Time Editorial Department | Zhen Zi, Ba Bu Ban, Yin Yin
In 2009, when the first Avatar appeared, the audience was amazed by the Pandora planet created by director James Cameron.
Thirteen years later, we finally waited for the release of his long-overdue sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water.
This time, the focus of the story of the Na ‘vi people has shifted from the lush forests and mountains on Pandora to the clear water surging in the undercurrent.
The hero Jack Sally and his wife Neytiri also ushered in a new life in the family in the new film.
Time Jun watched Avatar: The Way of Water for the first time, and the three-hour viewing experience was like being wrapped in the warm and deep seawater in the film.
People seem to dive to the bottom of the water in one breath, want to enjoy the wonders with their eyes wide open, and are reluctant to emerge from the water and return to the real world.
Today, Time Jun sent a super full movie guide.
Let’s talk about the new story, new technology, ticket version and new marine life of the film.
New story
Before getting to the point, Time Jun will talk a few more words about the intuitive feelings of the film.
"Avatar: The Way of Water", which took 13 years, can really stand the praise of "the ceiling of the film industry".
Thanks to the new technology format of 3D/4K/48 frames, everything in the picture becomes silky, clear, novel and vivid.
When sitting in the cinema smoothly, this unique sense of ceremony in the cinema made Time Jun even a little tearful.
This year, the epidemic situation has been volatile, and cinemas have been opened and closed. Many people have forgotten what it is like to watch movies in cinemas.
But it doesn’t matter, the new film of Ka Shen can let us deeply appreciate the charm of the big screen again.
Back to the story of the new film. At that time, the story of Avatar was not complicated. Jack Sally, a disabled white soldier, fell in love with nature after some soul baptism, helping the Na ‘vi people resist human aggression, protect their homes and gain love.
Even in the end, Jack succeeded in getting rid of his human body and officially became a member of the Na ‘vi people.
It can be said that Avatar is a film about life and survival.
In Avatar: The Way of Water, the theme becomes life and life, which emphasizes the concept of "family" and the importance of "children".
In the new film, Jack and Nami tribe princess Nadiri have children, and they have four children, including the adopted human son Spider.
Spider’s biological parents were human beings who were forced to leave Pandora. Every day, he painted his body blue and lived with Nami.
The first stills exposed in Avatar: The Way of Water is him, which shows its importance in the sequel.
With the threat of survival approaching again, coupled with the departure of the younger daughter. Jack, Nadiri and their four children had to flee to the territory of Mette Cajina clan.
This film introduces the perspectives of several children, and tells the story of family and growth in the new environment from their perspectives.
"Children are our weakness and our armor." This line points out the core of the story.
In the whole story, Jack is no longer a brave leader, but a father full of weaknesses.
This is a mysterious tribe living on the bottom of the sea, from which the underwater world with Avatar: The Way of Water as the main scene is launched.
Another highlight of the plot has also emerged, that is, the sea battle scene between Jack’s family and human beings, which is very worth looking forward to.
Before watching the film, Time Jun was curious. Did it matter if he hadn’t seen the first one?
After all, it’s been thirteen years since the last film was released, and many viewers have forgotten the plot.
How can this film skillfully transfer the story from the forest to the ocean?
It turns out that Cameron skillfully solved these problems in less than an hour at the beginning of the film.
Even if you don’t have time to relive the story of the first film, it won’t affect watching this new film.
The way of water
Thirteen years ago, Avatar was born, which opened a new era of film 3D technology innovation.
Now Avatar: The Way of Water still represents the highest standard of film technology.
The title of the film is "The Way of Water", in which "water" is not only the background of the story, but also the technical key word.
As long as it is related to "water" in filming, the technical difficulty will suddenly rise, not to mention this story, which is placed in Pandora’s ocean world.
The fluidity of water and the reflective characteristics of the surface all pose one problem after another for real shooting and post-production.
How was this underwater visual feast made?
First of all, the crew specially prepared a huge water tank that can hold 900,000 gallons of seawater, so as to simulate ocean currents as realistically as possible, and cooperate with the fluid special effects generated by CG.
In order to ensure realistic visual effects, Ka Shen also made a crazy deep-sea real shooting exploration.
The crew moved some of the real-life shooting work to the Mariana Trench, about 11,000 meters deep.
It is said that in order to shoot underwater scenes this time, Cameron specially asked the actors to learn to dive freely without breathing equipment and hold their breath to complete the performance.
Kate winslet, the leading actor, was specially trained and held his breath underwater for an astonishing 7 minutes and 14 seconds, breaking the crew record.
Cameron and Vita team have carried out numerous technical experiments for this purpose, and created a brand-new water simulation technology.
Because the traditional optical motion capture can’t cope with the reflection of the water surface, it took Ka Shen a year and a half to develop an underwater motion capture system.
This system includes moving clothes and cameras suitable for underwater, both of which are the first time in film history.
He also said that he was very satisfied with the results of capturing data, saying that "the password of underwater motion capture was basically cracked".
