Avatar: The Way of Water: Bop or Flop?

Emelah the Blogger
Dec 18, 2022
5 min read

Updated: Dec 20, 2022

The highly-anticipated sequel was 13 years in the making. Does it capture the magic of its predecessor?

Sci-Fi/Action, 3 hr 22 min, PG-13

Released: December 16, 2022

Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoë Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet

Director: James Cameron

What’s it about? Jake Sully and Ney'tiri have formed a family and are doing everything to stay together. However, they must leave their home and explore the regions of Pandora. When an ancient threat resurfaces, Jake must fight a difficult war against the humans.

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 78% | IMDb Score: 8.1/10 | Metacritic Score: 69%

SPOILERS AHEAD

Bop or Flop? For me, it's in the middle, so a flip if you will. I'm extremely conflicted about this movie that I've waited so long to see. Visually, it stuns, which is on par with the first film. In this aquatic sequel, we are introduced to new lands in Pandora, new characters and new creatures, including flying water dragons (skimwings) and whale-like creatures (tulkuns) that can converse with Metkayina people.

Even with all the amazing imagery, as Sade sang, some things are just never as good as the first time.

The Way of Water will need to make $2 billion to make a profit. So far, it's made $134 million in the domestic box office and $435 million internationally.

My primary issue with this film is that it is centered around whiteness and not indigenous culture. First of all, it also doesn't help knowing that director James Cameron is not the most educated on indigenous oppression. In 2010, he traveled to Brazil to support the Xingu people, who were fighting the giant Belo Monte hydroelectric project that would destroy their way of life. He was quoted saying this:

"I felt like I was 130 years back in time watching what the Lakota Sioux might have been saying at a point when they were being pushed and they were being killed and they were being asked to displace and they were being given some form of compensation," he said. "This was a driving force for me in the writing of Avatar – I couldn't help but think that if they [the Lakota Sioux] had had a time-window and they could see the future… and they could see their kids committing suicide at the highest suicide rates in the nation… because they were hopeless and they were a dead-end society – which is what is happening now – they would have fought a lot harder."

- James Cameron, The Guardian

Though he may not have been his intent, some Brazilians felt that his comments were misguided as he wasn't fully educated on the issue. Further, his comments were stated to strengthen the belief that the purpose of the ecological movement was to maintain the status quo of the world economy.

Twelve years later, he is still facing backlash for these comments, as it blames victims for their response to their own colonization.

More than this, many of the actors of The Way of Water are white, despite the Na'vi being based off of indigenous Americans who wear protective styles and speak a language with Maori, African, and Native American roots.

Cameron said himself, "Avatar is a science fiction retelling of the history of North and South

America in the early colonial period."

All of these problematic factors have led some Native Americans to call for a boycott of the film.

Critics say that Cameron is whitewashing history and not exploring anti-imperialist themes. I don't disagree.

Plot wise, I am tired of seeing the Na'vi people be colonized by the sky people. I get that they had unfinished business in the first film, but after this I really don't have to see humans on Pandora ever again. I want to be fully immersed in the planet and what occurs outside of colonization.

Though Colonel Quaritch's return as an avatar was entertaining, he didn't deserve to enter a Na'vi body, make a bond with the ikran, and get that far into their native land. He was a great villain, but the colonizers reign is lasting a little too long. And so is his bloodline.

The immersion of Spider (Colonel Quaritch's son) and Kiri (Grace's avatar baby) made little sense to me. Both could have been omitted from the plot, honestly. The question to how they got here and who their other parents are is still unknown. While I understand why Cameron would want to keep Grace's legacy alive and bring Sigourney's character back, it was still weird that she voiced Kiri.

However, I did like Kiri's character, and her connection to Eywa. It was cool how she was controlling the sea creatures. I just wish her origin was explained better and that she was voiced by a young person of color. I would even be okay if she was Jake and Ney'tiri's biological child.

Kiri and Spider were constantly ostracized throughout the film, even more so than their siblings with one too many fingers, and it made sense. The Na'vi have every right to be skeptical of sky people, earthlings, and five-fingered aliens.

Spider looked ridiculous with his stringy dreads and native garb on. I agree with Ney'tiri that his kind doesn't belong with the people. This was proven with his decision to save Colonel Quaritch's (avatar's) life. His time on Pandora needs to be over with officially. I don't care if that's his father. Quaritch cannot be redeemed. I was waiting for Ney'tiri to kill him again!

Jake should be the only white actor left portraying a Na'vi. Even with the white savior aspects of his character, I like him. He is still an impressive leader and a good father. His rebellious spirit is still present and carried on through his children, his son Lo'ak in particular.

I had a feeling that Neteyam would die protecting Lo'ak. It was sad to watch Ney'tiri cry over him, especially knowing he died to save Spider.

I love Ney'tiri, and I wish she had more presence in this film. Though she is no stereotypical docile wife, it still feels like she took a backseat to Jake. Even though he earned his spot with the people, and is considered Toruk Makto, I wish more of the decision making included her native expertise.

Further, I'm tired of her having to grieve. Ney'tiri already lost so much in the first film, between her father and having to relocate the tribe after losing home tree and a spiritual site in the forest. Now, she's had to move her home again, learning the way of the water and losing her eldest son.

I need her to be happy in Avatar 3. Jake puts her through so much!

Overall, I feel torn about this film. The little girl in me that was so excited by the visuals and still believes the land of Pandora is still worth visiting. The three hour film doesn't feel too long, and it's good to see the Sully family,

I know that Cameron already has the framework for the next few films in the franchise, but I hope that he takes some time to reflect on the criticism and how his whiteness influences his decision-making and storytelling before the third film is released.

In the meantime, Autumn Asher BlackDeer, a social work professor at the University of Denver who is of the Southern Cheyenne Nation, compiled a list of sci-fi films where indigenous people are telling their own stories.