and folly. With his avatar, Jake will look just like one of the natives, the Na’vi, a new identity that gives the movie its plot turns and politics.

The first part of Jake’s voyage — for this is, above all, a boy’s rocking adventure, if one populated by the usual tough Cameron chicks — takes him from a wheelchair into a 10-foot, blue-skinned Na’vi body. At once familiar and pleasingly exotic, the humanoid Na’vi come with supermodel dimensions (slender hips, a miniature-apple rear); long articulated digits, the better to grip with; and the slanted eyes and twitchy ears of a cat. (The gently curved stripes that line their blue skin, the color of twilight, bring to mind the markings on mackerel tabby cats.) For Jake his avatar, which he hooks into through sensors while lying in a remote pod in a semiconscious state, is at first a giddy novelty and then a means to liberation.

Plugging into the avatar gives Jake an instant high, allowing him to run, leap and sift dirt through his toes, and freeing him from the constraints of his body. Although physically emancipated, he remains bound, contractually and existentially, to the base camp, where he works for the corporation’s top scientist, Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver, amused and amusing), even while taking orders from its head of security, Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), a military man turned warrior for hire. A cartoon of masculinity, Quaritch strides around barking orders like some intransigent representation of American military might (or a bossy movie director). It’s a favorite Cameron type, and Mr. Lang, who until this year had long been grievously underemployed, tears into the role like a starved man gorging on steak.

Mr. Cameron lays out the fundamentals of the narrative efficiently, grabbing you at once with one eye-popping detail after another and on occasion almost losing you with some of the comically broad dialogue. He’s a masterly storyteller if a rather less nimble prose writer. (He has sole script credit: this is personal filmmaking on an industrial scale.) Some of the clunkier lines (“Yeah, who’s bad,” Jake taunts a rhinolike creature he encounters) seem to have been written to placate those members of the Michael Bay demographic who might find themselves squirming at the story’s touchier, feelier elements, its ardent environmentalism and sincere love story, all of which kick in once Jake meets Neytiri, a female Na’vi (Zoë Saldana, seen only in slinky Na’vi form).

Mr. Cameron has said that he started thinking about the alien universe that became Pandora and its galactic environs in “Avatar” back in the 1970s. He wrote a treatment in 1996, but the technologies he needed to turn his ideas into images didn’t exist until recently. New digital technologies gave him the necessary tools, including performance capture, which translates an actor’s physical movements into a computer-generated image (CGI). Until now, by far the most plausible character created in this manner has been slithery Gollum from Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” cycle. The exotic creatures in “Avatar,” which include an astonishment of undulating, flying, twitching and galloping organisms, don’t just crawl through the underbrush; they thunder and shriek, yip and hiss, pointy teeth gleaming.

The most important of these are the Na’vi, and while their movements can bring to mind old-fashioned stop-motion animation, their faces are a triumph of tech innovation, with tremors and twitches that make them immediately appealing and empathetic. By the time Neytiri ushers Jake into her world of wonders — a lush dreamscape filled with kaleidoscopic and bioluminescent flora and fauna, with pink jellyfishlike creatures that hang in the air and pleated orange flowers that snap shut like parasols — you are deep in the Na’vi-land. It’s a world that looks as if it had been created by someone who’s watched a lot of Jacques Cousteau television or, like Mr. Cameron, done a lot of diving. It’s also familiar because, like John Smith in “The New World,” Terrence Malick’s retelling of the Pocahontas story, Jake has discovered Eden.

An Eden in three dimensions, that is. In keeping with his maximalist tendencies, Mr. Cameron has shot “Avatar” in 3-D (because many theaters are not equipped to show 3-D, the movie will also be shown in the usual 2), an experiment that serves his material beautifully. This isn’t the 3-D of the 1950s or even contemporary films, those flicks that try to give you a virtual poke in the eye with flying spears. Rather Mr. Cameron uses 3-D to amplify the immersive experience of spectacle cinema. Instead of bringing you into the movie with the customary tricks, with a widescreen or even Imax image filled with sweeping landscapes and big action, he uses 3-D seemingly to close the space between the audience and the screen. He brings the movie to you.

After a few minutes the novelty of people and objects hovering above the row in front of you wears off, and you tend not to notice the 3-D, which speaks to the subtlety of its use and potential future applications. Mr. Cameron might like to play with high-tech gadgets, but he’s an old-fashioned filmmaker at heart, and he wants us to get as lost in his fictional paradise as Jake eventually does. On the face of it there might seem something absurd about a movie that asks you to thrill to a natural world made almost entirely out of zeroes and ones (and that feeds you an anticorporate line in a corporately financed entertainment). But one of the pleasures of the movies is that they transport us, as Neytiri does with Jake, into imaginary realms, into Eden and over the rainbow to Oz.

If the story of a paradise found and potentially lost feels resonant, it’s because “Avatar” is as much about our Earth as the universe that Mr. Cameron has invented. But the movie’s truer meaning is in the audacity of its filmmaking.

Few films return us to the lost world of our first cinematic experiences, to that magical moment when movies really were bigger than life (instead of iPhone size), if only because we were children. Movies rarely carry us away, few even try. They entertain and instruct and sometimes enlighten. Some attempt to overwhelm us, but their efforts are usually a matter of volume. What’s often missing is awe, something Mr. Cameron has, after an absence from Hollywood, returned to the screen with a vengeance. He hasn’t changed cinema, but with blue people and pink blooms he has confirmed its wonder.

“Avatar” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). Gun and explosive violence, death and despair.

Opens on Friday nationwide.