Different from the "land-catching+post-special effects" used in Aquaman and other films, Avatar: The Way of Water uses underwater catching on a large scale for the first time. These two methods can be said to be worlds apart in terms of realism.
In the previously exposed studio photos, the small white balls covered with water are hidden.
These balls are mainly used to block light and avoid affecting the accuracy of underwater motion capture system.
But no matter how dazzling the technology is, it will ultimately serve the art and emotion of the film.
As Ka Shen said, "People’s tears when watching Titanic are not for special effects. In Avatar: The Way of Water, we should also strive to achieve a balance between technology and emotion."
How to buy a ticket?
Avatar: The Way of Water has three different film source qualities. According to the mainland release notice of the film, the high frame rate version including 3D/4K/48 frames will be released this time.
Facing all kinds of dazzling screening versions, how to buy tickets has also become a very concerned issue for fans.
By comparison, it is found that there are only CINITY, IMAX Second Generation Laser Hall and Dolby Cinema which fully support 3D/4K/48 frames at present.
If the audience expects to fully enjoy the audio-visual effect of the film, the above three types of cinemas are the first choice.
The most important indicator here is whether the cinema supports "48 frames" and "4K".
Among them, "48 frames" refers to fluency, and "4K" refers to clarity.
Only in such a high-speed and smooth image can the audience experience a completely different visual impact and immersion effect from the traditional 24-frame movie.
CINITY is a high-end projection system independently developed by China.
It is the exclusive domestic screening technology partner of Avatar: The Way of Water, and it is also the viewing choice recommended by director Cameron himself.
If you like bigger and brighter screens, you can choose IMAX first.
Because the most distinctive feature of IMAX is the huge screen, the IMAX standard screen is 22 meters wide and 16 meters high, which has the effect of "standing on the ground".
However, it should be noted that this version of 48 frames needs IMAX laser hall to be perfectly compatible. If the visual effect is more perfect, please pay attention to choosing IMAX laser hall.
If you have requirements for the fineness of the picture, you can choose Dolby Cinema.
When buying tickets, it is necessary to distinguish that "Dolby Cinema" and "Dolby Atmos" are different concepts. Simply put, Dolby Cinema = Dolby Panoramic Sound+Dolby Vision+Dolby 3D+ Cinema Design.
Hard core science popularization of marine life
The last one went to heaven, and this one went to sea.
In the first Avatar, the land mount of the Na ‘vi people, the heavily armored horse with six legs, and the flying mount Banxi Beast, which is loyal to only one Na ‘vi people all his life, are impressive.
In Avatar: The Way of Water, we will also see Tulkun, a super-intelligent beast like a whale in the ocean of Pandora, and Ilu, a flying fish in the water, which carries the functions similar to those in the first installment of the Banxi beast.
Time Jun simply gives you the magical marine life in Avatar: The Way of Water under the popular science.
1. Ilu Yilu
Yilu is a Pandora’s sea creature similar to plesiosaur. Just as the heavily armored horse is the mount of the forest Na ‘vi people, Yilu also undertakes the mount function of the marine Na ‘vi people (such as the Mekayi tribe).
It is an amphibian with a length of 7 meters, a long neck, six fins, four eyes, a rubber-like tail and two long tentacles on its head.
Yilu is smart and friendly, and is easily tamed and domesticated.
2. Akula Akula
It is very ferocious and has important cultural significance for the marine tribe Metkayina. The serrated knife of the aborigines is imitating Akula’s teeth.
The necklace worn on the chest by Tonowari (cliff curtis), the leader of the Mekayi tribe, is an Akula’s tooth.
3. Skimwing Gliding Fish
Gliding fish live in Pandora’s ocean, their bodies are gray, and their huge fins are orange, which allows people to glide on the water, while their tails need to be pushed forward all the time.
They breathe through their gills when they are underwater, but they breathe in oxygen through two nostrils on their heads when flying, mainly eating fish and small birds. Meikai and other marine tribes use gliding fish to hunt and also use them as mounts in war.
Only the most skilled Mekay hunter can tame a gliding fish. They are moody and it is difficult to form a connection with their riders. In the film, Jack Sally (sam worthington) will ride his own gliding fish.
4. Tulkun Tukun
Tukun, like a whale, is more than 90 meters long and is the largest animal in Pandora.
They are very clever, forming a culture in their own population-absolutely prohibiting all forms of killing, and also making great achievements in mathematics and music.
Tukun has a good language function, can communicate with the Na ‘vi people, and is very close to the Mekayi tribe.
They will share their families, the arrival of new babies and mourn for the lost family members with the Mekai people. Tukun can store memories and share them with the Na ‘vi people.
In Avatar: The Way of Water, Jack’s youngest son, Lohac (Brittan Dalton), will become close friends with a Tukun named Payakan and play an important role in the film.
Finally, Avatar: The Way of Water scored as high as 8.7 points on Time. Have you seen it? When are you going to see it?
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