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In all those debates about whether or not the “Avatar” franchise has enough cultural staying power to exceed its sequels’ box office goals, one argument that is often overlooked is just how much “Avatar,” more than any other film in Cameron’s filmography, lives and dies by its theatrical experience. The September 2022 re-release of the original film, upscaled to 4K and re-mastered for IMAX 3D was a helpful reminder to some why it was at one point the most profitable movie of all time. The same will be said for “The Way of Water,” which again utilizes 3D to the fullest.
In the “Avatar” films, 3D is not just about what’s popping out of the frame, it’s more concerned with giving each environment a sense of depth and scale. “The Way of Water” is over 3 hours long, but Cameron uses that screen time to fully immerse his audience into the beautiful landscapes of Pandora. There are times when it feels like a nature documentary, but as indulgent as that is, it serves as a brilliant demonstration of the capabilities of 3D. Pandora is essentially another character in “Avatar,” a sci-fi universe that instead finds its spectacle in greenery and ancient spirituality contrasted with the sterility of the human colonies.
In one scene, there is a school of bioluminescent fish swimming through a dark shipwreck. While I was still blown away by the depth and the way the rays of light bounced off the water, at a certain point I was no longer aware that I was wearing my 3D glasses anymore. I’d call that a true mark of full of immersion.
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