Written and directed by James Cameron; director of photography, Mauro Fiore; edited by Mr. Cameron, John Refoua and Stephen Rivkin; music by James Horner; visual effects supervisor, Joe Letteri; production designers, Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; produced by Mr. Cameron and Jon Landau; released by 20th Century Fox. Running time: 2 hours 46 minutes.

WITH: Sam Worthington (Jake Sully), Zoë Saldana (Neytiri), Sigourney Weaver (Dr. Grace Augustine), Stephen Lang (Col. Miles Quaritch), Michelle Rodriguez (Trudy Chacon), Giovanni Ribisi (Parker Selfridge), Joel David Moore (Norm), C C H Pounder (Mo’at), Wes Studi (Eytukan) and Laz Alonso (Tsu’Tey).

A listing of credits on Dec. 18 with a film review of “Avatar” misstated the given name of the character portrayed by Giovanni Ribisi. He is Parker Selfridge, not Carter.

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Common sense media reviewers.

Action-heavy epic has dazzling effects, familiar story.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Overall, movie's message is that we could all stan

Several characters make difficult but moral choice

Although humans on the base are racially diverse,

Characters (supporting and extras) die due to expl

Many longing looks between Jake's avatar and Neyti

The word "s--t" is used several times. Language al

No product placement in the movie, but dozens of t

Sigourney Weaver's character, Grace, smokes cigare

Parents need to know that James Cameron's sci-fi epic Avatar is about humans colonizing the planet Pandora, home to the Na'vi. The movie is long (at 161 minutes) and intense, with several effects-heavy battle and hunting sequences that show the devastation of imperialist violence and the right that Indigenous…

Positive Messages

Overall, movie's message is that we could all stand to learn something from a population that's different from our own. Strong environmental and pro-peace themes. Some viewers may see the message of occupying a foreign land to usurp their cultural riches as a commentary on Western imperialism or United States' involvement in global politics.

Positive Role Models

Several characters make difficult but moral choices. Jake chooses to support the Na'vi even though it's against orders to do so and means he must fight (and kill) fellow human soldiers. Neytiri, Grace, and Trudy all make personal sacrifices to help the clan; they're strong, courageous, assertive characters. (In both human and Na'vi populations, female characters are brave and important -- even the Na'vi mating ritual requires that both partners equally accept/choose each other.) On the flip side, the Colonel and corporate boss Parker are portrayed as bloodthirsty and greedy.

Diverse Representations

Although humans on the base are racially diverse, majority of main characters are White. They use offensive terms and stereotypes when talking about the Indigenous population of Pandora, and the military engages in imperialist violence. These scenes, intended to encourage racial/ethnic equality and show value of treating other groups with respect, only partially succeed because, while the Na'vi ultimately triumph, they do so only by following the guidance of outsiders. Violent human colonizers are ultimately ejected from Pandora, but film glosses over how the Na'vi environment and population have been permanently damaged by even well-meaning human scientists and allies. Main character Jake has a visible disability: He uses a wheelchair and is initially teased and treated as an inconvenience. But he easily moves around the base in his wheelchair and asserts control over himself when others try to touch or move him without his consent. Women and female Na'vi characters are important in the story, hold prominent social roles such as scientists and spiritual leaders. No body size diversity. All romantic relationships are between male and female Na'vi.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Characters (supporting and extras) die due to explosions, bullet wounds, arrows (some treated with toxins), precipitous falls, asphyxiation. Several intense scenes involving frightening Pandoran animals and plants, as well as tension between Jake's rogue group of pro-Na'vi humans and the rest of the humans sent to Pandora.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Many longing looks between Jake's avatar and Neytiri, which eventually leads to kissing and a marital "mating" ritual (kissing and touching are seen on screen). Na'vi clothing makes parts of their humanoid bodies visible. ​​Jake and Neytir's relationship is briefly referred to as "getting tail."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

The word "s--t" is used several times. Language also includes "bulls--t," "bitch," "goddamn," "piss," limp-d--ked," "hell," "oh my God," "ass," and insults like "stupid," "ignorant," etc. Degrading language is used to describe disabled people, such as "cripple." Slurs such as "savages," "roaches," and "blue monkeys" are used to describe the Na'vi.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

No product placement in the movie, but dozens of tie-in merchandising deals tied to the title -- including toys and books aimed at young kids.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Sigourney Weaver's character, Grace, smokes cigarettes and somewhat glamorizes the activity.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that James Cameron 's sci-fi epic Avatar is about humans colonizing the planet Pandora, home to the Na'vi. The movie is long (at 161 minutes) and intense, with several effects-heavy battle and hunting sequences that show the devastation of imperialist violence and the right that Indigenous groups have to protect themselves and their land. These scenes include missile-launching military aircraft, neurotoxin-laced arrows, scary Pandora-dwelling fauna and flora, and lots of explosions. Salty wartime language includes many uses of "s--t," "​​bitch," and more. As in his previous films, Cameron infuses the action-driven story with strong female characters who are important to the plot, and crafts a morality tale about treating others with respect centered in a romantic relationship. ​​Main character Jake uses a wheelchair in his daily life and a Na'vi "avatar" body to interact with local populations, and the human-Na'vi relationship in question gets a bit complicated because the human is actually using his Na'vi avatar. Na'vi clothing makes parts of their bodies visible from time to time. The romantic leads have chemistry that's sometimes sensual. (Note: Fans of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender should know that this movie is in no way connected to that show or the movie based on it.) To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Based on 253 parent reviews

Very well done. Make sure you are not only an older teen, but a mature one too. Watch the family edition.

What's the story.

