Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Avatar: The Way of Water first review rolls in – from Guillermo del Toro

It’s a big thumbs up from the Oscar-winning director

Jacob Stolworthy
Saturday 03 December 2022 05:26 EST
Comments
Avatar- The way of Water trailer.mp4

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The first review of Avatar: The Way of Water has arrived – courtesy of Gullermo del Toro.

There is just two weeks to go until James Cameron unveils the sequel, which is his first film since Avatar was released 13 years ago,

The film is reported to be one of the three most expensive films of all time, and has kept Cameron busy due to the arduous creation of new technology required to pull off the film’s extended underwater sequences.

With so much money riding on The Way of Water, Disney – which acquired the film’s original distributor, Fox, in 2019 – is hoping it will actually be good.

Well, according to Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water director del Toro, it’s a marvel that needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

In fact, Spanish filmmaker del Toro has called Avatar: The Way of Water “a staggering achievement” after seeing the film last month.

“It is chockfull of majestic Vistas and emotions at an epic, epic scale,” he tweeted, calling Cameron “a master at the peak of his powers”,

The film’s running time is three hours, 10 minutes, which is more than 30 minutes longer than the first Avatar film.

It will tell the story of the Sully family, ranging frm “the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure”.

Guillermo del Toro gives his verdict on ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’
Guillermo del Toro gives his verdict on ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ (Twitter)

The Way of Water is the first of four planned Avatar sequels that Cameron will release every other year until 2028.

It will be released in cinemas – in 3D – on 16 December.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in