Forget “the legendary floating mountains of Pandora,” as a xenoanthropologist named Norm once called them. “The Way of Water” will explore the oceanic side of Pandora, which promises to be even more floaty, like the sewers of Derry, Maine. The Na’vi, they “all float down here. You’ll float, too.”
Or not? Glean what you can from this new trailer, folks. If we’re being honest, the movie news cycle moves so quickly and even big news gets buried so fast now that I completely missed the first full trailer for “The Way of Water” earlier this month. Or maybe I saw that it dropped, but didn’t care enough to watch it, and then just plum forgot about it. I’m not sure if that’s a hint to how other moviegoers might respond to “The Way of Water,” or if it’s just indicative of my own willful ignorance of all things “Avatar”-related.
Filmed in native 3D, the first “Avatar” was supposed to be the blockbuster that changed everything, making movies more immersive and interactive, and for a time, it did set off a muddy wave of post-converted 3D films. People likened it to a theme park ride, not unlike how Martin Scorsese has characterized superhero movies, and personally, I think “Avatar” makes a better theme park land at Disney World than an enduring film classic worthy of multiple sequels. I would sooner revisit Pandora – The World of Avatar in Florida than rewatch the first “Avatar” or devote another three hours of my life to watching its sequel.
But that’s just me! And I’m probably very much in the minority. “Don’t bet against James Cameron,” yada, yada.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” is in theaters only on December 16, 2022.
