Avatar: The Way of Water

It may have come out thirteen years too late, but this sequel works with how it improved on all that the first Avatar revolutionized for CGI technology. That includes updating the camera used in the first installment to work for filming underwater, as well as inventing a new camera system where the use of two lenses could capture more detailed facial expressions from the actors. On that note, a new facial recognition system was used to keep a database of every emotion each actor would express throughout the movie, which helped the animators in post-production. There was another new technique used by the animators called “motion grading,” which rendered the action at twenty-four frames per second during slower scenes, and forty-eight during the faster scenes.

Then there are the underwater segments, which while filming were shot under ultraviolet light, unlike the shots above the surface, which were shot under infrared light. To prepare for this, the cast underwent a year of training on how to swim underwater, including six months of diaphragmatic breathing exercises. Also, a fun fact: Kate Winslet broke the world record for the longest time someone ever held their breath on a film set: seven minutes and fifteen seconds! So despite its obvious flaws in story and dialogue, Avatar: The Way of Water is worth the time just to see what it will change about visual effects.

PG-13 (DLV)
Sci-fi/Action
3 hr. 12 min.

Watch it for FUN.
Watch it to feel HAPPY and AFRAID.