“Avatar: The Way of Water” is not James Cameron’s last film, nor is it even the last “Avatar” film — the third installment, already completed, is due in 2024, the fourth is in production, the fifth scripted. However, if "The Way of Water" was the last film Cameron ever made, it’d be appropriate, as all of his cinematic obsessions coalesce within this gargantuan slice of mind-boggling spectacle presented with classical action-adventure storytelling.
"The Way of Water," Cameron’s three-hour tour to the dazzling aquamarine oceans of Pandora, is “Avatar” via “Titanic,” heavily influenced by “The Abyss,” with nods to “Aliens” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” Cameron might be constantly pushing the boundaries and innovating film technology, but he consistently returns to the same obsessions, which have long included underwater exploration.
To that end, it’s only natural that his long-awaited "Avatar" sequel would feature Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his growing Na’vi family exploring the oceans of Pandora. A vengeful Col. Quaritch (Stephen Lang) has been resurrected, his memories implanted in an autonomous Na’vi avatar, allowing him and his crew of “Sky People” soldiers to attack Jake at home in the peaceful forest. He and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), along with their four children, seek sanctuary with a remote island tribe, the Metkayina, and when Quaritch goes after him, their conflict roils the seas.
