4K-UHD/Movie Review: Avatar: The Way of Water (Three-Disc Edition)

 

Avatar: The Way of Water is the 2022 sequel to 2009's massive and groundbreaking hit, Avatar. It is again written and directed by James Cameron. In it, Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana reprise their roles as Jake Sully and Neytiri. The rest of the cast includes Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Britain Dalton, Trinity Bliss, Bailey Bass, Jack Champion, Flip Geljo, Jamie Flatters, Scarlett Fernandez, and Edie Falco. Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, Giovanni Ribisi, CCH Pounder, and Dileep Rao, who all appeared in the first movie, also appear in this one. It would give away too much to reveal exactly how their characters appeared. Still, it is not spoiling anything to say that some of the appearances are very short cameos (e.g., through video footage), and others are more substantial.

The movie is set sixteen years after the events of the first movie and sees the return of the "sky people," aka the Resources Development Administration (RDA), to Pandora. Their mission is to colonize Pandora but to do so, they realize they will have to take out Jake. We learn that Jake and Neytiri have a family. When their family is attacked, they flee the forest and take refuge with a Na'vi clan called the Metkayin, who live next to the ocean and have a symbiotic relationship with the sea-dwelling creatures. We also learn that the Metkayin have a different physiology and a completely different way of life than the forest-dwelling clans. Of course, they cannot stay hidden forever, and another epic battle with the sky people ensues.

There are a couple of different versions of the 4K sets. This one is a three-disc version with a UHD disc and two regular Blu-Ray discs. The UHD disc and the first regular Blu-Ray disc contain the movie, while the second regular Blu-Ray disc has all of the bonus features. The most extensive bonus feature is a series of making-of featurettes that can be played together or individually, totaling almost three hours. The behind-the-scenes material covers the new characters, the returning characters, the casting process, the advances made to the motion capture technology, the stunt work, and more. Then, there is a music video and some promotional spots for the movie. So, this set has well over three hours of bonus content. There is a four-disc set that includes a second bonus disc, and that one has over eight hours of bonus features. It sucks that there are two different 4K releases, but if you want all of the bonus content, you need to pay attention to what 4K set you are purchasing. They did a similar 4K release for the first Avatar movie, but the difference is that the upgraded set for the original movie also had the expanded edition of the movie, whereas, for the sequel, both sets just have the theatrical release (which is on its own over three hours long). 

Ultimately, this is a good sequel. It touches on many of the same themes as the original movie and expands the world of Pandora beyond what we saw in the first film. The acting and writing are very good, and the motion capture and CGI technology have advanced so much and look so good that it is almost hard to tell what is practical and what is computer-generated. The A/V quality is top-notch, and the video and sound are reference-quality. If you enjoyed the first movie, this is absolutely worth watching.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Avatar (4-Disc Collector's Edition)

 

This is the second 4K release of 2009's Avatar. The other version (which is misleadingly labeled as the Ultimate Collector's Edition) is a three-disc set that just has the theatrical version of the movie on UHD and regular blu-ray and then a regular blu-ray disc with special features. This set (just labeled Collector's Edition) is a four-disc set that has the theatrical and the two extended editions of the movie on UHD and regular blu-ray and then has two regular blu-ray discs with special features. 

The movie itself is very good. The first extended edition (which adds about 8 additional minutes to the theatrical version) basically just extends a couple of the scenes a bit. The second extended edition (which runs 178 minutes, adding 18 minutes of additional footage) is the best version of the movie (in my opinion). That version adds the most substance and backstory to the theatrical version, which definitely helps flesh out the overall story. You can also watch the additional footage for each extended edition as separate deleted scenes accessible from the menu. Each version of the movie is visually stunning in UHD. The audio track on the theatrical edition is wonderful. The tracks on the two extended editions are not available on Dolby Atmos, so they do not sound as good.

Where this set blows the Ultimate Collector's Edition release away is the extras. It includes all of the extras that were released with that one (including the new extras on that set and a few new ones exclusive to this set) and all of the legacy content included with the 2010 blu-ray release. The only difference between this release and the original blu-ray release (excluding the brand-new content) is a new line of added dialogue from Giovanni Ribisi's character (which is added to each version of the movie).

I have two issues with this set. First, it was not released at the same time as the original 4k release. So, if you bought that one early, you would have to double-dip to get all of the bonus content. Second, the packaging, while great to look at, is awful. It has a wonderful hard slipcover that holds a cardboard book-style case that holds the discs in very tight pockets (If you have the House of Cards individual seasons on blu-ray, it is like those). The discs are very hard to get out of the pocket without ripping the pockets and/or smudging or scratching the discs. So, if you get this, you want to watch it right away in case you get damaged/unplayable discs. I ended up putting the discs in their own individual blu-ray cases (I get extra cases to replace damaged cases if the discs are in otherwise good condition) and did not put them back in the book-style case. 

If you love the movie and love watching the bonus content, this is the version to get. You get hours of bonus material (even more if you redeem the digital code on Movies Anywhere or Vudu). If you stop the movies before the end you can resume where you left off, but that is not the case if you are watching the bonus content. If you stop in the middle of one of the featurettes on discs 3 or 4 and then restart the disc, it will go back to the main menu, and you will have to figure out where you left off. That is a relatively minor point, but worth noting.  Overall, this is absolutely worth the pickup if you are a more than just a casual fan of the movie.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Avatar

 

Avatar is a visually stunning movie from 2009, directed by James Cameron, starring Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Joel David Moore, Stephen Lang, and Giovanni Ribisi. The movie's premise is that while Earth's natural resources are being depleted, a moon in the Alpha Centauri solar system called Pandora has a valuable mineral called "unobtanium" that a company called the Resources Development Administration wants to mine. The problem is that the native population, which includes a race of 10-foot-tall humanoids called the Na'vi who live in harmony with nature, is in the way. The moon's atmosphere is inhospitable to humans, but the company has built Avatars, Na'vi shell bodies that humans can link their consciousness into. The company hires a group of scientists to act to use the Avatars to interact with the Na'vi and try to get them to move off of their land so that the unobtanium can be mined and uses the military to provide protection against the many threats the moon poses.

This is one of two 4k sets that are available. Even though this is labeled as an ultimate collector's edition, the version that is just labeled "Collector's Edition" has more features. This one is a three-disc set. There is a UHD disc and one regular blu-ray disc that just contains the movie. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is fantastic and can be considered reference quality. The third disc is another blu-ray disc with all the special features. The special features mix new material created for the 4k release with some (but not all) of the legacy material created for the original physical media release. The new content includes a roundtable discussion with one of the producers and the prominent cast members called "Memories of Avatar" and a featurette called "Avatar, a Look Back" with new interviews with the cast and crew members. The legacy carry-over content includes the hour-and-a-half-long documentary titled "Capturing Avatar" and the hour-and-a-half worth of making-of featurettes. This set does not include the extended edition of the movies, the trailers, the stills gallery, the VFX featurettes, etc., contained in the original Extended Collector's Edition blu-ray release. If you own that set, you may want to hang onto it if you get this one.

The movie is very good. The story is based on the concepts of colonialism, imperialism, and the treatment of native populations throughout history. It also hammers the themes of environmental damage and corporate greed. It is well-written and well-acted, but the fantastic special effects are the main appeal. This movie took a leap similar to what The Matrix did back in 1999 in terms of special effects and integrating CGI effects into film, making the CGI characters and sets nearly indistinguishable from what was built practically. Even if you are not a huge fan of Sci-Fi, this is still worth watching.