Avatar: The Way of Water was released on December 16, 2022, in theaters and is the long-awaited sequel to the 2009 Avatar, the second highest-grossing movie of all time. It is a PG-13 movie with a current rating of 7.8/10 on IMDb. In the short amount of time that Avatar 2 has been out, it is already the 4th highest-grossing movie of all time, surpassing Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The sequel is based on the Sully family- Jake, Neytiri, and their four kids. Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña reprised their roles as Jake and Neytiri for the sequel along with Sigourney Weaver who originally played Dr. Grace Augustine but returned to play the doctor’s daughter, Kiri Sully. The story takes place on the planet Pandora, home to the Navi, and the area where humans have chosen to move their civilization. Earth is dying, and humans need a new home urgently. The Sully family faces the danger of being hunted and flees to the Metkayina’s Waterworld, where they seek refuge among the new tribe.
Overall, this movie has had positive ratings about the plot and the virtual effects despite the length of the movie. The runtime of Avatar 2 comes in at 3 hours and 12 minutes compared to the 2009 movie which runs for 2 hours and 42 minutes. Usually, Hollywood movies are shorter which stands in contrast to the lengths of both movies.
Personally, when I saw the movie, I was not bored, regardless of the length of the movie. There was not a point where I felt disinterested enough to use my phone instead of watching the movie. One part of the movie that I liked was that the story could be understood even without watching the first movie. Avatar 1 will give you a leg up on some of the small details of the sequel, but it is not anything huge.
I enjoyed the movie and the themes that it showed. A majority of the movie is focused on the character development of the water avatars and the kids of the Sully family. Sequels have the stereotype of being worse than the original and ruining the story, but the creators did a wonderful job of avoiding that problem. For me, this movie was equally as amazing as Avatar 1. The story was not complicated to understand, so I think that it would be suitable for any age. The consequences shown in this movie are also a great way to introduce kids to the idea of advocating for taking care of the Earth.
James Cameron has already stated his plans for the future of the Avatar franchise. The third movie is set to release on December 20, 2024, as it was filmed simultaneously in New Zealand along with the sequel. Along with that, Avatar 2 leaves off 2022 on a good note by becoming the highest-grossing film of the year. The sequel is currently over 2.2 billion dollars at the global box office.
The visual effects in this movie were stunning and only added to the experience of the story. The experience of watching this movie in 3D in theaters was amazing. If you have the resources to spend, I would highly suggest watching this film in 3D. Many of the action scenes in the movie feel more dramatic, and the heightened effects draw you in. Avatar 2 is currently only available in theaters but is planned to be released on Disney+ sometime this year. I would recommend this movie to anyone of any age and I would give it five out of five stars. This movie is definitely worth your time.
