As the release of Avatar: The Way of Water looms, the entire film industry is holding its breath — and not just because James Cameron’s been shooting under water again. Released in December 2009, the original Avatar was an oddity. Set on the distant world of Pandora, the only source of the rare but helpfully named mineral “Unobtainium”, Cameron’s futuristic epic depicted a conflict between the humanity and the indigenous alien population. The movie was most notable for its special effects, rendering the planet’s large feline-esque inhabitants through motion capture technology and immersing the audience through game-changing 3D cinematography. As...