Avatar: The Way Of Water Was A Titanic Size Journey Of Emotion

By: Mark T. Wilson

There are not many films that could take more than a decade-long break between films and still touch viewers the same way the original did. Avatar: The Way of The Water was able to recapture what made the original Avatar so special and still find a way to grab a new generation of viewers. But was it the movie itself or the mastermind behind it all, James Cameron?

Remember Cameron? Not for the work he did with Terminator or the original Avatar but for what he did with Titanic. While Avatar 2 was not scripted like the oh-so-popular heartbreaking story of the Titanic, Cameron managed to put nothing but pure emotion into his new film the same way he did that blockbuster.

In the original, it was about Jake Sully finding his own path in Pandora. He would eventually fall in love with one of its residents, Neytiri and of course, there was a huge battle with the “sky people” that would be the action part of the film. However, in the sequel, Cameron decided to add a bit more drama to this script much like Titanic.

Sully, in the original, was a loner looking for purpose. He would find it and more as he became the warrior the Na’vi tribe needed. But as we open up in Avatar 2, Sully is now a father of 4 and a husband doing his best to keep his kids in check. Think of Sully as Jack Dawson and Neytiri as Rose but with kids trapped on a sinking boat doing their best to keep their family safe. That’s exactly what Avatar 2 was like. Sully’s stick together.

Remember the scene in Titanic when Rose was off the boat but decided to jump back on to save Jack? That’s what Neytiri was to Jake in this movie. She was his guiding force. But much like the Titanic, it’s hard to stop a sinking ship once the floodgates are open.

Cameron Proved His Genius Again With Avatar 2

For Sully, the sinking ship was his family. He tried to rule with an iron fist but much like his character in the original, his son, Lo’ak possessed the same stubbornness he did. This did cause major friction but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

The Sully family had to learn the ways of another tribe and with that came its own challenges. But during filming, there is no way Cameron could pass up those epic and historical Titanic references where ships and water are concerned.

With Neyriti and Tuk clinging to life and water beginning to fill up over their heads, it was a classic mirror image of Jack and Rose gasping for breath as they would submerge themselves underwater looking for an escape. There was also an eerie scene where Sully was sinking to the bottom of the ocean reminiscent of what happened to Jack during that controversial scene where Rose finally let go of his hand.

Two different movies, and two different scenes but the meaning behind both is what places James Cameron in a different league than most directors.