Dear Mr Cameron
In India, when someone tries and tries but doesn’t come up with a solution, we say, ‘Rehne do, beta. Kuch aur try kar lo,’ which translates into, ‘Let it be, son. Forget it and move on to something else.’
After 13 years of trying to get a sequel off the ground, I wish the studio and the people who put $25 crore into making the most expensive film ever, had told you, ‘Rehne do, James, try something else.’ If after all these years, you could only put together high tech+ high budget but not get yourself a story that says something unique, something unexpressed before, I sure would’ve said, ‘Move on, James. Don’t stand there just to milk the franchise.’
Those who’ve been to Sentosa in Singapore will know the experience of a virtual reality jungle trip followed by an awesome round of the aquarium with exotic sea creatures floating all around and above you.
James Cameron’s sequel to Avatar (2009), the world’s biggest box-office winner thus far, is a similar 3D spectacle. Shot exquisitely, almost making you feel the freshness of the waters as human and honorary Na’vi, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Na’vi princess Ney’tiri (Zoe Saldana) and their assorted brood of kids dive, ride the waves and splash around with joy.
‘Happiness is simple,’ is one of the first platitudes you serve from the Pandora pulpit, James. It’s a fine line but an old sermon, one we’ve heard in many different ways over many different decades.
We know the heart is in the right place in the sequel, as it was in the original. Especially when it moves from the forest people to the sea people, spotlighting that nature on land and in the waters must be nurtured, respected, loved. No grouse with the social messaging but again, didn’t we just get a full dose of it in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever which took us to the pristine purity of an underwater civilisation that must be protected from the big bad world up there? Wakanda Forever called them the cruel ‘colonisers’, you call them the wicked ‘sky people’. In Black Panther, it was the Talokan that had to be protected. In Avatar 2, they are Tulkuns, gigantic sea creatures, intelligent, emotional, family-oriented gentle creatures, almost spiritual, that must be saved from the merciless harpoons of humans. Same thought, almost similar-sounding names too, huh?
Therefore, my question remains, when will Hollywood start investing in untold stories that say something fresh?
Family, family and family. Whether in Black Panther or Avatar, whether it’s humans, Talokans, Na’vis or Tulkuns. There’s even a smug line at the end that goes, “We Sullys stay together.” Cheers to that, James. But what’s new, please?
Many would rate this second outing as a highly immersive experience. It is. It is a wonderful place to visit. The Na’vis, the Sullys, the Metkayina (water people) and the gorgeous Tulkuns are unsullied and uncomplicated. But when you surface after a 3hr 12 min immersion in that world, what do you come up with?
Family values, the Great Balance and kindness must prevail. High value, vital messages that callous mankind must heed.
But where’s a new story, James? Have you anything new to say? Like I said, we just saw it all in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
And just by the way. After that overlong splash where kindness to sea creatures is at a premium, you end by replaying a scene with Jake and his daughter spearing a big fish that quakes and trembles before it dies. What kind of inconsistent lesson is that, James? The thrill to kill some living creatures is okay but not okay to hunt others?
So there it is, James. Avatar: The Way Of Water is a fabulous visual experience that says all the right things. But it takes an almost exhausting time to say it, and ultimately says nothing we haven’t heard before.
You’re the filmmaker who gave us the Titanic formula – mixing fiction into a real-life event to make credible, enjoyable cinema.
As an Indian, I’m also chuffed that our ancient belief in avatar has become a universal concept. And you have sneaked in a word like ‘amrita’ for the world’s most expensive potion to live forever. ‘Amrit’ is the nectar of the Gods, as we believe it in India, though living creatures are not killed for it. But that’s just an incidental aside.
To return to Avatar, the golden franchise will continue to draw bloated budgets and special effects in heaps.
But please. Go back to the drawing board, James. And write us a novel story.
With warm regards
A disappointed admirer
Watch the trailer of Avatar: The Way Of Water
Also Read: Review | Salaam Venky – Prolonged Melodrama