Contemporary cinema is going through a kind of crisis: the duration of the films. Although it is not a new debate, Avatar: The Way of Water He puts it back on the table for its duration of 3 hours and 12 minutes. Is it little? Its alot? That depends on the work and the narrative journey it has. So what’s the debate? This production is the longest of the year, at a time when the streaming predominates. About, James Cameron referenced.
Avatar: The Way of Water It is the second film in the franchise, which will have a total of five productions. It is a mega narrative focused on continuing to develop an entire universe in relation to the various characters in the story. In addition, it supposes, in the case of the second production –and as it happened with the first– a technological advance that has influenced the way of making other productions.
James Cameron, as part of the communication strategy for Avatar: The Way of Water, has constantly insisted on the theme of duration. Within those references, he made a comparison in which he contrasted the habit of binge-watching an eight-episode series. So, in his opinion, What is the problem of seeing three hours instead of eight? It is a long running theme.
The duration of Avatar: The Way of Water
and the “tension”, according to James Cameron
Avatar: The Way of Water exceeded the duration of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and of Top Gun: Maverick, another two of the longest productions of the year. Its recent premiere, the conversation itself generated by James Cameron about the duration, and the habits of the audiences today (agitated due to the pandemic due to the COVID-19), are aspects that continue to lead to discussions. In this regard, the filmmaker said in Entertainment Weekly:
“I think there was a lot of tension around the length. Because it’s a complicated linear narrative, which is the worst case scenario to try to shorten, you have a complex story serving a lot of characters, and it’s like a falling domino: this has to happen for that to happen.”
Avatar: The Way of Water it is framed within a franchise of five episodes, through which it is desired to explore Pandora and various relationships between the characters. Those that James Cameron defines as time lines. To the above comment he added the following, linking it to duration:
“(In production) You’re not following a bunch of parallel plot lines in a way that you could pull off a lot. The hardest thing when you’re trying to cut a movie short is holding on to things that don’t advance the plot., which are beautiful, scary, or suspenseful on their own. Things would come out, and then if I felt like the beat was off, we’d put things back on.”
Avatar: The Way of Water It premiered on December 15. of this year. It is expected to be one of the productions that manages to raise the most money. Several issues influence this, from the tradition marked by the first film, released in 2009, forming a wide fan base. Another issue that influences is the expectation generated.
It’s the perfect time to see Avatar before the premiere of the new film
On Avatar: The Way of Water It is not only talked about for its technological development, but also for issues such as bringing back a narrative that at the time led to multiple discussions and analysis. A kind of virtuous circle that, with the recent launch of the second and with three more productions in development, will continue to feed.