Avatar: The Way of Water

I tried asking ChatGTP to write a review "in the style of Peter Crum", but apparently the nuances of my prose are beyond the capacity of the OpenAI's  current algorithm.  Since I have over 20 movie reviews in different stages of draft right now, I am planning to take a more streamlined, and consistent approach to my reviews (at least until I get caught-up).  I expect that an incidental side effect of my switch to a formulaic review style will be that future iterations of AI will have a better chance of taking over my movie reviews when I am no longer able, or no longer wish to write them myself.

Film(s) to be reviewed:  Avatar: The Way of Water

Purpose for watching the film(s):  

What is the purpose for looking up into the sky when your child says "look, there's a rainbow!"?  The purpose seems obvious, but the more you think about it, the more you will realize that the answer can be quite complex.  Similarly, my purpose for watching Avatar: The Way of Water is multifaceted:  James Cameron is a visionary filmmaker, who has fundamentally advanced the technical elements of filmmaking over the past 40 years.  Films such as Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and Titanic stand as benchmarks, that define their respective genres to this day.  The original Avatar in 2009 revolutionized the industry in a way that surpassed all of Cameron's previous efforts, erasing the lines between live action and animation, which effectively removes all constraints from filmmaking, leaving only imagination as the limit to what can be captured on film.  Not going to see Avatar: The Way of Water would be like spraying bear repellent in your own eyes when your child says "look, there's a rainbow!"... That would be really dumb.

My reaction to the film(s):

Every frame of this film is amazing.  Of course the same can be said for the film Ratatouille, which is far superior in just about every way, unless of course you are looking to find self-loathing in your moviegoing experience.  Early in the film I found myself trying to determine where the real elements ended and the animation began, but this was an exercise in futility.  Before long, I was able to let go, and just enjoy the experience, and I was able to accept that everything that I was seeing was just as real as everything else.  Of course this is the kind of illusion that filmmakers have been striving for since the advent of the medium; whether it's been stunts, editing, camera angles, or special effects, these technical elements have been used to show us something that otherwise would be impossible.  Well, maybe not always impossible, but at least impractical.  The previously mentioned self-loathing that Avatar: The Way of Water subjects us to isn't as bad this time around as it was in the original Avatar.  The first film in the series was basically Dances With Wolves in space, which isn't a bad idea all things considered, but it really would have benefited from some call-backs, i.e. they could have had some blue buffalo, and the main character could have learned the word "tatanka".  The sequel spreads the blame around a bit more; now there's reasons to feel guilty about being a white person, a blue person, a white person raised by blue people but still having a place in your heart for your white father, being a scientist, not knowing how to swim, making fun of people who don't know how to swim, etc.  Clearly I believe that the Avatar series could do without Cameron's ideological slant, but I will admit that it adds a distinct perspective to what otherwise might be a flat narrative.  Not that I'm comparing the Avatar movies to Apocalypse Now, but when I'm watching Coppola's masterpiece, I don't get hung-up on his ideology because it's so interwoven into the fabric of the film.  Unfortunately, Avatar: The Way of Water does feel preachy, which detracts from the overall experience; not enough to keep me from looking forward to the upcoming third film, but enough that it detracted from the viewing experience.

Closing thoughts about the film(s):

Please note that I used the phrase "self-loathing" in this review prior to revisiting my review of the original Avatar, in which I also used that description.  If the next version of ChatGTP can't figure me out, I don't know what else I can do to help it.