CLEVELAND, Ohio — Launched in 2009, “Avatar” is the highest-grossing movie of all time with greater than $2.9 billion in ticket gross sales. Nonetheless, attempt discovering somebody who describes themselves as a die-hard fan of the film or can recall its plot on demand. I actually don’t know any. So, when James Cameron introduced his plan to launch 4 (4!) sequels via 2028, I used to be skeptical.

However now, after seeing the primary sequel, “Avatar: The Method of Water,” I’m a believer.

In theaters on Friday, the movie is a visually beautiful mixture of photorealistic digital results and reside motion. Shot in enhanced 3D at a excessive body fee of 48 frames per second, the outcome isn’t simply an astonishing, crystal-clear image however maybe probably the most immersive moviegoing expertise ever. I might get misplaced on the earth of Pandora all day. Or no less than for 3 hours and 12 minutes, which is the run time of the film (plan accordingly).

With no compelling story to maintain you invested, “Avatar: The Method of Water” might simply really feel as distant as watching a online game or a nature documentary. And it completely does for stretches at a time as Cameron indulges in exhibiting off the facility of the brand new digital toys at his disposal. However when it really works, it sings.

Equal components heartfelt household drama and heart-pounding motion film, the movie picks up greater than a decade after the occasions of the unique. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), now totally assimilated with the Na’vi and the chief of the Omatikaya clan, and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) are elevating 4 kids: the dutiful Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), the reckless Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), the precocious Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss) and the insecure Kiri, the adopted organic daughter of the avatar belonging to the late Dr. Grace Augustine (each performed by Sigourney Weaver). Spider (Jack Champion), an orphaned human teenage boy with conflicting loyalties, is a continuing presence inside the Sully household, too. Youngsters! Am I proper?

Their peaceable existence is threatened when the Sky Folks (people) return to Pandora with the nefarious objective of colonizing the moon and making it an eventual alternative for Earth, which is on the point of being inhabitable. The Assets Growth Administration (RDA) forces are led as soon as once more by Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), or no less than a recombinant (autonomous avatar) of the ruthless colonel created together with his DNA and embedded together with his reminiscences.

Having betrayed the RDA within the first movie, Jake rapidly turns into Quaritch’s main goal. The Sullys flee the forest and floating mountains to an oceanside group presided over by Metkayina clan, headed up by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis). There, the Sully kids type new friendships whereas studying concerning the shut and emotional bond the reef folks have with the tulkun, big, magnificent creatures that resemble whales. However the respite is just short-term as Quaritch, with Spider’s assist, finally tracks them down.

What follows is among the most exhilarating third acts you’ll ever see. Basically one massive hour-long motion scene, it’s a David vs. Goliath showdown that pits the unbelievable machine energy of the RDA towards the awe-inspiring ingenuity and spirit of the Na’vi. There are people on a large, 400-foot lengthy ship and in mako assault subs and underwater crab fits firing their machine weapons and harpoon cannons towards the Na’vi, preventing with their spears and arrows from the backs of banshees within the air and ilus within the sea. In the midst of it’s a pod of tulkun getting used as bait by the RDA. The sequence — extra violent, by the way in which, than something within the unique — defies the outline. And simply while you’re about to catch your breath, Cameron delivers an intense and emotional climax conspicuously paying homage to his personal “Titanic.”

Talking of “Titanic,” Winslet is basically wasted right here in a small position and talking in an unplaceable (South Asian?) accent. Lang doesn’t fare a lot better as his over-the-top efficiency is straight out of a Walt Disney World attraction pre-show. And if I’m being sincere, Weaver’s portrayal of an ungainly teenager weirded me out. However Saldaña, particularly, together with Worthington, regardless of being burdened with hokey narration, and Dalton, because the youthful son, every delivers a powerful, affecting efficiency behind the CGI of their cat-like faces and lanky, blue-skinned our bodies.

13 years after his final movie, it’s oddly comforting to know Cameron, the filmmaker behind a number of the greatest blockbusters in film historical past, hasn’t misplaced his contact. Even his proclivity for head-scratching plot holes, questionable science and typically cringey dialogue appear unaffected by the passage of time. Oh, snap!

Zingers apart, the film is — shock! — every little thing Cameron supposed: an exciting journey to a different world, a grand, eye-popping spectacle powered by a genuinely shifting household story of epic scale filled with breathtaking motion and with an impactful environmental message. Have I pressured sufficient how attractive this factor appears?!

Simply make sure you see it in 3D on the most important display doable. “Avatar: The Method of Water” is a reminder of the sort of magic that moviegoing remains to be able to.

“Avatar: The Method of Water” is rated PG-13 and opens completely in theaters on Friday, December 16 with preview showings the day earlier than.