In the 22nd century, Marine Jake Scully ( Sam Worthington ), who uses a wheelchair, embarks on a corporate-run, military-backed experiment in which he and a select group of academics -- led by Dr. Grace Augustine ( Sigourney Weaver ) -- can fully control avatars that look exactly like the Na'vi: the lean, blue-skinned native population of a distant world called Pandora. On his first outing as his AVATAR, Jake is saved by Na'vi Neytiri ( Zoe Saldana ) and then captured by her clan. They decide to spare Jake's life as long as he agrees to learn the Na'vi ways from Neytiri. He does, but then he's told by villainous Colonel Quaritch ( Stephen Lang ) that he'll be spying on the Na'vi to make it easier to remove them from their home, an ancestral tree that's rooted above a deposit of an unbelievably valuable substance called "Unobtainium" (pun intended). As Jake becomes more and more involved with Neytiri and her people, he's forced to choose between following orders and respecting the Na'vi's wishes.

Is It Any Good?

James Cameron , director of the highest-grossing movie ever made ( Titanic ), risked a rumored $500 million on a spectacular futuristic sci-fi epic whose main characters are blue aliens and settings are mostly CGI. The good news for epic movie lovers everywhere is that Avatar was a massive success. It's more like the story of Dances with Wolves crossed with the breathtaking visual effects of Lord of the Rings and the love story of Titanic , with a splash of the assimilation to a native culture aspect of Apocalypse Now thrown in. Even though Cameron seems to have gone to the same hammy dialogue school of screenwriting as George Lucas , he can certainly immerse viewers in a thoroughly enjoyable spectacle. Every shot of Pandora is amazingly detailed, from floating mountains to flying beasts to the feline-featured Na'vi, who are inspired by several Indigenous cultures. The movie's scale is undeniably impressive.

Cameron owes a huge debt to his movie's female characters, all of whom are much more interesting than the stereotypical men -- especially the outlandishly evil Quaritch and Giovanni Ribisi 's greedy corporate overseer. Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez (as soldier Trudy Chacon), like Aliens ' Ripley or Terminator 's Sarah Connor, could take on anything or anyone, and Saldana follows up a memorable turn as Uhura in Star Trek with another strong performance as Neytiri. It's quite a feat to create romantic electricity between fictional alien creatures, but Saldana and Worthington manage it surprisingly well. If you allow yourself to get lost in Cameron's Pandora, it's impossible not to root for the Na'vi (or Neytiri and Jake). Part sci-fi, part romance, all James Cameron, this is the sci-fi epic that will suck everyone in.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Avatar 's revolutionary special effects. Do they overwhelm or support the movie's story? How does the portrayal of the Na'vi affect the movie's emotional impact?

What themes does Cameron consistently work into his films? Compare the strong female characters in Avatar , Terminator , and Titanic . Any similarities?

What political messages is Cameron exploring in the movie? How are its themes relevant to what's going on in today's world? Do you think these messages will stand the test of time?

Why is it important to respect different cultural groups and treat their traditions and practices as valid and important?

How do the Na'vi and human allies use teamwork to achieve their goals? Why is that an important character strength ?

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 18, 2009
• On DVD or streaming : April 22, 2010
• Cast : Michelle Rodriguez , Sam Worthington , Sigourney Weaver , Zoe Saldana
• Director : James Cameron
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Latino actors, Black actors
• Studio : Twentieth Century Fox
• Genre : Science Fiction
• Topics : Activism , Magic and Fantasy , Science and Nature , Space and Aliens
• Character Strengths : Teamwork
• Run time : 161 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking
• Last updated : February 9, 2024

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Avatar review – James Cameron’s laboriously silly blockbuster shows its age

Ahead of the release of new chapter, the first in the franchise yields little – even the much-vaunted tech is old hat

A s a curtain-raiser to the forthcoming sequel, unpromisingly subtitled The Way of Water – downwards? – James Cameron’s original Avatar from 2009 is being re-released. This was his folie de grandeur and vast, mystifying epic sci-fi fantasy that at the time was solemnly praised for its introduction of a new, improved immersive 3D technology. And for a while after Avatar was released, 3D ruled for all big-budget action movies. But then 3D was quietly dropped without anyone saying a word. Will the Avatar 2 be presented in 3D? Perhaps so, and perhaps that will make it the box office blockbuster that the exhibition sector is saying cinema badly needs. The advance word on its use of High Frame Rate is good.

Well, it has to be said that Avatar 1 has aged uneasily in the years since 2009. This is the strange, contorted story of Planet Earth a hundred years into the future attempting to solve its energy security issues (as we have learned to say in 2022) by mining a vital new mineral called “unobtanium” from a distant planet, to be found in the centre of a lush tropical forest whose indigenous blue-faced inhabitants are called Na’vi – but look like Smurfs. Humanity has a plan to create remote-controlled Na’vi bodies, or “avatars”, which can be piloted into the jungle to entreat with the Na’vi peoples and ask what it might take to get them to withdraw voluntarily. Disabled, wheelchair-using war veteran Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, is thrilled to be given the existentially liberating chance to inhabit one of these avatars: and winds up going native and falling in love with one of the Na’vi: Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana .

The sheer laborious silliness of Avatar feels like harder work the second time around and its essential problem is more prominent. This film came out in 2009, on a political cusp: it couldn’t quite make its mind up about whether it was a gung-ho shock’n’awe action movie or not: a Dubya film that had entered the more caring world of Obama. Technical innovation in movies can quickly look not obsolete exactly, but less like an overwhelming reason to feel excited. Cameron’s Titanic and Terminators are still favourites because of the great storytelling. It remains to be seen whether the grandiose-yet-twee Na’vi are going to command the same attention.

