How do you bounce back from making the highest grossing film of all time? How do you follow up to such a film with a sequel? Do you double down or do you subvert expectations and sweep the floor out from under the audience? If you’re James Cameron (True Lies; The Abyss; Aliens), you do both and make it seem like an expert hat trick.
Director James Cameron behind the scenes of 20th Century Studios’ AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER. Photo courtesy of Mark Fellman. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Avatar: The Way of Water follows Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), 16 years after the first film, raising a family of two sons and two daughters. There’s also a human boy named Spider (Jack Champion), the son of the late Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) who befriends their children while being raised by human scientists still living on Pandora. With the return of an old villain, Jake and Neytiri take their family and escape to the tribe of the aquatic Metkayina clan. It is here where battles are fought, loyalty is tested, and the Sully clan learn to adapt to “the way of water.”
Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) in 20th Century Studios’ AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Director Cameron switches up the greenness of the forest for the baby blue of the ocean. A shrewd choice for a man who has one of his biggest films (Titanic) take place on top of the ocean. While the stakes are higher with children being involved and the message has turned from “save the rainforest” to “save the ocean,” Cameron pulls off a sequel hat trick by not creating the exact same adventure but, instead, putting the same battle in new, uncharted territory.
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER COLLECTOR’S EDITION release. Photo courtesy of Lightstorm Entertainment and 20th Century Studios.
Avatar: The Way of Water Collector’s Edition gives the long-awaited sequel a 4K UHD presentation that builds upon the high-grossing film’s beauty. The colors, whether it be the blue skin tone of the Na’vi clan or the turquoise-like skin tone of the Metkayina clan, are updated from the previous film. There is a great contrast between the communities within Pandora and a greater contrast between the Pandora communities and the elements around them. The expanded universe of Pandora looks beautiful in every feature, from the surroundings to the people to the features of the people, even the long hair of the Pandora people has terrific detail in each shot. But, there is one feature that has not updated itself well with the collector’s edition release — the waves. The ocean waves have an artificial, CG feel to them in a world that feels anything but. They’re the only thing in this digitized universe that actually looks digitized and not real or actualized. It doesn’t take the audience out of the film too much while rewatching, but it is something to note.
L-R: Ronal (Kate Winslet), Tonowari (Cliff Curtis), and the Metkayina clan in 20th Century Studios’ AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
As far as features go, there is a healthy amount of supplemental material here without feeling overwhelming. It’s worth noting that while I was able to watch this film via my Movies Anywhere platform, it didn’t populate in my iTunes platform nor on any other platform (I’m not saying this will be an issue for anyone else, I’m just giving my experience). On a basic level, viewers are able to switch between English and Spanish audio for the film and, once again, we have the return of the Family Audio track — strict parents unite! On a deeper level, we have featurettes that will satisfy any Pandora dreamer out there hungry for all the Pandora info they can absorb. We have the “Memories from The Way of Water” featurette (using the same set from the “Memories from Avatar” featurette on the Avatar Collector’s Edition release) in which producer Jon Landau (Titanic) moderates a conversation with Sam Worthington (Terminator: Salvation), Zoe Saldaña (Star Trek series), Sigourney Weaver (A Monster Calls), and Stephen Lang (Don’t Breathe) on their chemistry, their work on the sequel and why they love working within the playhouse of “Pandora.” Jon Landau also hosts an overall “Behind-the-Scenes Presentation” in which viewers are given a view into the groundbreaking techniques used in the sequel.
L-R: Director James Cameron and actor Sam Worthington behind the scenes of 20th Century Studios’ AVATAR 2. Photo by Mark Fellman. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
In one of the featurettes, Cameron states that he wanted the audience to “believe Pandora is a real place and I want them to believe these are real people.” That dedication is seen through the care and craft that has gone into creating this immersive world. Jon Landau also hosts a production design panel in which he talks to the production design team about what how they went about making the world of Pandora as diverse as Earth itself. In addition to insightful “Scene Deconstructions” and “Production Materials,” there are also the featurettes “Inside Pandora’s Box” and “More from Pandora’s Box” in which everything from initial design to casting to stunt work and virtual production is also explored. The only setback or disappointment I have with this featurette is that there’s no interview or talking head moments with the co-writers Rick Jaffa (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) or with Josh Friedman (Terminator: Dark Fate) and Shane Salerno (Armageddon) who have shared story credit. The screenwriting team is referenced when we catch up with the art department, but besides a mention of how they work hand-in-hand with the art department, we don’t get to hear their side or their excitement of working on this project. It’s just a tad disappointing that with all the time spent listening to the enthusiasm of the costume design department, the casting department, or the stunt department, the co-writers are left silent. Hopefully, they’ll be given a voice on future releases or commentaries.
Regardless of this omission, there is much to be explored by Avatar freaks and geeks fiending for more Pandora or needing something to hold them over until Avatar 3.
Avatar – The Way of Water: Collector’s Edition & Legacy Features*:
- Behind-the-Scenes Presentation Hosted by Jon Landau
- Memories from Avatar: The Way of Water
- Production Design Panel Hosted by Jon Landau
- 12 Deleted/Extended Scenes – Check out these scenes that didn’t make the final cut.
- 11 Scene Deconstruction – View these scenes in various production stages: final with picture-in-picture reference, template and performance capture.
- 12 Production Materials
- Four (4) Beyond the Big Screen
- Archival Materials
- Inside Pandora’s Box – 13 featurettes on the challenges facing cast and crew as filmmakers devise new technologies to push the limits of cinema.
- More from Pandora’s Box – Four additional featurettes that highlight special teams within the production
- Marketing Materials & Music Video
*Bonus features vary by product and retailer
Available on 4K UHD digital Collector’s Edition December 12th, 2023.
Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray Collector’s Edition December 19th, 2023.
For more information, head to the official 20th Century Studios Avatar franchise website.
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Categories: Home Release, Recommendation
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