Avatar: The Way of Water, the highly anticipated sequel to 2009’s Avatar, premiered Tuesday night in London. While we’ll have to wait a bit longer to read official reviews, attendees shared their reactions on social media and the initial response has been overwhelmingly positive.
Josh Horowitz of MTV News said that writer-director James Cameron “is once again showing filmmakers how it’s done.” He went on to say that the sequel is “emotional, visceral, and as big as movies get.”
James Cameron once again shows filmmakers how it’s done. I’ve said it a thousand times. Never doubt him. AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER is how you do epic blockbusters. Emotional, visceral and as big as movies can get. @officialavatar
— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) December 6, 2022
Jake Hamilton, meanwhile, said The Way of Water is a big improvement over the first movie in terms of visuals, storytelling, and performances. “The sequel left my jaw on the floor for the entire run,” said Hamilton. “James Cameron is the GOD of sequels.”
As someone who LOVEs — but not LOVE — from the first AVATAR, I want to tell you:
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER blew me away.
The sequel was vastly superior in visuals, storytelling and performances and left my jaw on the floor for its entire runtime.
James Cameron is the GOD of sequels. pic.twitter.com/1cw6C94O4f— Jake Hamilton (@JakesTakes) December 6, 2022
Mike Ryan of Uproxx said The Way of Water is “overwhelming”, so much so that the film’s spectacle could distract some viewers. “Sometimes I missed plot points because I was staring at a Pandora fish,” Ryan said.
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER: Yeah, never bet against James Cameron. I’m trying to avoid exaggeration, but I’ve never seen anything like it from a technical, visual standpoint. It’s overwhelming. Maybe too overwhelming. Sometimes I missed plot points because I was staring at a Pandora fish
— Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) December 6, 2022
Erik Davis of Fandango said that The Way of Water is “viscerally breathtaking, visceral and incredibly captivating”. Davis added, “The story, the spectacle, the spirituality, the beauty – this is moviemaking and storytelling at its best.”
Happy to say #AvatarTheWayOfWater is phenomenal! Bigger, better and more emotional than #avatar, the film is visually stunning, visceral and incredibly compelling. The story, the spectacle, the spirituality, the beauty – this is filmmaking and storytelling at its best. pic.twitter.com/RicnpDghrx
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) December 6, 2022
Collider’s Perri Nemiroff said the sequel is “pretty incredible”.
“I was confident that James Cameron would raise the bar with the effects, but these images are stunning. One stunning frame after another. But what I’ve dug the most is how the engineering feats always feel in the service of character and world-building,” said Nemiroff.
#AvatarTheWayOfWater is pretty incredible. I was confident that James Cameron would raise the bar with the effects, but these images are stunning. One beautiful frame after another. But what I’ve dug into the most is how the tech feats always feel in the service of character and world-building. pic.twitter.com/MXeN3z8BnP
— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) December 6, 2022
Go to Twitter to see some social media reactions to The Way of the Water. The film will premiere on December 16 and is expected to be a blockbuster.
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