“there’s something unique in its symbiosis of technical wizardry and dreamlike, pulp-inspired imagination that underpins every minute of this three-hour-plus runtime. Its length never feels like a marathon but a scenic endurance hike of natural pauses and the drama of steep elevation”
“The Way of Water’s revolutionary technology only strengthens its political bent. Avatar’s more simplistic “Pocahontas in space” narrative (a technically accurate criticism that misses the point) is surpassed by The Way of Water’s more aggressive pro-Indigenous and pro-ecological activism”
“However splashy Way of Water is (sometimes too much for its own good), it nakedly lays bare the sins of Western imperialism in far more uncompromising terms”
“The jarring frame rate changes, which all depend on your viewing format, can result in a mixed experience”