Going into the release of 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water, logical concerns arose about its financial prospects. Sure, it acted as the first sequel to 2009’s Avatar, a film that made nearly $3 billion worldwide and that remains the highest-grossing film of all-time, a fact that should’ve alleviated any financial nay-saying.

Given the 2009 movie’s success, one might assume a sequel would deliver money in the bank. However, the 13 years between releases didn’t seem like it benefited the franchise, as no strong lingering affection for Avatar appeared to exist.

Someday we’ll learn never to count out filmmaker James Cameron, though. Though not as successful as the 2009 Avatar, Water nonetheless captured $2.3 billion worldwide, a figure that made it the third highest-grossing movie ever – and gave Cameron three of the top four, with 1997’s Titanic in fourth place.

We won’t know until late 2025 if Cameron’s third Avatar can strike gold yet again. Nonetheless, it would seem foolish to assume it won’t.

In the first film, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) gave up his humanity to become part of the alien Na’vi species on the planet Pandora. 16 years later, he lives as chief of the Omaticaya clan with wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) as well as biological kids Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), Lo'ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), and adopted children Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Spider (Jack Champion), a human who was the son on Jake’s now-deceased foe Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang).

Their peaceful lives find disruption when a military team led by General Frances Ardmore (Edie Falco) arrives. With Earth dying, they want to colonize Pandora, and this brings major battles – with a Na’vi avatar that contains Colonel Quaritch’s memories at the fore.

If you look back at my review of the 2009 Avatar, you’ll see I kinda sorta enjoyed it but didn’t really embrace it. Honestly, it too often felt like a technical triumph more than a compelling and involving set of characters and plot points.

I hoped Water would improve on that model. Without all the first film’s exposition and “world building”, I figured the sequel could offer a more engaging and fleshed-out tale.

Alas, this did not occur. Indeed, Water often feels like a clone of the 2009 flick, for better and for worse.

In the “for better” category, Water continues the terrific production values of its predecessor. With another 13 years of R&D at his disposal, the already-excellent computer visuals of the 2009 movie fare even better for the sequel.

Well, mostly, as I still don’t buy the CG humanoid characters as real. Granted, they come closer to a sense of organic believability than occurred with the first film, but Water’s roles still suffer from that “Uncanny Valley” impression.

Though some fare better than others. Clearly Cameron and crew devoted more time and attention to the lead characters than supporting parts, so we swallow Jake and Neytiri more easily than most of the rest.

Still, the Na’vi and other Pandora races just can’t come across as “real”. The animation works well enough that this doesn’t become a major concern, but the inability of Water to create truly natural humanoid CG characters continues an off-putting aspect that marred the first film.

I should probably amend my earlier statement when I referred to Jake and Neytiri as main roles, though. This seems accurate in the abstract but Water spends a whole lot of time with their kids instead.

As such, Jake and Neytiri tend to get lost along the way – especially Neytiri, who goes from her place as a huge part of the 2009 film to a borderline superfluous part here – well, until the finale, when Cameron remembers she exists. Jake gets more to do – especially in the third act, too – but Cameron seems way more concerned with their offspring.

I get this choice to a degree, mainly because Cameron wants Water to focus on family. Avatar told the story of a human who “went native”, and this one looks at the bonds of kin.

In theory, that seems fine, but in reality, it means Water can feel like a sort of spinoff film. It devotes so much times to the exploits of the kids that it can seem like Avatar: The Next Generation more than a sequel to the prior flick.

Perhaps Cameron did that on purpose to set up subsequent movies. Maybe he wants to pass the torch more formally in chapter three and this allows him the chance to do so.

Whatever the case, I don’t think it works, mainly because the Na’vi kids generally seem like such forgettable characters. Kiri manages some personality and her own arc, but Neteyam and Lo’ak feel virtually interchangeable and they make little impression along the way.

This turns into a pretty big concern given how much of the movie follows these journeys. While I can’t claim I ever invested much emotion in the Jake/Neytiri arc, at least Avatar felt like it delivered a consistent, forward-moving progression, whereas Water lacks the same focus.