• James Cameron
• Science fiction and fantasy films
• Zoe Saldana
• Action and adventure films

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Avatar: The Way of Water

Jake Sully lives with his newfound family formed on the extrasolar moon Pandora. Once a familiar threat returns to finish what was previously started, Jake must work with Neytiri and the arm... Read all Jake Sully lives with his newfound family formed on the extrasolar moon Pandora. Once a familiar threat returns to finish what was previously started, Jake must work with Neytiri and the army of the Na'vi race to protect their home. Jake Sully lives with his newfound family formed on the extrasolar moon Pandora. Once a familiar threat returns to finish what was previously started, Jake must work with Neytiri and the army of the Na'vi race to protect their home.

• James Cameron
• Amanda Silver
• Sam Worthington
• Zoe Saldana
• Sigourney Weaver
• 3.3K User reviews
• 386 Critic reviews
• 67 Metascore
• 75 wins & 150 nominations total

• (as Zoe Saldaña)

• General Ardmore

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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia According to James Cameron , Kate Winslet performed all of her underwater stunts herself.
• Goofs During the fight when Jack and Neytiri rescued their children, they kill 4 soldiers from a party of 6. Yet at the extraction scene, all 6 soldiers are present.

Tsireya : [to Lo'ak] The way of water has no beginning and no end. Our hearts beat in the womb of the world. The sea is your home, before your birth and after your death. The sea gives and the sea takes. Water connects all things: life to death, darkness to light.

• Crazy credits The first half of the end credits highlight Pandoran sea creatures.
• Alternate versions Like its predecessor, which is present 1.78 : 1 aspect ratio, this film presents 1.85:1 aspect ratio for home video releases, although there can be no widescreen versions of this film as James Cameron intended to watch the full format.
• Connections Featured in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: Watching the Weird Way of Water (2022)
• Soundtracks Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength) Performed by The Weeknd Lyrics and Melody by The Weeknd (as Abel "The Weekend" Tesfaye) Music by Simon Franglen and Swedish House Mafia Produced by Simon Franglen and Swedish House Mafia The Weeknd Performs Courtesy of XO/Republic Records

User reviews 3.3K

• lord0faiiusion
• Dec 18, 2022
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• December 16, 2022 (United States)
• United States
• Official Site
• Stone Street Studios, Wellington, New Zealand
• 20th Century Studios
• TSG Entertainment
• Lightstorm Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $350,000,000 (estimated)
• $684,075,767
• $134,100,226
• $2,320,250,281

Technical specs

• Runtime 3 hours 12 minutes
• Dolby Atmos
• IMAX 6-Track
• Dolby Surround 7.1

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• DVD & Streaming

Avatar: The Way of Water

• Action/Adventure , Drama , Sci-Fi/Fantasy , War

Content Caution

In Theaters

• December 16, 2022
• Sam Worthington as Jake Sully; Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri; Sigourney Weaver as Kiri; Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch; Kate Winslet as Ronal; Cliff Curtis as Tonowari; Edie Falco as General Frances Ardmore; Brendan Cowell as Captain Mick Scoresby; Jemaine Clement as Dr. Ian Garvin; Jamie Flatters as Neteyam; Britain Dalton as Lo'ak; Trinity Jo-Li Bliss as Tuk; Bailey Bass as Reya; Filip Geljo as Aonung; Duane Evans Jr. as Rotxo; Jack Champion as Spider

Home Release Date

• March 28, 2023
• James Cameron

Distributor

• 20th Century Studios

Movie Review

Pandora’s a nice place to visit. But you wouldn’t want to plunder there.

Humankind should’ve learned that lesson back in the first Avatar movie. With our own planet nearly exhausted and humans greedy for the Pandora-based metal of unobtanium, we homo sapiens set up shop on Pandora and quickly discovered the planet didn’t want us there. Lots of people died. Most of the rest were expelled. A few scientists remained (as long as they promised to be very, very nice), and a couple of them actually kinda transferred souls —telling their human bodies goodbye and becoming one of the blue, 10-foot-tall Na’vi.

But humans are a stubborn lot. Like heroes in a moderately creepy 1980s romcom, they take Pandora’s firm “no” as the planet just playing hard to get. And if Pandora’s complex ecosystems get in the way? Well, just set ‘em on fire. Burn a nice large area for humanity to mine and pave and build parking garages on in their quest to bring the whole of this lush, green land to heel.

But before that work can truly begin, the invading humans need to take care of one big blue thorn: Jake Sully.

Sully was one of folks who decided being Na’vi was preferable to being human, and that a life in Pandora was just too good to pass up. He’s got a wife now—the fierce, loving Neytiri—and a minivan’s worth of kids (though the minivan would certainly need some extra headroom). He’s also been leading a guerilla war against humankind’s latest efforts at exploitation.

Who better to lead the charge against pesky Jake than his one-time boss, Colonel Miles Quartich?

OK, so technically, the colonel died in the last movie. But before Quartich was killed, he saved (essentially) his brain on (essentially) a thumb drive, allowing to plug in his own essence into a Na’vi avatar.

Yep, that’s right: Sully might’ve gotten the best of the colonel last time around. But now, Quartich is just as big as Jake. Just as blue. Just as able to plug his braided hair into Pandora’s planetary hard drive as Jake is.

And this time, it’s personal .

Positive Elements

Sullys stick together. Such is the mantra that Jake has passed on to his four kids, and we see it play out time after time.

Jake feels the weight of fatherhood particularly heavily. “A father protects,” he tells us. “It’s what gives him meaning.” So when Jake learns that Quartich and his squad of human-brained Na’vi are after him and his family, he makes the difficult decision to move—to escape to a more watery realm on Pandora. It’s a painful uprooting, but Jake insists, “Wherever we go, this family is our fortress.” And when the Sullys do settle into an unfamiliar village that operates in unfamiliar ways, The Sully kids have each other’s backs—sometimes at huge personal risk.

