79. AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER (2022) dir. Jimmy "The Sure Bet" Cameron

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER is the next step in James Cameron's crusade to take over the box office, one blue Smurf-cat at a time. This sequel sees Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) & Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) raising a family of four and leading the Forest People. When a familiar foe returns for revenge, the family's forced to run, finding refuge among the Sea People. In learning these new customs and fighting off intruders, the family finds, as Jake Sully says, that they are a fortress.Or some shit like that. As a writer, Cameron's hit or miss. At his best, he can infuse a simple story with characters that leap off the page. He can keep a pulse pounding even as the story grows damn near beyond comprehension. But when Cameron's off? The story bloats like a beached whale with paper-thin characters to carry.High praise for a box-office titan, eh?---------------------------Review THE MOVIES on Apple Podcasts & I'll read it on the next episode!Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠& ⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠Financially support the podcast via the ⁠⁠tip jar!