I just can’t get into the younger generation, though I can understand why Cameron focuses on them here. Really, Water lacks much room for development when it comes to Jake and Neytiri.

Jake went through a major arc in the first movie, but now he seems stuck in amber. Even his role as a father doesn’t get much exposition because of the chronology.

If Water showed Jake and Neytiri as parents of little kids, then we could see his evolution. However, since we’re 16 years down the road, fatherhood isn’t new to him, so the film fails to present real evolution or drama there.

Because the Jake and Neytiri of Water lack much room to grow, I get the emphasis on their kids. That POV could work in theory, but as noted, the new characters seem less than engaging, so they fail to ground the narrative well.

All that said, Water never becomes boring. Granted, the middle third can drag as it devotes endless minutes to less than engrossing character exposition, but the sheer spectacle of it all keeps us with it.

Again, I wish Cameron would devote more effort to story than to world-building, but I can’t criticize the results. Water does present a lush and engaging universe.

In addition, the years haven’t dimmed Cameron’s ability to pull off vivid and exciting action scenes. Since nearly the entire final one-third of Water revolves around various battles, this means the film kicks into higher gear for an extended period.

The lively final act helps redeem the semi-sluggish nature of the first pair – to a degree, at least. I still wish Cameron spent more time with real character development and a more creative story in the opening two hours, but he manages to kick the tale into higher gear by the end.

All of this leaves me with virtually the same impression of Way of Water as I encountered with the original Avatar. It brings a great technological achievement that boasts some thrilling action but it suffers from lackluster characters and a less than enthralling story.

Might the third chapter in the franchise finally bring me the “total package” Avatar film I crave? Perhaps, but the first two strike me as moderately enjoyable flicks that just never achieve greatness.

Avatar: The Way of Water appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. As expected, this became a top-notch presentation.

Sharpness never faltered. From start to finish, the movie came with accurate and tight visuals.

The film lacked signs of jagged edges or moiré effects, and it came with no edge haloes. Source flaws also remained absent.

Unsurprisingly, the palette favored blues and aquas, with some oranges, purples and reds tossed in at times. The disc made these hues look full and vivid.

Blacks came across as dark and deep, while low-light shots appeared smooth and concise. Everything about the image satisfied.

In addition, the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack also worked well, as it created an engrossing soundscape. With a broad variety of natural habitats, the audio provided a smooth, involving sense of locations.

The mix of action scenes kicked to life well. With lots of underwater scenes as well as flying elements and violence like gunfire and explosions, the soundfield allowed for lots of information to fill the various speakers and blend in a smooth manner.

Audio quality seemed strong, with speech that came across as concise and distinctive. Music showed appealing range and impact as well.

Effects displayed solid accuracy and punch, with tight, deep low-end. The movie’s soundtrack added to the experience.

All this package’s extras appear on a bonus disc, and most of these materials show up under the banner of Inside Pandora’s Box. This domain brings 14 featurettes with a total running time of two hours, 32 minutes, 14 seconds.

