Disney has newly released the second “Avatar” movie: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” with a length of three hours, has rendered audiences speechless. Through artistic visuals and excellent cinematography, this movie debuted at $134 million in North America and $435 million globally when it was first released in December 2022.

The director, James Cameron, has now provided insight into Pandora’s marine life after introducing viewers to the planet of Pandora in the 2009 film where the Na’vi people lived in a forest area. This film consists of two parents, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) who have four Na’vi children. They undergo several obstacles when humans invade their forest home, Pandora, leading them to escape. The family has no choice but to adjust to their new home, where the water tribes reside. 

Critics mention how the computer-generated visuals and the sound design will mesmerize viewers. Pandora’s trees and flowers, as well as the way animals and robots soared and plowed through them, gave off the impression that something was beginning, that a new horizon of creative possibilities had opened.  

While not everyone’s opinions about the new film are positive, critic Justin Chang of LA Times says, “Cameron wants to submerge you in another time and place, to seduce you into a state of pure, unforced astonishment,” while other critics think the storyline is superficial and basic. 

DEEP DIVE INTO THE FILMING PROCESS

Cameron clarified that he wanted the film to be “a true hybrid– a full live-action shoot, with CG characters in CG and live environments.” The plan, he said, was that, “at the end of the day, the audience has no idea which they’re looking at.”

The filming crew used a virtual reality camera throughout the recording of the film, allowing James Cameron to really observe how all of the actors were interacting with digital scenery. In fact, he waited several years for technology to update in order to do his vision justice. Some reports even mention how 25% of the film actually used traditional live sets.

Something very interesting as well is that the actors wore red suits with several markers throughout that reflected infrared light at the cameras. In the filming of “Avatar,” there were more than 100 of these cameras around the set. 

The space was explored so much that Cameron’s team built a motion stage that has been recognized as six times bigger than anything ever used before in Weta Digital.

“Avatar 2: The Way of Water,” sets a completely new standard on how films should be. By using beautiful visuals and intimate details, James Cameron displayed the beauty of water. The glowing seas provide all audiences with something they have never even seen before.