Avatar: The Way of Water (8/10)

TV screen playing Avatar the way of water trailer or movie. TV with remote control and popcorn bowl. Shutterstock/Hamara

by Tony Medley

190 minutes.

PG-13

For $400 million, one would think a movie should be perfect and wonderful. This one isn’t. Oh, one can appreciate the amount of money spent to make it because the special effects are fabulous and worth the price of admission. And that’s good because the story isn’t just weak, it is absurd.

I know, this is fantasy, but to have a stone age people with bows and arrows taking on an advanced, sophisticated society with post-modern weapons, makes one wonder who is kidding whom?

Character development? Forget it. These are puppets on a string. You see one, you’ve seen them all.

Let’s get back to the special effects. This is the best 3D I’ve ever seen. Unlike other 3D films, it does not weaken the color impression of the film and the 3D is real 3D, not just the stuff that came out in the earlier part of the century. This leaves a very positive impression on the viewer. Unlike other 3D films, I was generally always aware of the 3D, and it was pleasing.

The story, as I said, is silly beyond words so I won’t waste any more words on that. It makes me wonder why director James Cameron would waste the money hiring stars like Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Kate Winslet when they disguise themselves in motion capture costumes that make them look totally different. These films are basically cartoons and three hours plus is far too long.

The special effects are worth the price of admission. Once you have seen them though, there’s no law that says you have to sit through the entire film because the story is so silly, even in the realm of whatever this is, the only thing this has to offer is visual.

Anthony Medley holds the rank of Silver life Master, is an American Contract Bridge League Club Director, and has won regional and sectional titles. An attorney, he received his B.S. from UCLA, where he was sports editor of UCLA’s Daily Bruin, and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. His reviews are published in The Larchmont Chronicle, Telicom Magazine, The Tolucan Times, CWEB.com, robinhoodnews.com, on Rottentomatoes.com, the Movie Review Query Engine, and at www.tonymedley.com.

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