Avatar: The Way of Water - Movie Reviews (2024)

The first Avatar was a spectacular display of technical prowess. It utilized Cameron’s brilliant populist instincts to capture the imagination of the planet. By comparison, The Way of Water feels like a pale imitation.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jul 3, 2024

Did I think this movie would be made? No. Did I think it would crack my Top 10? Also no. But here we are.

Full Review | Feb 27, 2024

'Avatar: The Way of Water' pops with well-rendered images and vibrant colors. It's like you’re witnessing Cameron film a National Geographic documentary on an alien planet. It evokes all the senses.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Jan 9, 2024

James Cameron's Avatar sequel has stunning visuals that get elevated on a big IMAX screen. However, the plot is less than engaging, the dialogues are clunky, and you wish it was shorter.

Full Review | Oct 4, 2023

The preservation of our woods is the central topic of the first Avatar film and the topic of Avatar: The Way Of Water is ocean preservation. To summarize, don’t doubt James Cameron.

Full Review | Sep 26, 2023

The special effects are breathtaking...Like all sequels, the original was a bit better.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Aug 10, 2023

Technology used to make the film is so compelling and masterful that everything else is an afterthought.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Aug 9, 2023

Whatever may be wrong with it, Avatar: The Way of Water is pure, unabashed cinema, with some of the most glorious visuals ever put to screen and an endlessly absorbing soundtrack.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 6, 2023

The Way of Water is somehow even better than its already masterful antecedent.

Full Review | Aug 2, 2023

The Way of Water clearly sets itself apart from other blockbusters, building on 13 years of preparation to deliver a memorable cinema experience. A visually, technically breathtaking adventure, particularly in the truly stunning underwater sequences.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Jul 25, 2023

The Way Of Water is not just one of the best sequels ever created… it’s a god damn masterpiece. Breathtaking, visually stunning, & epic in every single way. I’m truly speechless by what James Cameron has crafted

Full Review | Jul 25, 2023

Would you like to go on venture number three in the world of Pandora? After the first one, I would have said, “no, thanks”, but now, bring it on.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Jul 25, 2023

As with the first film, it’s impossible to deny that audiences will be treated to a visual feast in The Way of Water, but those looking for a more character-driven movie will be left adrift in the open water.

Full Review | Jul 24, 2023

Unlike every CGI-heavy theme park ride, the fact that the spectacle and the action sequences never undermine the narrative or emotionally stirring moments is mind-boggling.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jul 23, 2023

We’re nowhere close to Cameron at his best, but I feel we’re approaching something worth experiencing.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Jun 20, 2023

We can accept a barebones revenger because it lets us reacquaint ourselves with Pandora. Cameron is easing us back in with a conflict we don't need to expend too much energy on so we can absorb everything else in the background.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | May 12, 2023

I’ll say this for James Cameron: At this point, he can slap his name on an old print of Plan 9 From Outer Space, re-release it as Avatar 3: The Way of Outer Space, and incessantly hype it until it crosses the billion-dollar mark and racks up the awards.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 18, 2023

This is a blatant example where the visual spectacle (it can dazzle but also fatigue) swallows up an unexceptional story.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Apr 7, 2023

It might be tiresome in a world less lovingly, painstakingly rendered than Pandora, which has no shortage of eye-boggling backdrops to distract us from the humdrum interpersonal conflicts and the cheeseball dialogue, a Cameron staple.

Full Review | Mar 29, 2023

By the time Cameron finishes these things he’ll be a form of consciousness uploaded to the Cloud, married to a hologram of Mia Goth.

Full Review | Mar 16, 2023