In 2009, James Cameron opened up the stunning Pandora universe that captured the minds of millions of viewers and vowed to return with a continuation of the story of a marine turned native. Finally, after 13 years, it happened – the return came from bombing, but not unquestionably.
James Cameron – Orchestraman
It is hard to argue that innovations in filmmaking methods and technologies are James Cameron’s most important contribution to the film industry. Released in 2009, “Avatar” turned out not to be because Cameron took it and targeted it, but because he, along with a team of various specialists, redesigned and improved every aspect of the existing methods of “green screen” shooting. and also achieved the necessary computer graphics technologies. .
The box office success of the film allowed the director not only to film whatever he wanted, but also to carry out the shooting process the way he wants. This caused such a long delay between the first and second movies. James took on a new challenge, which he saw in moving the scene from land to water and underwater. And he promised to fill the sea depths of Pandora up to the eyeballs with unusual inhabitants and even more non-standard plants.
Again, new technology was needed, because before Cameron it was not possible to combine underwater footage with CGI graphics – there were too many visual distortions on the costumes. It took a year and a half to find a solution for this problem alone.
To make the underwater world believable, James dived to the bottom of the ocean in a bathyscaphe. Creating imitators for various fictional creatures has become a separate quest, and one can only guess what miracles the actors had to perform when filming action episodes.
Look how can I?
Such a long foreword was necessary to remind that Cameron not only invented Pandora’s universe, he worked out the laws and internal conflicts and filled it with flora and fauna. Under this idea he developed unprecedented techniques and methods of filming – from the air, from the land, from the water and under water. And have done them successfully.
And judging by the level of entertainment, the director no longer depends on the complexity of the production, the chosen location or the time of shooting, he is ready to realize all his visions. Unfortunately, the new photo doesn’t solve any other tasks beyond demonstrating these capabilities.
And here lies the main “twist” of the second “Avatar” – this is not a sequel like “Terminator 2”, where everything has become bigger and more colorful, and not an attempt to launch a movie series in the Marvel format with the flow of characters and their relationships from film to film against the background of the struggle with universal evil. “The Way of Water” is a light reboot of the story, an intermediate stage between the first and… the second film.
Cameron says moving the action to a new setting will allow him to better embody his creative vision, which we’ll see in subsequent films. Obviously a stereotypical sequel would miss all of this, but the eminent director just doesn’t want to act by the template, so we just have to follow him.
Do you remember anything about the first Avatar?
Repetition is the mother of learning
The idea of the new film being a reboot of sorts was prompted by many common motifs between the plots of the original Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water. In order not to spoil, I will mention the main parallels.
The first 40 minutes show how and with what lives the marine Jake Sully, the character of Sam Worthington (Sam Worthington), who has moved forever in the body of a Na’Vi avatar. Then he finds himself in a new environment for himself, where he has to learn almost everything all over again, and he gets a new tribe. The confrontation between Sally and Colonel Quaritch progresses in stages, until the two come together in combat. Of course, the greedy white colonizers are once again ravaging Pandora for resources even more valuable than unobtanium.
Of course, all this is not presented literally – new locations and conditions, new characters and conflicts. Scaled down: One place, one tribe and one personal conflict, no battle for Pandora’s future by hordes of incoming settlers. But if (like me) you’ve refreshed your memories of the first photo before viewing, you can’t do without that “I’ve seen this somewhere before” feeling when looking at it. But if you have not seen the first film, then, on the contrary, you can easily understand what happened next and what is the conflict between the characters.
Personally, I don’t believe that Cameron couldn’t come up with new ideas and new confrontations. Rather, he deliberately let the viewer refresh his memories and feel the events, while learning something new about Pandora and its inhabitants.
The most important thing in life is family
But what really surprised the movie is that it’s built around family. After all, Sally was remembered as a mischievous lonely marine who survived even in another body and came to a simple, but such an understandable success – it’s better to be the first in the village than the second in the city.