An example of the family’s cohesive camaraderie: When some local teens pick on Kiri—Jake and Neytiri’s dreamy, adopted daughter—brothers Neteyam and Lo’ak fly to her defense. And while neither Jake nor Plugged In condone the violent way that defense is made, we still applaud that sort of loyalty.

But eventually—and through a lot of hard work—Jake, Neytiri and their children become integral parts of their new community, too. The entire village shows a willingness to fight and sacrifice for each of its members (including its non-Na’vi members). And even neighboring villages do their best to protect Jake and his family at great personal and communal cost.

We should note that most of Jake’s kids—in the early stages of adolescence, it seems—are processing their own roles within the family and community. Lo’ak, Jake’s second-oldest son, often feels like a disappointment to his ever-demanding father. Kiri feels like an outcast. But in many ways, these two characters form the bedrock on which The Way of Water is built, with each bringing special skills and moxie to the narrative party. The message the movie seems to be sending: Not fitting the norm can be a pretty good thing. All of us are different, and those differences can make us stronger.

Spiritual Elements

Pandora’s culture is deeply spiritual—but it’s not at all Christian. Rather, the planet’s inhabitants worship and sometimes pray to Eywa, a sort of an environmentally based goddess (think of it almost like Mother Nature on spiritual steroids). Neytiri, for instance, thanks the “Great Mother” when her son avoids a fate that could’ve been a catastrophe. Others pray in life-threatening situations. Pandora’s whole religious system feels pantheistic: Everything on the planet is connected to Pandora’s central spiritual heart, simultaneously separate and part of a whole spiritual being. The Na’vi literally plug into Pandora’s environmental motherboard to connect more closely with its creatures and even experience memories and visions.

We also hear some vaguely spiritual talk predicated on water, repeated almost like a mantra. “The way of water has no beginning and has no end,” it begins. The planet’s water gives and receives, it is “before birth” and “after death.” A scientist tells us that some of Pandora’s biggest inhabitants—whale-like creatures called tulkun —are said to have huge spiritual centers in their brains (to go along with their superior intelligence).

The movie also hints at some sort of divine or immaculate conception. Kiri, Jake and Neytiri’s adopted daughter, was the birth daughter of (and I realize this sounds a bit confusing) the avatar of Dr. Grace Augustine, who kinda-sorta died in the last movie and whose Na’vi avatar still floats floating in a capsule of liquid. That avatar got pregnant—no one’s sure how. Now, Kiri seems to have an extra-special connection with Pandora, manipulating creatures in ways that no one else can do.

We hear references to Sully and his kin as having “demon blood.” The closing song makes reference to sin.

Sexual Content

As mentioned, Grace’s avatar is floating in what looks like a capsule of water, and at one juncture we see her breasts (including a bit of nipple).

But let’s be honest: The Na’vi are not known for their modesty, and there’s a lot of blue skin on display. Critical bits are mostly covered by tiny bits of fabric or leather or hair (or strategic camera angles, since tiny kids sometimes wear nothing at all), but viewers will be exposed to an unrelenting stream of blue CGI buttocks throughout.

Also of note: One character, Spider, is a human teen boy living the Na’vi lifestyle. He wears, essentially, a loincloth throughout the entire movie.

When the Sullys move to their watery new home, Lo’ak develops a crush on Reya, the village chieftain’s daughter. When Reya’s trying to teach Lo’ak and his siblings how to slow their heartbeats (in order to breathe underwater longer), she places her hand on his stomach to help calm him. It has just the opposite effect: “Your heart is beating fast,” Reya says, as Lo’ak’s brother and sister look at each other knowingly.

When a bad guy captures, Kiri and tells her to “move along, buttercup,” Kiri responds by saying, “I’m not your buttercup, perv.”

Sully and Neytiri enjoy a brief moment of canoodling together sans kids on a “date night,” as they call it—until, that is, the arrival of human spacecraft interrupts them. Elsewhere, a grown female Na’vi is very pregnant, though that hardly slows her down or keeps her from fighting when the time comes.

Violent Content

The Way of Water , like the first Avatar movie, is essentially a war flick, and we see plenty of violence. Indeed, the last hour of the film is one constant battle.

Bullets rattle out of machine guns and sometimes find their mark, leading to bloody injuries and painful deaths. While the Na’vi use these more modern-day weapons, many use more indigenous tools: Neytiri’s favorite is her bow, from which she shoots arrows with distinctive, telltale fletching. Several find their mark—sometimes the heads of opponents, sometimes through vehicle windshields on the way to the chest. Knives and axe-like weapons are also favorite implements: One man suffers a spike-blow to the head. Several characters are impaled by spears.

Various machines and vehicles explode, sometimes killing or injuring others in the process. People might fly up and out of said vehicles, surely pulled by gravity to their dooms. (One man is thrown from a boat and has his arm severed for good measure: We see both fly.)  A number of people drown or nearly drown, and at least one man is crushed by what appears to be a gigantic anemone. Someone has what appears to be an epileptic seizure underwater and nearly dies.

But perhaps the movie’s most jarring death isn’t that of a human or Na’vi at all, but rather a whale-like tulkun. Hunters pierce the animal’s hide with skewers carrying fast-inflating balloons, which bring the animal to the surface. Then it’s smacked in the chest with a massive explosive harpoon. The tulkun tries to flee, but eventually exhausts itself and dies. The hunters later go inside the beast’s cavernous maw and drill into its brain, draining a valuable liquid from the creature. (The rest of the carcass is apparently wasted.) Later, we discover that the tulkun’s calf also died.

