Avatar: The Way of Water first review rolls in – from Guillermo del Toro

It’s a big thumbs up from the Oscar-winning director

The first review of Avatar: The Way of Water has arrived – courtesy of Gullermo del Toro.

There is just two weeks to go until James Cameron unveils the sequel, which is his first film since Avatar was released 13 years ago,

The film is reported to be one of the three most expensive films of all time, and has kept Cameron busy due to the arduous creation of new technology required to pull off the film’s extended underwater sequences.

With so much money riding on The Way of Water, Disney – which acquired the film’s original distributor, Fox, in 2019 – is hoping it will actually be good.

Well, according to Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water director del Toro, it’s a marvel that needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

In fact, Spanish filmmaker del Toro has called Avatar: The Way of Water “a staggering achievement” after seeing the film last month.

“It is chockfull of majestic Vistas and emotions at an epic, epic scale,” he tweeted, calling Cameron “a master at the peak of his powers”,

The film’s running time is three hours, 10 minutes, which is more than 30 minutes longer than the first Avatar film.

It will tell the story of the Sully family, ranging frm “the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure”.

Guillermo del Toro gives his verdict on ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ (Twitter)

The Way of Water is the first of four planned Avatar sequels that Cameron will release every other year until 2028.

It will be released in cinemas – in 3D – on 16 December.