[김중기의 필름통] Movie ‘Avatar: Waterway’

“Sulli is one. My father protects me. That’s my father’s reason for being.”

James Cameron’s ‘Avatar: Road to Water’ (hereafter referred to as ‘Avatar 2’) has finally been released. It’s been 13 years since the incredibly popular ‘Avatar’ came out. The fact that countless rumours, speculations and conjectures have been rampant in the meantime must be proof that I have waited so long for this film. It was released to the world for the first time in Korea.

If the first part was a spectacle masterpiece that reconciled future technology, sci-fi imagination, and civilization narrative, the second part turned its attention to family love and the underwater world. The screen becomes a huge aquarium, and a marine fantasy full of scenes unfolds.

The time background is after about 10 years have passed since the first part. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who became a Na’vi, forms a family with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and lives peacefully. They are a large family of seven, including the couple’s three children and two adopted children. However, as police targeting the Jake couple appear, they are no longer able to protect themselves as well as their tribe. In the end, Jake decides to leave where no one knows. He became a fugitive for Tork Makto’s job.

The place they arrived at is an island where the Metkeina tribe, a marine race, lives. Jake’s family disapproves of those who lived peacefully with the creatures in the sea, but soon accepted them. However, the threat arrives here, and Jake and Neytiri stand up to them to protect their family.

‘Avatar’ will be produced in a series of up to 5 episodes. The third film, which has already been filmed, will be released next year, and with the fourth film in 2026 and the fifth film in 2028, James Cameron’s 20-year long journey is expected to come to an end.

‘Avatar 2’ is a breath-taking sequel looking at the long haul. He chooses James Cameron’s favorite ‘water’ (marine) and cooks to his heart’s content.

He showed a fanatical interest in the sea and the deep sea, creatures in it, and the unknown world, such as ‘Abyss’ and ‘Titanic’. The secret expression of the deep sea, which was not possible at that time, is poured this time. It presents a new world to the audience by portraying everything that can and cannot be expressed with water, from rough waves and foam to rippling waves and the brilliant and beautiful deep sea that emits light.

In addition, it includes the environment and civilization that encompasses nature and humans through ‘Avatar’, such as marine life coexisting with humans.

Still in the second part, the villain is human. They catch huge sea creatures with more intelligence than humans, collect only the size of a bottle of sesame oil in their brains, and throw them away. It’s like an old whaling ship that killed sperm whales and got only oil.

And the bad relation with the Jakes is Colonel Quaritch (Steven Lang), who died in the previous episode. He is the incarnation of man’s cruel, anti-civilizational and most exhausting desire for revenge. Would it have been wise to throw him away after he died from Nairiti’s arrow? James Cameron chose to bring him back to life rather than find someone to replace him, and following the first episode, the confrontation with him is fiercely drawn until the end.

If the first chapter is a conflict between nature and civilization, the second chapter goes into the character revealing emotional feelings. Jake reveals his character of avoidance in order to protect his family. He wasn’t the one who used to run around riding a torque makto when he was a bachelor. He is now the father and head of the household. The flow of the play continues centered on family love, and among them, a father’s love for his son. Neytiri also establishes an angle with Jake as a mother who burns her soul to protect her children. As the importance of Ronal (Kate Winslet), the wife of Metkayna’s boss, grows, motherly love is no less than fatherly love.

If you look at the series, if the first part is the birth of a couple, the second part is the growth of a family. Father also grows up. Jake realizes that dodging isn’t the only trick. Jake becomes a father like that. The story of growing up while experiencing a new environment left unexpectedly, conflict with the people you meet there, and harmony with them and greater adventures is a very familiar plot. It is something that every family in human history goes through.

James Cameron shows an excellent ability to wrap a familiar narrative into an impressive screen scene. Chapter 1 was also very familiar with the theme of colonial invasion from imperialism. This is because of his obsession and stubbornness about technology. Creative narrative is not important. Its aim is to show the progressiveness of the times before anyone else with technological achievements that can be called a video revolution.

Therefore, ‘Avatar 2’ was available in various formats such as IMAX, 4DX, Super 4D, and Dolby Cinema.

The running time of ‘Avatar 2’ is 3 hours and 12 minutes. Excluding the long end credits, it’s more than three hours. Still, it doesn’t give you a chance to get bored. It was a sequence that pleased the eyes and the ears, captivated by the colorful expression of ‘water’. 192 minutes. For audiences aged 12 and over.

film critic