The tulkun are assaulted with sonic cannons and depth charges. (We’re told that the creatures have never “even lifted a fin” against their attackers, but one tulkun decides to go against the species’ pacifistic ethos with devastating consequences.)

Sully’s kids fight with other teens. Fists are thrown and tails are pulled. The fight leaves Lo’ak and Neteyam bloodied, but the other teens (a Sully boy insists) suffered much worse. (When Sully later makes Lo’ak apologize to the other teen leader, he does, after a fashion: “I’m sorry I hit you—so many times,” he says.)

An animal is shot and killed; we see its carcass floating in the water. Countless more die on the humans’ return to Pandora, caught in an overwhelming inferno. Knives cut into the chests of a couple of people—ceremonial deaths, it would seem (even though the flesh wounds aren’t particularly serious).

Village buildings are set on fire. The lives of several people and Na’vi are threatened. Someone is strapped into a sort of torture device, leaving him with a bloody nose after the ordeal. A gigantic fish-like monster tries to gobble up a swimmer before it is killed itself. A tulkun sports a metallic hook of sorts in its fin, which a Na’vi friend kindly removes. A shark-like undersea creature relentlessly hunts one of the Na’vi.

Crude or Profane Language

One f-word and about 15 s-words. We also hear “a–,” “b–ch,” “b–tard,” “crap,” “g-dd–n,” “d–n,” “h—” and the British profanities “bloody” and “bugger.” Jesus’ name is abused once. We hear some name-calling, too, including one sibling calling another “penis face.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

A tulkun hunter tells a marine biologist on the team that his hunting pays for the scientist’s research. “That’s why I drink,” the scientist tells him. Someone makes a quip about someone else owing her a beer.

Other Negative Elements

Colonel Quaritch, the movie’s most notable big bad, is a proud and fierce U.S. Marine, as is the rest of his team. They do some pretty despicable things during this movie and form the spear point of humankind’s desire to plunder and colonize Pandora. And while the colonel’s character takes on some subtler shades as the movie goes on, The Way of Water certainly casts the military in a poor light.

Whatever else you think of James Cameron, let’s acknowledge at least this: The guy knows how to make a buzz-worthy movie.

His greatest strength lies in world-building—bringing moviegoers into exotic realms and making them feel as though they’re there. Be it the long-lost elegance of the Titanic or the gritty confines of a blue-collar spaceship in Aliens , Cameron invites you in—making it all feel so real. (In the case of the Avatar movies, the 3D doesn’t hurt.)

But while Cameron is a first-class tour guide in his own made-up worlds, those worlds are not necessarily ones that should be visited.

Avatar: The Way of Water swims into its PG-13 rating by the skin of its oddly pronounced incisors. Language alone pushes the envelope. The occasional blood spatter or flying limb doesn’t do the film any favors, either. And then, of course, there’s all that CGI skin. Yes, it’s all fake, but I hesitate to think of all the Rule 34 Na’vi GIFs that might be floating out on the internet. Nor would I be that surprised if the impossibly lithe, impossibly thin Na’vi (who, after all, make their human counterparts look like clumsy Minecraft figures) might unintentionally inspire an eating disorder or two.

But even if all that’s navigable, I’d encourage you to consider two more points before toting the whole family to watch. One, the tulkun hunt—a jarring scene for any young animal lover (especially one with a love of whales). And two, Pandora’s spiritual system that pushes away Christianity and hugs a nature-based pantheism. Forget the biblical model of stewardship: It sidesteps the Creator and instead worships the creation. And that is pretty much the definition of idolatry.

Cameron has a way of upending Hollywood expectations. The original Avatar is still the highest-grossing movie worldwide of all time—and it is said that The Way of Water will have to exceed that to make a profit. It could do just that.

But while Pandora is as beautiful as ever, The Way of Water might not be the way that many families would care to go.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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Avatara Purusha 2 Movie Review: Leaves you stranded in the world of Trishanku, wanting for more

D irector Suni, who employs signature humour in his films, has often explored and experimented within the bounds of a genre. Celebrated for his straightforward yet impactful storytelling, he ventured into an innovative comedy project with Avatara Purusha , blending elements of black magic with Indian mythology. The original film focused on the disappearance of Karna, leading to family rifts. Meanwhile, Yashoda's daughter Siri endeavours to mend bonds by finding Karna with the help of junior artiste Anila (Sharan). Meanwhile, a parallel narrative follows the family's struggle to protect the Trishanku stone from antagonists Dharka (Ashutosh Rana) and Hinnudi (Balaji Manohar). The sequel, which builds on the storyline from the original film, takes place two years after the events of the first film. The goal remains consistent: the quest for a potent artefact promising life in the alternate world of Trishanku Swarga.

Director: Suni

Cast: Sharan, Ashika Ranganath, Srinagar Kitty, Bhavya, and Sudharani

The rich production and interesting cast, including versatile performances by Sharan and seasoned actors like Saikumar, Ashutosh Rana, and others, added depth to Avatara Purusha . Ashika Ranganath and Srinagara Kitty also left a short but notable impression, while Sadhu Kokila's comedic presence added a lighthearted touch. With cinematographer William David setting the perfect mood and Arjun Janya's background score enhancing the film's impact, the collaboration between Suni and Sharan promised something fresh and unique, leaving the audience eagerly anticipating the sequel. Does the sequel reach the same levels of enthusiasm and intrigue?

The over-enthusiastic Anila's (Sharan) true nature is exposed by the arrival of Kumara (Srinagara Kitty). The battle for the Trishanku Mani intensifies as both Anila (Sharan) and Kumara aim to possess it. Meanwhile, Anila confides in Siri (Ashika Ranganatfh), about his past involvement in black magic and witchcraft. He shares his journey of escaping the darkness and finding redemption under a spiritual mentor. When Daraka seeks the Trishanku Mani, Anila, who is familiar with both worlds, decides to aid the Jois family. Will Anila's plans to conquer his Trishanku world emerge victorious in this clash of evils, fueled by spirituality? Or does he have selfish motives of his own? The story does not end here, with Suni giving an open end to another part.

