A ton of big films sell themselves almost entirely off the back of some new visual gimmick or supposedly groundbreaking special effects technique. Whether it's 3D, 4DX, or photorealistic CGI, many of the biggest names in cinema throw around tech demos and strong visuals as the entire marketing strategy behind their story. James Cameron's highest-grossing film was no exception.
2009's Avatar was considered a marvel of visual effects wizardry, thought to be world-changing in the year that also saw the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Zack Snyder's Watchmen. Thirteen years have passed since its release, and a host of huge changes in the world of cinema have followed with those years. At long last, the first trailer for Avatar's sequel has finally dropped, and the reaction is noticeably different.
Avatar was a very well-received film, about which almost every positive or negative review has the same general opinion. Obviously, the box office demonstrates the film's almost comical popularity, holding strong even against the unstoppable monolith of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite apparent approval from almost every possible source, the film is almost exclusively praised on some levels and panned on others. To read the average review of Avatar, professional or amateur, without looking at the score, most would expect a final stamp of moderate approval. Most gush about the jaw-dropping perfection of the film's visuals, both in the sense that the massive budget is all on-screen and in the more laudable virtue of excellent art direction. Fans are happy to use a thousand adjectives to praise the look of Pandora, but most are also more than happy to point out the lack of interesting story elements that take place in its lush environments.
The impressive aspects of Avatar are entirely visual, and while those things are crucial and difficult, and a ton of people clearly worked very hard on them, they aren't the only metric by which to judge a piece of cinema. Avatar's plot and characters are largely forgotten by most of its audience, but fans will never forget the visual experience of seeing it on the big screen. The impact is entirely contained by the stellar visuals and the upcoming sequel intends to bank on the same simple selling point. Most who discuss The Way of Water do so to talk about the groundbreaking underwater performance capture technology. Since the film still overwhelmingly seeks to sell itself on impressive technical details, rather than any sort of compelling story or lovable character, it's worth asking whether jaws are still dropping.
There have been a wide variety of impressive new feats in CGI between the release of the two Avatar films. The MCU, the Star Wars sequels, Christopher Nolan's Inception and Interstellar, Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 and Dune, and dozens of other films have been released to massive appeal since Avatar. The competition has grown far stiffer than it was in the first film's initial release window. The Way of Water is dropping into a very competitive cinematic landscape for the particular kind of special effects-driven sci-fi action vehicle it represents. The new film will be up against Shazam: Fury of the Gods, a new tent-pole in the massive DCEU, which did not exist when the first Avatar dropped. The constant outflow of new hotly-anticipated blockbusters does negatively impact the possible power of The Way of Water, making another stunning pop-cultural force a very hard sell.
When looking at the trailer for The Way of Water, the visuals have still made an impact among fans of CGI. The visuals are stellar. Tiny details have spawned hours of argument on social media; it is impossible to tell what's live-action and what's perfectly realized computer effects. The unfortunate reality, though, is that some of the effect is blunted by the fact that fans have already seen Pandora and many of the creatures brought back for the sequel. The most impressive features are much smaller-scale than a cool new creature or fascinating visual effect.
From water on fabric to the tiny muscles in a CGI character's hand, there are a ton of small details that a discerning eye will find incredible. Those with a background in or an appreciation for the visual arts will find a lot to marvel over in the brief trailer, and undoubtedly there will be some truly incredible stuff in the overall film. Though the artistry on display remains astounding, some of it will go unnoticed by the larger audience.
Avatar: The Way of Water could easily be one of the most striking experiences ever to grace the silver screen. It could even bring a more enriching and powerful story than its predecessor to support the visuals. In the modern age of cinema, the film will be a hit under basically any circumstances, but it's hard to imagine any reality in which it carries the impact of its prequel. Without the same groundbreaking visuals, will Avatar have anything to stand on? That's the question that won't be answered until the film's release.