Avatar: The Way of Water debuts on Rotten Tomatoes with a better score than the original

There's no surprise here, as critics privy to advanced screenings are absolutely loving the flick.

Comicbook’s Brandon Davis gave the film a thumbs up while labelling it a ‘visual feast’.

He wrote: “Avatar: The Way of Water, being more than 3 hours long, is both fulfilling and indulgent. It still ends wanting you to know a third is coming. Constantly a visual feast, creative plays with frame rate, and never boring despite. Overall, I liked it.”

While CNN's Tom Page even said the film was better than the original.

He wrote: “#AvatarTheWayOfWater is ‘more is more’ writ large. It’s more beautiful, more in awe of Pandora; more vocal in its environmentalism, more damning of humans. It’s an adrenaline shot to 3D filmmaking and an uncompromising doubling down.

“You’d expect nothing less from Cameron.”

The film, set 14 years after Avatar, has been in the works since 2012 but only began shooting in 2019.

A 900,000-gallon tank was required for filming; however, producers will be getting their money's worth as it's being used for future instalments for the franchise as well.

But as actors had to shoot underwater, it meant that they had to be scuba certified and be able to swim without requiring breathing apparatuses.

Cameron recalled how Sigourney Weaver, 72, left the cast and crew stunned as she taught herself how to hold her breath underwater for six and a half minutes.

Additionally, Kate Winslet ‘blew everybody away when she did a seven-and-a-half-minute breath hold'.

I mean, she did survive the Titanic after all?

Producer Jon Landau also recalled how one day he spotted Winslet walking on the bottom of a circular tank, which reportedly was 40 (12 meters) wide.

He said: "She's walking towards me and sees me in the window, and she just waves, gets to the end of the wall, turns around, and walks all the way back."