As depicted in historical accounts of Trishanku's world, ‘Trishanku's pursuit of heaven while still in his mortal form resulted in a unique realm of his own creation.’ The film oscillates between comedy and black magic, and Suni touches upon the thematic extremes in a way that feels tonally inconsistent. Similar to the Trishanku world, Avatara Purusha 2 feels neither grounded nor elevated. The film lacks coherence, with abrupt shifts between scenes and an overabundance of flashbacks. Character demises are too sudden, particularly Kitty and Sudharani's characters. The film's attempts at humour barely work, and the filmmakers seem to have tried their best with the visual effects. The climactic confrontation between Anila and Daraka ends in a cold and abrupt manner.

Simple Suni’s sequel, Avatara Purusha 2 isn’t quite a comedy, horror, or even fantasy; it’s a journey that leaves viewers stranded in Trishanku status, unsure of where to turn. While Sharan’s comedic prowess is undeniable, the film struggles to find its footing amidst a barrage of disjointed backstories. Though Sharan’s wit flickers, the film’s plunge into supernatural territories lacks the gravity to catch our attention. Ashika Ranganath has less screen time compared to her scenes in the original film. While select moments between Saikumar and Sharan offer fleeting respite, the film’s scattered ultimately disconnects the audience, failing to satisfy them fully. For aficionados of the occult, this sequel offers little in terms of both laughs and magic. For those invested in the series, and those curious to see how the film moves forward, prepare to be suspended in Trishanku Svarga through the world of Avatara Purusha .

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Plot: The onus is on Overacting Anila (Sharan) to save Trishanku Mani - a key to enter Trishanku Loka (a rare world that exists is in between Heaven and Earth) - and Jois’ family from witchcraft practitioner, Daraka (Ashutosh Rana). Who will emerge victorious in this evil vs evil fight?

Avatara Purusha 2 Movie Review: Avatara Purusha 2 review: Neither here, nor there

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• This film marks the first collaboration of uncle-nephew duo Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor. Arjun is the son of Anil’s brother Boney Kapoor. Share
• This film marks the first collaboration of uncle-nephew duo Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor. Arjun is the son of Anil’s brother Boney Kapoor.
• This is the second time Arjun Kapoor is playing a double role, the first being Aurangzeb (2013).
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Netflix’s live-action Avatar has lost its old showrunner and gained two new ones

Jabbar raisani and christine boylan will now executive produce netflix’s live-action avatar following former showrunner albert kim’s departure to join disney plus’ percy jackson show..

By Charles Pulliam-Moore , a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

Share this story

Though Netflix just renewed its live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation, showrunner Albert Kim is parting ways with the show.

Variety reports that Jabbar Raisani ( Lost in Space ) and Christine Boylan ( Poker Face ) have been tapped to executive produce the next two seasons of Netflix’s Avatar following former showrunner Albert Kim’s decision to step down. Though Netflix has yet to officially announce the change of guard, Kim is reportedly heading over to Disney Plus, where he will executive produce the streamer’s new Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and develop other fresh projects.

Kim first became Avatar ’s showrunner back in 2020 following the unexpected exits of Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino — the co-creators of Nickelodeon’s original Avatar animated series — due to creative differences. Since then, Konietzko and DiMartino have gone back to Nickelodeon to create more of their own Avatar stories under the company’s Avatar Studios production banner. Raisani and Boylan have helped make some excellent episodes of television in the past, and it’s going to be interesting to see how Avatar changes under their leadership. And given the show’s iffy first season, those changes could be for the better.

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Netflix Avatar The Last Airbender Series Changes Showrunners Again

Another big change before tackling book two for the live-action series..

Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series is getting another major leadership shakeup that will see the departure of showrunner Albert Kim.

Stepping in to fill his role for Season 2 are Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani, who will serve as executive producers on the show. Boylan previously aided as co-executive producer and writer for Season 1 and served on other Netflix shows like The Punisher and Poker Face. Raisani served as an executive producer, director, and visual effects supervisor on Season 1 as well.

The Hollywood Reporter ’s sources say that Kim’s initial intention was to lay the groundwork for the show moving forward. Season 1 took years to finally hit the streaming services, though, and with chapter one finally in the books, Kim is “ready to move on to new opportunities,” including working on Disney+’s Percy Jackson series as an executive producer. While his duties as showrunner are being offloaded to Boylan and Raisani, he will remain attached to Avatar: The Last Airbender as an executive producer.

Avatar: The Last Airbender hit Netflix in February and, to no one’s surprise, has been divisive among fans. The live-action take on the Nickelodeon classic cartoon was bound to displease those who grew to the love source material over the last two decades. The odds were stacked against it from the moment it was announced in 2018, and it didn’t help when die-hards learned that original creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko were departing the project in 2020.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Live Action Trailer Images

Still, Netflix’s Avatar was able to find its own success. The series managed to pull in enough interest by March for the streamer to renew it for not one but two additional seasons . Should the plot continue to stick close to original story it’s based on, the two-season renewal means viewers can likely expect to see the entire narrative covered in live-action.

We liked this new take on Aang, Katara, and Sokka’s journey, giving it a 7/10 in our review . For more on Netflix’s Avatar, be sure to check out our interview with Kim and Raisani , where they talked about how they planned to give a fresh take on a beloved show. You can also check out our experiences from the time we got to visit the series’ set .

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.

