I’m Gonna Go Off About How Good Avatar: Way of The Water Was
Because apparently nobody else wants to and that is patently LAME.
SPOILERS AHEAD
I want to be so REAL with y’all, that movie BROKE me. Not just in a mindless entertainment way like soooooo many people believe the Avatar franchise is. It had some serious food for thought in it, hamfisted environmentalist allegories be damned because you know what maybe we SHOULD have more hamfisted environmentalist movies if the message ain’t getting through otherwise.
I think it’s so weird that some people seem to believe Way of The Water is just the first one over again but in the ocean. When really it’s just that Quadritch is alive for sci-fi reasons and it’s humans being terrible to an environment that doesn’t belong to them. So you know, normal stuff like ✨characters and themes✨
So many new elements got introduced to the story. The consequences of Jake’s actions from the first film having more ripples and settling with that guilt and the Na’vi themselves having diverse reactions to Jake and his family in a way that makes a lot of sense.
The Tulkan, yet another highly intelligent species on Pandora beyond the humanoid Na’vi and the complex consciousness of Eywa. The fact that the na’vi can communicate with them through sign language and that even tho they’re extremely intelligent humans with slaughter them for a tiny highly valuable fraction of their body? Hmmm 🤔 sounds familiar.
Neytiri’s hatred of humans in general strokes clashing with her love of Jake and her resentment for Quadritch’s son Spider.
OH MAN AND THE KIDS ARE SO INTERESTING TOO
Spider being the son of toxic military macho man and yet feeling as tho he belongs to the na’vi, human physically but not in his soul. Being forced to translate for his dad to try and protect as many na’vi as he can as him and his military avatar goons try and smoke Jake out. Knowing Neytiri will never accept him. That’s a FASCINATING character right there.
Lo’ak bonding with an ostracized Tulkan, having a complicated relationship with his dad (Jake) because they’re pretty much TOO much alike. The fact that he doesn’t let his dad let himself drown near the end by showing every ounce of wisdom he’s learned from the Metkayina. “I see you” INDEED. That shit b r o k e me!
And KIRI oh my gawd gurl what is UP with you??? I think the more we learn about this girl the more we’re going to learn about Eywa. My theory is because Grace was the first and probably only human to not only figure out at least a fraction of what Eywa essentially is on a scientific level but also died on the world and might’ve basically become part of Eywa and maybe even given her/it the means to interface with the na’vi (like KIRI especially) on a verbal/more direct level. Which potentially could make Kiri the bridge between Humans, Na’vi and Eywa. THAT IS SO COOL.
That’s not even getting into how cool all the new Metkayina characters are (with some serious potential) Ronal, Tonowari, Aonung and Tsireya. Ronal is just pure badassery (going to war while pregnant?! Holy shit girl!). I sense an intriguing friendship forming between Tonowari and Jake “Your son is buried with our ancestors, you are Metkayina now”. The beginnings of a possible friendship between Lo’ak and Aonung and the almost definite romantic arc they’re prob gonna do with Lo’ak & Tsireya.
All the relationships and interpersonal character drama in this franchise is intriguing to me. Even if the theme part is a little redundant, you can’t deny the new characters are gonna make things REALLY interesting provided the writing stays as good as it’s been.
Also I eat Pandora Na’vi clan lore for breakfast, I hope we get introduced to even more clans than the Omaticaya and Metkayina in the future.
Was it maybe a little longer than necessary? Maybe. Was quaritch’s resurrection a little slapdash? Yeah a little but not enough to make his evolution as a character boring imo.
Anyway I’m sick of people who act like stuff is bad just cuz it’s popular and doesn’t have a steady fandom. Do you know what did well critically that had environmental themes and barely had a fandom too? Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance I don’t think it’s any less cool or promising for it. Yes I’m a little bitter that people aren’t talking about this movie why??
P.S. If you like this franchise check out Tsu’tey’s Path from Dark Horse comics. Gives a bunch of deleted scenes lore more context and fleshes out one of the most interesting na’vi characters from the first film.