Why So Blu?

Avatar: The Way Of Water (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

It was great joy to watch Avatar: The Way Of Water defy the Twitter crowd’s betting against Cameron/”No cultural footprint” movement regarding the Avatar films. The film exploding back to the big screens and the box office and Pandora once again ruled the galaxy. Its rollout was a more traditional one with having staying power in theaters, then heading to rental and then available for purchase. Its 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray paired with the original for release on June 20th. It came with a Dolby Atmos track and a boatload of bonus materials. If you haven’t yet (Yes, I’m a bit late on my review), you can order using the paid Amazon Associates link at the the bottom of this page, following the review.

Film

Jake Sully and Ney’tiri have formed a family and are doing everything to stay together. However, they must leave their home and explore the regions of Pandora. When an ancient threat resurfaces, Jake must fight a difficult war against the humans.

We’ll just start with the technical achievements on Avatar: The Way Of Water. The first one certainly impressed with crafting an artificial world with artificial characters. A huge step in motion capture. The film also boosted the power of both IMAX and 3D with movie presentation. A feat that really wasn’t recaptured until this film. The Way Of Water showcases new ways to impress in the field of computer generated visual effects. Its water sequences are absolutely stunning. If the first one wow’d with CGI effects that felt fresh, new and pushing boundaries, then The Way of Water made me believe in them again after a decade preceding it of substandard or mediocre presentations in tentpole blockbusters.

One place that improves upon the first film are the characters here in the sequel. Not that there weren’t good ones before, but there were plenty of “types” that didn’t feel wholly different from many of the films that cultivated in the original’s script. Here we have the children of those characters and they are quite an interesting group to be following around. Given they also have terrific performances, but their dramas and relations with one another really feel like they stick. Especially in the case of Spider and his Na’vi cloned father. There’s an earnestness to all the characters and it really hits well in the emotion of the film and the stakes of the big action set pieces and drama that drives the overarching story.

A major component that works in The Way Of Water (and the original film for that matter) is the hang out factor. Yes, the film has a lengthy runtime, but its utilized quite well. There’s an exploratory nature to these films that makes them enjoyable. You not only get some more character stuff that goes beyond just spoken dialogue or conflicts, but it the world itself is built and becomes a character in itself. A viewer is able to awe and see how Pandora fully functions and the beauty of its nature. There’s a sense of wonder we always praise the blockbusters of yesteryear for having and James Cameron has had that at the forefront of these two films. Its a big planet and we are still merely scraping the surface of it. While Star Wars, Star Trek and Guardians of the Galaxy hope from galaxy to galaxy and planet to planet, we only see a mere city or region on one of them. Cameron shows you, there’s so much more than just a little stereotype of a planet (Desert, ice, forest) to these places and their cultures/societies.

If Avatar: The Way Of Water didn’t wow you in the theater, I’m not sure movies are for you. At least on a technical, craftsperson’s level, the film is absolutely top notch. It doesn’t sit and accept mediocre or “that’ll do” for a blockbuster. It pushes the limits and wows in terms of the ways big screen spectacles are supposed to. It wears its heart on its sleeve and also has one of blockbuster filmmaking’s greatest artists delivering a climax that is quite a tremendous sequence of events and action set pieces. While we will see more Avatar movies, there’s nothing left on the table here and waiting for another one. The Way Of Water is a complete idea, holding nothing back and giving you everything it promises to.

Video

Disclaimer: Screen captures used in the review are promotional images, not the 4K UHD Blu-ray disc.

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Layers: BD-100

Clarity/Detail: To the surprise of no one, The Way Of Water looks absolutely stunning on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. This is one for the books, folks and to show off the format. The digital effects are presented so pristine they are damn near lifelike. Colors are a spectacle and the finer details show through so crisp and clear.

Depth: This is a pretty spacious three dimensional image with grand scale and a nifty pushback for depth in the interior sequences. The film was intended for 3D and that certainly lends a hand. Movements are smooth and natural with no issues of distortions causing a blur or jitter.

Black Levels: Blacks are deep and natural. They are very refined with many shades and tints that help to show quite clear, many textures, patterns and details. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Of course, blue rules are, but there’s a great saturation that shows a very tropical beauty to Pandora this time around. These colors, while striking, have a sort of realness to them. HDR provides plenty of glow to the underwater creatures and plants as well as fire, beams and more.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural on humans and blue natural on Na’vi and carry a consistent tone from start to finish. Facial features are incredible fine and like looking through a window. Even the Na’vi appear lifelike.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

Audio

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, English 2.0 DTS-HD MA, English 2.0 Descriptive Audio, English Family Audio Track, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, Japanese 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Japanese

Dynamics: The Way Of Water carries a terrific Atmos presentation, it just needs kicked up a couple notches for a bit more maximum effect. This is pretty loud and every present, giving you the grand 360 degree viewer experience. There is a perfect balance and incredible layering and depth to give you a sense of being there and bringing Pandora to life.

Height: From above there are a range of flying creatures, sea creatures jumping overhead or merely swimming, blasts, explosions, debris falling and so much more. Its loud, audible and effective.

Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer booms with waves crashing, splashing as well as explosions, gunfire, mechanisms operating and engines roar and more.

Surround Sound Presentation:  This is a well mapped out world built here with the rear and side channels crafting an ambiance that sets the mood but also the ability to track off screen activity as well as angle switches. There is good power to the rolling sound as it travels around the room from speaker to speaker.

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear and crisp.

Extras

Avatar: The Way of Water is 3-Disc set and comes with 2-Disc standard Blu-ray edition and a redeemable digital code. All bonus materials are found on Disc 3.

Inside Pandora’s Box – The featurettes collect a full on Making-Of experience. From visual effects to the characters to the score and more, you are very well covered in how The Way Of Water was made.

• Building the World of Pandora (HD, 9:33)
• Capturing Pandora (HD, 10:47)
• The Undersea World of Pandora (HD, 11:30)
• The Challenges of Pandora’s Waters (HD, 11:42)
• Pandora’s Returning Characters (HD, 9:00)
• Pandora’s Next Generation (HD, 10:47)
• Spider’s Web (HD, 10:23)
• Becoming Na’vi (HD, 10:51)
• The Reef People of Pandora (HD, 11:47)
• Bringing Pandora to Life (HD, 14:40)
• The RDA Returns to Pandora (HD, 13:34)
• The New Characters of Pandora (HD, 9:38)
• The Sounds of Pandora (HD, 13:32)
• New Zealand – Pandora’s Home (HD, 4:24)

More From Pandora’s Box – Another collection of featurettes, these culminating in some added material like screen tests, talk about cast and some behind the scenes on the stuntwork.

• Casting (HD, 10:01)
• Stunts (HD, 5:42)
• The Lab (HD, 6:43)
• The Troupe (HD, 5:38)

Marketing Materials and Music Video

• Nothing is Lost (You Give Me Strength) Music Video (HD, 4:42)
• Theatrical Trailer 1 (HD, 1:39)
• Theatrical Trailer 2 (HD, 2:29)

Summary

Returning to Pandora was an amazing experience and one that wholeheartedly gives you similar thrills and awe while passing by its predecessor in every way. This 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray provides one of the most impressive home video experiences in both audio and video while also loading you with bonus material. An instant pickup.

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