Regardless of one’s personal thoughts about his latest film project, there is no denying that James Cameron is a talented filmmaker in his own right.

A quick glance at his body of work should tell you all you need to know: “The Terminator”, “Titanic” and “Aliens” are just a few of his most prolific works.

However, the most talented of creators can make the strangest of decisions, and Cameron’s dedication to his “Avatar” film series is certainly as admirable as it is baffling.

When “Avatar” first came out in 2009, it was nothing short of a visual masterpiece, with the ground-breaking special effects in the film wowing audiences internationally.

For that reason, it became among the highest-grossing films of all time, only being eclipsed in 2019 by “Avengers: Endgame”.

While there was no question about the film being a visual spectacle, critics did correctly point out that the story itself was nothing too special.

Parallels between it and “Dances with Wolves” were quite common, what with the outsider main character going native and fighting against a technologically superior enemy.

Cameron certainly didn’t give a damn about what the critics had to say, as “Avatar” was his pet project and he aspired to do more with the gorgeous universe he created.

More than a decade later and Cameron is back with a sequel, supposedly meant to continue where the first film let off.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” is among the priciest movies to date, with Cameron apparently praying it will make its money back.

Once again, the focus is on Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), the former human marine who went on to become the Na’vi chief of the Omaticaya tribe.

Over a decade has passed since the events of the first film and Sully has since formed a family together with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), having three children and one adopted daughter.

All seems well… until it isn’t. Humans, being a pesky, greedy and stubborn lot, show up on Pandora once again.

More importantly though, a face from the past returns. Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), the antagonist of the first film, is back from the dead, albeit blue.

Apparently, before Quaritch went off to meet his end, he had his memories and personality uploaded for safekeeping.

Hence, he is now back in a Na’vi body, and he is quite eager for revenge against Sully and Neytiri for their role in his previous death.

With Quaritch and his goons hot on their trail, Sully decides the best way to protect his family is to relocate them far from their forest home.

Sure enough, they seek shelter with a seagoing Na’vi tribe, where they hope they will remain undetected. But nothing is ever that easy, is it?

Now, to start off with the praise… it’s pretty. It’s very pretty. The world of CGI has seen much progress since 2009.

In fact, it is increasingly rare to have films which are not a flurry of virtual images blended in with real-world actors performing in front of green screens.

Yet, the world which Cameron depicts is still a breathtaking one, with Pandora’s alien flora and fauna being a joy to look at.

From a filmmaking standpoint, credit has to go to Cameron for the work he put into polishing his pet project.

The fact that many of the scenes had to be filmed underwater also underlines his dedication to the craft, given the logistical and technical challenges that fact poses.

If you enjoy watching nature documentaries, “Avatar: The Way of Water” is certainly pleasing to the eye, with Simon Franglen’s compositions adding to the atmosphere.

Story-wise though? Sigh. What is there to say that people have not already said? It is something of a repeat of the plot of the first film.

Na’vi happy. Humans bad. Humans come blow things up. Na’vi angry. Na’vi blow humans up. Humans leave. Na’vi happy.

There. There’s the plot for you. A plot which is stretched over a whopping 195 minutes, after which audiences are left running to the loo.

It drags on deliberately sometimes, to show the audience the colourful world Cameron has created. However, this hardly does favours for the already scant story.

Most of the characters are hardly worth speaking of, with Sully being the worst offender. A bland piece of cardboard would be quite an apt comparison.

It seems that for the most part, the characters are there merely to advance the plot, rather than to be characters themselves. What personality? What depth?

Also, why would the humans, after their embarrassing defeat the last time, not just blow the Na’vi up from the safety of space?

As one Sigourney Weaver character once put it, “Nuke it from orbit.” Wouldn’t make much of a movie, but at least your bladder would thank you.

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ is screening in cinemas nationwide.