Across these, we hear from writer/director/editor James Cameron, producer Jon Landau, production designers Ben Procter and Dylan Cole, costume designer Deborah Scott, Weta Workshop creative lead Richard Taylor, director of photography Russell Carpenter, senior visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri, 1st AD Maria Battle Campbell, property master Brad Elliott, Weta FX visual effects supervisor Eric Saindon, creature designer/key character designer Ian Joyner, concept artists Jonathan Berube, Joseph Hiura and Daphne Yap, creature designer Constantine Sekeris, dive master John Garvin, supervising art director Aashrita Kamath, character design supervisor John Rosengrant, stunt performers Chris Denison and Mike Avery, performance free diver instructor Kirk Krack, 2nd unit director/stunt coordinator Garrett Warren, virtual production supervisor Ryan Champney, performance capture special effects supervisor JD Schwalm, supervising art director Luke Freeborn, on-set coordinator Richie Schwalm, casting director Margery Simkin, Spider physical fitness coach Josh Murillo, movement and performance coach JoAnn Jansen, Weta FX visual effects supervisor Dan Cox, simul-cam supervisor Casey Schatz, Weta virtual production supervisor Dejan Momcilovic, editors John Refoua and Stephen Rivkin, underwater cinematographer Peter Zuccharini, Na’vi language creator Paul Frommer, dialect coach Carla Meyer, Na’vi sign language creator CJ Jones, lead character designer Joe Pepe, Weta Na’vi costume art director and supervisor Flo Foxworthy, Weta concept artist Rebekah Tisch, Weta design art director Stephen Crowe, concept art director Jonanthan Bach, concept artist Jon Park, Weta project supervisor Mona Peters, Weta producer Lena Scanlan, Lightstorm visual effects supervisor/virtual 2nd unit director Richard Baneham, Weta animation supervisor Stephen Clee, Weta senior visual effects supervisor Daniel Barrett, facial motion supervisor Stuart Adcock, Weta head of creatures department Gios Johnston, Weta pre-production supervisor Marco Revelant, Weta animation supervisor Eric Reynolds, animation sequence supervisor Anneka Fris, Weta FX visual effects supervisors Pavani Rao Boddapati and Nick Epstein, Weta head of effects Jonathan Nixon, Weta animation supervisor Todd Labonte, Weta FX associate VFX supervisor Sam Cole, concept art director Fausto de Martini, supervising art director Kim Sinclair, live action special effects supervisor Steve Ingram, art directors Ken Turner and Alistair Baxter, Weta concept artist Jeremy Hanna, Wild Factory president Adam Gourley, composer Simon Franglen, re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor and sound designer Christopher Boyes, associate producer Brigitte Yorke, set decorator Vanessa Cole, New Zealand stunt coordinator Stuart Thorp, and actors Sam Worthington, Stephen Lang, Zoe Saldaña , Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Flatters, Britain Dalton, Bailey Bass, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Duane Evans Jr., Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Jack Champion, Filip Geljo, Kacie Borrowman, Alicia Vela-Bailey, Jemaine Clement, Brendan Cowell, and Edie Falco.

“Inside” covers story/characters, research, set/location/creature design, costumes, various effects, cast, performances and performance capture, photography, props, vehicles, shooting underwater, development of the Na’vi culture, music and audio, and working in New Zealand.

On the negative side, these components can lean too heavily on self-praise and happy talk. Nonetheless, they deliver a good array of insights and cover the complicated production well.

Additional material of this sort pops up via More from Pandora’s Box. Its four featurettes span a total of 28 minutes, six seconds and involve Landau, Cameron, Simkin, Warren, Denison, Avery, Baneham, Vela-Bailey, Borrowman, assistant stunt coordinator Steve Brown, stunt performer Emilie Siemer, environment supervisors Dean Lewandowski and Motoki Mark Nishii, sequence supervisors Steve Deane, Andrew Moffett and AJ Briones, motion edit supervisor Don De Castro, supervising stage manager Dan Fowler, stage operators Connor Gartland and Buffy Bailey, chief technology officer Tim Bicio, and actors Jamie Landau, Kevin Dorman, Courtney Rosemont, Johnny Alexander and Kevin Henderson.

Over these segments, we get more info about casting and screen tests, stunts, virtual sets and locations, animation, and the use of background/stand-in actors. It seems unclear why the disc doesn’t just include these four segments under the “regular” collection of “Box” featuretres, but they nonetheless offer some useful information.

In addition to two trailers, we get a music video for “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” by the Weeknd. We see Avatar-esque visuals as we listen to the song. Neither element works well.

When Avatar hit screens, I wanted to love it, and I went into Avatar: The Way of Water with the same desire. Alas, both movies bring some real high spots but they come with the same lackluster elements as well, factors that make Water moderateloy enjoyable but inconsistent. The Blu-ray boasts excellent picture and audio as well as a selection of bonus materials that bring us three hours of featurettes. Water does enough right to make me kind of like it, but I can’t claim it excels.