In “Water’s Way” we see the father of a large family, filled with the educational process. The middle son is always trying to prove that he is not inferior to the older one, the little daughter causes a lot of trouble with her hyperactivity, and then there are two more blockheads who are simply in charge.
And, of course, in such a stream of everyday problems, the viewer would not understand at all – what are we fighting for now? Therefore, the obvious antagonist is resurrected – Colonel Miles Quaritch, Stephen Lang’s character (Stephen Lang).
“The best moments are when Neytiri and I are alone,” Jake muses. Mr. and Mrs. Sally just don’t show tête-à-têteI think you already understood – a serious tone, constant thoughts about children, their protection and the future, solving the problems they create – all this is in stark contrast to the adventurous tone of the first film.
The second time Cameron does not allow to enter this water:
As a father of five, I wondered what the plot of Avatar could look like if it were a family drama…Sequels are a story about generations of one family, and their main idea is that the family is a fortress. Our greatest strength and greatest weakness. I thought I could get a lot out of this material.
Unfortunately, when the whole family turns out to be the main character, a harmonious story falls apart into several autonomous parts. The center of attention is suddenly taken by the children of the heroes of the first part, who get into trouble. Sally, Quaritch, Neytiri, several other human characters – they’re there too, but as if they’re out of focus.
As part of the production, I personally didn’t like the missing sense of time. How many days or weeks did it take the Na’Vi of the jungle to learn the ropes from their waterfowl brethren? How does the relationship of strangers with the new clan develop? How long has Quaritch been after Sally? Events follow each other, there are many, but you look as if you are rewinding.
Finally an absolutely obvious plot, readable from the first minutes. It quickly becomes clear what conflicts the director will bring to the final, which of the characters has “screenplay armor”, and which will be sent to expense.
The most bombastic part
Now if you imagine the controversial moments of the photo, I’ll talk about its strengths.
The Way of Water is a technological masterpiece that impresses with the beauty of the world and the environment, the incredible landscapes of Pandora, the number of objects (especially natural ones) in the frame, the natural animations of animals and plants, and the realistic physics of water and air.
Separately, I would like to note the incredible degree of elaboration of 3D effects: from the depth of footprints in the sand to water splashes, from internal currents in its thickness to the flapping of fish fins. True, I watched in an IMAX cinema and I understand that on a flat screen monitor there will be no such immersion. But if you still find the opportunity to watch in 3D, the film will be remembered for a long time.
Against Cameron’s background, Marvel movies, which have long been filmed only on the green screen, look like crafts made from computer cardboard.
What is your attitude towards the philosophical idea of the film?
Separately, I’d like to note the excellent camera work and perspective management – in no episode did I ever get “lost” in what was happening, there were no questions about where anyone was. This is important given the abundance of heroes.
On the one hand, a real attraction in which the scenes that entertain the viewer are constantly changing: either shooting with explosions, or wild hunting, or acquaintance with the dangers of the aquatic world, then shooting all the same, but staged differently. I was particularly impressed with the final action scene, which spans three environments at once, with so much going on and so many complex tricks that you’ll want to watch it over and over again. Compared to the original Avatar’s finale, the scale here is much smaller, but the density of what happens is higher.
On the other hand, in quiet moments, Cameron develops a dramatic pressure on the viewer – tears, snot, quivering chins, screams and moans accompany the characters’ dialogues much more often than before. The acting is of a good standard, as is the facial animation (though the position of the body says a lot in the water) – at least on a layman’s level, I didn’t notice any over-the-top acting or lean cabbage soup. The quality of the dubbing is acceptable, the main characters have the voices of the same actors who were in the original.
***
It’s impossible to say that The Way of Water is the movie event of the decade, as with the original movie. But this is a very spectacular and effective blockbuster. And, of course, such a film should be watched in the cinema. If possible, take the opportunity: even in Moscow they show it here and there.
Source: VG Times