With the recent release of the new Avatar: The Way of Water, fans of the Avatar series are offered brand-new underwater CGI and new visual effects. The groundbreaking use of developing technology perfectly interlaces with the story's identical use of new technology to better the world.
The impressive visual effects throughout the film left audiences in awe at the new world in front of them. After watching Avatar: The Way of Water, it's time to look back to the 2009 release of the ordinal Avatar and the 2022 and see how their visual effects impacted audiences.
'Avatar': Seeds of the Sacred Tree Save Jake's Life
After Jake (Sam Worthington) is left stranded at night after he loses his way from his team, when he is under attack from a group of viperwolves, a Na'vi woman named Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) rescues him, killing several of the animals. Angry at him for making her kill the viperwolves, Neytiri makes to leave, but Jake doesn't give up that easily. As he is chasing her, Neytiri witnesses seeds of Eywa resting all over Jake's body, indicating him as a pure spirit worth saving.
In one of the first scenes, moviegoers see Jake being embraced by the natural environment of Pandora. With the low lighting contrasted by the vibrant illumination of the seeds, and the facial motion capturing, the whole scene is full of a wonderful peace that hushes crowds.
'Avatar': The Hallelujah Mountains
When Grace learns from Dr. Max Patel that Jake has been in constant contact with Quaritch concerning the Na'vi, she arranges for the avatar team to be moved to an isolated camp in the Hallelujah Mountains. As they approach the mountains, the whole team is in awe of the floating islands suspended high in the clouds.
With a genius example of the power of CG, the team behind Avatar's visual success managed to create a breathtaking new take on the mountain setting.
Avatar: Late Night Swim
When the Omatikaya clan agrees to teach Jake the ways of the Na'vi, a reluctant Neytiri becomes his teacher. She teaches him everything from how to hunt, ride, run, and teaches him about the ways of the forest. There is one scene where the two are swimming in a river, and we get a bird's eye shot of them.
One crazy detail within this stunning visual is that the patterns within the water resemble that of human cells. This symbolizes the combination of humans and Na'vi, which is just what Jake is.
'Avatar': Jake's First Flight
When Neytiri tells Jake that he is ready to select his own banshee, he and two other Na'vi hunters follow Tsu'tey's leadership as they perform the Iknimaya ceremony and ascend to the banshee's nest. Jake learns how to connect with and control his banshee, resulting in a beautiful flight alongside Neytiri.
The visual effects are off the charts in this scene, as we see firsthand what it is like to fly through the mountains of Pandora. Along with a beautiful score, this scene is tremendously aesthetically pleasing.
'Avatar': Jake and Neytiri Kiss Under the Tree of Voices
Throughout Avatar audience can see the budding romance and strong connection between Jake and Neytiri. After the ceremony that made Jake forever part of The People, Neytiri takes him to one of their most sacred places, The Tree of Voices. The two share an intense conversation and embrace.
Throughout the whole scene, the backdrop is the beautiful Tree of Voices. The contrast between the blues and purples is stunningly beautiful.
'Avatar': The Fall of Hometree
With the use of gas and incendiary weapons, a sizable offensive force under the command of Quaritch pushes the Na'vi from their residence, setting Hometree ablaze. Quaritch gives his attack squad the command to fire high-explosive missiles into the roots of Hometree as the Na'vi start to leave, which causes the tree to fall on several of the fleeing Na'vi.
One of the most heartbreaking scenes within the first Avatar movie, the destruction of Hometree, sees the mighty home of the Omatikaya people brought down. With the use of impressive visual effects, the shot of the tree falling in a raging fire and sinister airships posed in the foreground is enough to raise chills among fans.
'Avatar': The Birth of Toruk Makto
Jake decides to "take it to a whole new level" to win back the Na'vi's trust and save Grace. When they locate the enormous leonopteryx, they soar there till Jake leaps from his ikran onto its back and bonds with it to become the sixth Toruk Makto.
With facial rigging, 3D animation, and compositing, the scene where Jake wins back the respect of The People is brought to life. Within the film, the impressive CGI of Pandora's natural ecosystem is one of the best uses of CGI in the form of the leonopteryx.
'Avatar': Jake's Birthday
After ending the RDA's control of Pandora, Jake explains that he has decided to remain forever in his avatar form. Upon his return to the Tree of Souls, he experiences the awareness transition from his physical body to his avatar body and awakens to a new life as a Na'vi, declaring August 24th to be his "birthday," the day he formally joins The People as a Na'vi.
In one of the most emotional scenes, we see that Jake is brought to life by the mighty Eywa. The exceptional color palette full of blues, purples, and greens is complimented by the movie's CGI, which was ahead of its time for 2009. The viewer is transported into the scene, watching along as the transcending effects of the awareness transition come into play.
'Avatar 2': Kiri Exploring the Sea
When the Sully family has to flee the forest and travel to the Metkayina's clan located in the reef, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) has a spiritual connection with the water and its inhabitants after becoming fascinated by the aquatic life of Metkayina. Kiri is instantly a natural when she and her siblings learn to swim as the sea people do.
Audiences are taken aback by this scene as they follow Kiri through the crystal waters of the reef. Surrounded by beautiful and realistic eco-life through visual effects, we get to see how Kiri interacts with the water. Compared to the rest of her family, there is a clear ease the water feels when connecting with Kiri. Compared to the 2009 film, the new technologies used in the 2022 film better depict the relationships between Na'vi and nature through color, CGI, and overall picture quality.
'Avatar 2': Lo'ak and Payakan's First Swim
The intelligent and pacifistic cetacean species known as a tulkun, which the Metkayina regard as their spiritual family, saves Lo'ak (Britain Dalton) and befriends him after a prank by the local teenagers puts him in serious danger. They immediately bond and have a picturesque swim together.
The intense realism of the tulkun, and the way it interacts sensually with Lo'ak, solidifies the talents of the people behind the work of Avatar's CGI. With beautifully swishing waters by the use of visual effects and powerful use of audio to exemplify the tulkan's communication with Lo'ak, we get a deep-dive into this progressing bond the two have.