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Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Is Getting New Showrunners

Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio and Ian Ousley star in the live-action adaptation of the animated hit.

The Big Picture

• Albert Kim steps down as showrunner of Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action adaptation, with Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani taking over.
• Kim remains as an executive producer for the series while focusing on new projects at Disney.
• Netflix commits to two more seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender following the success of the first season.

The first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender turned out to be a massive success for Netflix , but changes bigger than the Fire Nation's attack are happening behind-the-scenes in the live-action adaptation. According to Variety , Albert Kim will be stepping down from his role as showrunner of the series, with Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani now leading the project as executive producers. According to the report, Kim will remain as an executive producer for Avatar: The Last Airbender as the show moves forward, and the change happened due to him looking to develop new projects over at Disney . As part of the deal, Kim will work as an executive producer in the second season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians .

The first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender followed Aang ( Gordon Cormier ) after he woke up in a time period that wasn't his own. With the help of Katara ( Kiawentiio ) and Sokka ( Ian Ousley ), the Avatar made his way across the world as he prepares to face the might of the Fire Nation and their leader, Lord Ozai ( Daniel Dae Kim ). Based on the successful Nickelodeon series of the same name, Avatar: The Last Airbender follows a young boy as he gradually becomes humanity's last hope.

When the adaptation was first announced, there might've been cause for concern regarding how Netflix would bring Aang and his friends from animation into live-action. But after the success of One Piece , it was clear that Avatar: The Last Airbender was in good hands. After the viewership numbers the adaptation saw upon release, Netflix decided to fully commit to Aang's journey, renewing the show for two more seasons . With the remaining episodes of the story confirmed, viewers can rest assured knowing that they'll follow the Avatar until the end of his mission, where he's supposed to take down Lord Ozai once and for all.

The New Leaders of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'

Before being selected to lead Avatar: The Last Airbender after Albert Kim's departure, both Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani worked on the first season of the series . Boylan was a co-executive producer on the project, while Raisani worked as an executive producer, director, and special effects supervisor. Since the series is staying in the hands of two people who made its debut a success, there's no denying that Netflix is prepared to join Aang, Katara and Sokka on the rest of their journey. Hopefully, Zuko ( Dallas Liu ) won't be much of a threat once Avatar: The Last Airbender returns to Netflix in the near future.

The first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender is available for streaming on Netflix.

Avatar: The Last Airbender (Live-Action)

A young boy known as the Avatar must master the four elemental powers to save the world and fight against an enemy bent on stopping him.

The First Omen’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Close to the Original Film's, Critics Weigh in on Horror Prequel

Filmmaker Arkasha Stevenson’s prequel to 1976’s The Omen is close to matching the Tomatometer rating boasted by the seminal movie.

• The First Omen registers 77% on the Tomatometer, at the time of this writing, and is within eight percentage points of the original film's Rotten Tomatoes score.
• The Omen (1976) currently boasts 85% on the Tomatometer against 52 reviews.
• Most critics praise The First Omen in their reviews, but the film only made $725,000 during its Thursday previews.

Warning! Contains minor SPOILERS for The First Omen .

77% is arguably not bad at all for a modern-day movie that’s trying to live up to an iconic horror flick like The Omen (1976). At the time of this writing, that’s the number The First Omen is registering on the Tomatometer. Meanwhile, the Gregory Peck-led classic boasts an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes against 52 reviews. In fact, Peck himself appears in the film courtesy of an old photograph featuring his character, Robert Thorn, near the movie's conclusion.

The First Omen

Since it’s the first day of theatrical release for Stevenson’s horror prequel, there isn’t a Rotten Tomatoes audience score nor a CinemaScore available yet to reveal what fans think of the latest entry in The Omen franchise. However, the majority of critics are enjoying the movie. MovieWeb's own Will Sayre wrote :

With a handful of stellar performers on hand, The First Omen refuses to be pushed to the side as just another forgettable franchise entry. It makes its mark, despite some predictable twists and turns, and might just make today's legendary horror masters proud [...] This is the real deal.

Meanwhile, Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune says that the film is, "Full of splurchy callbacks to various hangings, impalings and characters from the Richard Donner hit but with a visual confidence and personality of its own."

Michael Gingold of Rue Morgue Magazine adds:

The First Omen is well-crafted and well-acted and better than one might have expected, yet fans of the first Omen may find that this prequel’s book of genesis doesn’t have quite enough in the way of revelations.

The First Omen Impresses the Majority of Critics

Arkasha Stevenson wants to join The Exorcist franchise, but there’s still the little matter of how her prequel to The Omen will be received. While audiences haven’t had their opportunity to chime in yet, at least with ratings, The First Omen didn’t even break the million-dollar mark during its Thursday previews. Unfortunately, the horror prequel only amassed $725,000 domestically. Nonetheless, the majority of critics are enjoying the story behind the origin of the Anti-Christ, Damien, and his mother — whose identity won’t be spoiled here. Tomris Laffly of RogerEbert.com writes:

The whole thing is so provocative, beautifully cinematic and in touch with its head-decapitating roots.

Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting adds, "Arkasha Stevenson doesn’t just helm a prequel worthy of Richard Donner’s classic but establishes herself as a bold new voice in horror."

Nell Tiger Free on Her Love for Horror and The First Omen: 'It's a Bit Surreal'

Finally, the delightful Mary Beth McAndrews of Dread Central calls it "the perfect religious horror film" and says succinctly:

The First Omen is an upsetting and necessary tale about abuse in the Church, bodily autonomy, and spitting in the face of God.

The First Omen is now playing exclusively in theaters. And for those who haven't seen the horror prequel yet, you can watch the film's trailer below to whet your appetite: