'Avatar: The Way of Water' review roundup: See it on the biggest screen possible, critics say

James Cameron's long-awaited sequel to 2009's "Avatar" arrives successful theaters this play and it has critics captivated and exasperated.

Disney's "Avatar: The Way of Water," which clocks successful astatine implicit 3 hours long, is being hailed arsenic a stunning portion of cinema, generating a "Fresh" standing connected Rotten Tomatoes. But, its communicative is bladed and, similar the original, doesn't clasp up against Cameron's lofty method ambitions, respective critics said.

"The Way of Water" follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) who are present the parents of 4 Na'vi children. The household is driven from their wood location erstwhile humans instrumentality to re-colonize parts of Pandora.

Read more: "Avatar: The Way of Water" could beryllium headed for a $175 cardinal opening weekend

Critics are adamant that audiences should ticker "The Way of Water" connected the biggest surface possible, lauding the movie for its you-won't-believe-this-is-computer-generated visuals and bombastic dependable design.

But the film's agelong runtime was a responsibility constituent for many, who recovered that Cameron's publication was excessively bladed to warrant 3 hours successful a theater.

Here's what critics thought of "Avatar: The Way of Water" earlier its Friday release.

"The sequel to Cameron's 2009 container bureau hit, 'Avatar: The Way of Water,' is simply bigger and amended than its predecessor in each regard," wrote reviewer Eric Francisco.

"It demands the biggest surface you tin find truthful that its astir potent elements — from its intolerable standard and skillful spectacle, to its much implicit scope of emotions and thematic romanticism — tin beryllium wholly absorbed," helium said.

Francisco noted that determination are immoderate hiccups successful the film's crippled and successful "Cameron's ain inability to resist" teasing elements of the adjacent installment successful the franchise. Apparently, determination are respective unresolved narratives that audiences volition person to hold to spot successful aboriginal Avatar movies.

"As is the lawsuit with astir of Cameron's films, what elevates his enactment is the bravado of his execution, allowing magnificent beasts and scenery premier existent property connected the screen, portion large-scale battles person choky spatial and rhythmic coherence," helium wrote. "Both ne'er neglect to animate awe. The bioluminescent creatures and caverns aren't conscionable a dazzling ocular to distract us, they enactment successful tandem with the storytelling to make a revelatory experience."

Read the afloat reappraisal from Inverse.

"'Avatar 2' is decidedly a showcase for ocular effects institution Weta FX (the faces of Pandora's Na'vi heroes person go adjacent much expressive)," wrote Charlotte O'Sullivan successful her review.

"But I've ne'er thought Cameron was God's acquisition to cinema," she added. "For astir of 'Titanic''s moving clip my gut feeling was, 'Just descend already' and immoderate of the 68-year-old director's worst tendencies are connected show successful 'Avatar 2': over-familiar crippled beats, overwrought people and endless shots of the Na'vi's obscenely willowy, coyly sexualized bodies."

Despite this, "The Way of Water" is "breathtaking," O'Sullivan wrote, noting that aft leaving the theatre she "felt similar I'd been done thing special."

Like many, O'Sullivan indicated that the communicative of "The Way of Water" leaves overmuch to beryllium desired.

"Plot-wise, this movie is treading water," she wrote. "But that's fine, due to the fact that the water's lovely."

Read the afloat reappraisal from Evening Standard.

Those that recovered themselves returning to the theatre again and again to spot "Avatar" connected the large surface a decennary ago, "The Way of Water" is "vivid and enthralling."

For those that recovered the archetypal movie overly agelong and bladed connected story, "The Way of Water" won't bash overmuch to endear you to the satellite of Pandora.

"This sequel volition repetition your acquisition of the first," wrote Wenlei Ma successful her reappraisal of the movie for News.com.au.

Ma did enactment that "The Way of Water" is "jaw-droppingly beautiful," likening it to watching a David Attenborough documentary alternatively than a CGI feature. However, she says the visuals aren't capable to outweigh the lackluster story.

"The communicative is simply a elemental pursuit plot, simply a template to bash what Cameron seems much intent connected achieving, which is seeing conscionable however acold helium tin propulsion the technological and ocular aspects of filmmaking," she wrote.

"The 3D visuals are undoubtedly cool, but it shouldn't beryllium the lone crushed to spot this film," she added. "It's each sheen and spectacle, truthful for a movie astir the affectional depths betwixt the Na'vi and their environment, it's frustratingly each surface."

Read the afloat reappraisal from News.com.au.

"In 'Avatar: The Way of Water,' the manager James Cameron pulls you down truthful deep, and sets you truthful mildly adrift, that astatine times you don't consciousness similar you're watching a movie truthful overmuch arsenic floating successful one," wrote reviewer Justin Chang.

"Much arsenic you mightiness agelong for Cameron to support america down determination — to springiness us, successful effect, the astir costly and elaborate underwater hangout movie ever made — helium can't oregon won't prolong each this dreamy Jacques-Cousteau-on-mushrooms wonderment for three-plus hours," helium wrote. "He's James Cameron, aft all, and helium has a stirringly old-fashioned communicative to tell, crap dialog to dispense and, successful time, a hellhole of an enactment movie to unleash, implicit with fiery shipwrecks, deadly arrows and a whale-sized, tortoise-skinned carnal known arsenic a Tulkun."

Chang said its "marvelous" to person Cameron's beingness backmost connected the large screen. He notes the famed manager has agelong been questioned for his choices successful movie projects — radical thought helium was brainsick to nutrient "Titanic" — but "his latest and astir ambitious representation volition stun astir of his naysayers into silence."

Read the afloat reappraisal from Los Angeles Times.

Not everyone was enamored by Cameron's attraction to item and expansive lore building.

"'Avatar: The Way of Water' is simply a one-hour communicative rattling astir successful a 192-minute bag," wrote Mick LaSalle successful his reappraisal of the film. "There was imaginable present for thing lovely, a saccharine and moving biology parable clocking successful astatine 90 minutes, tops."

"But, no, James Cameron can't bash thing truthful modest," helium wrote. 

LaSalle said "The Way of Water" feels bloated with excessively galore ideas competing for abstraction wrong its already lofty three-hour tally time.

"'The Way of Water' starts wherever the archetypal near disconnected and stops with the committedness of sequels," helium wrote. "Long, agelong sequels. That's not a promise. It's a threat."

Read the afloat reappraisal from the San Francisco Chronicle.