By: Kimberly Grant

Like its fans that have grown up since 2009, the latest Avatar: The Way of Water has aged.  The Way of Water will release in theaters on December 16.

We’ve Aged…

We’ve all seen the first Avatar, which wowed audiences in 2009 and grossed almost $3 billion globally.  It was a film that the entire family could watch and enjoy.  Thirteen years later, our beloved Na’vi are back on the big screen and its fans are over a decade older.  Apparently, 13 can be a lucky number.

Once again directed by James Cameron, who also wrote the script with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, the sequel takes the audience on an adventure in another part of the planet of Pandora.  This time, our beloved characters, Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) are now parents with five children who aren’t all biological, but loved all the same: Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), and Spider (Jack Champion).

The cast also includes Kate Winslet playing Sea Queen Ronal, Cliff Curtis as Sea Chief Tonowari, CCH Pounder as Grandma Mo’at, Jemaine Clement as scientist Scoresby, Edie Falco as General Ardmore, and Bailey Bass as Sea Princess Tsireya.

…Gracefully

A marine to his heart, Jake spends his days as the Chief of his village and leading raids of the sky people’s supplies.  (Spoiler alert!)  In the first Avatar, the film ended with the Na’vi forcing the sky people out of Pandora and back to their home planet of Earth.  Only a select few of the sky people were allowed to remain.  But Jake’s actions against the sky people who returned and their supplies has earned their ire.  And, they need to bring in a formidable force to stop him.

Enter original Avatar villain, Quaritch (Stephen Lang).  He’s back in an upgraded body, along with his henchmen and henchwomen.  Their mission is to end Jake and stop him from sabotaging the sky people’s plans of inhabiting Pandora as a second Earth.  The only way to get to Jake and Neytiri is through their children. 

One of the great themes of Way of Water is its commentary on climate change.  Unfortunately, the discussion of climate change is even more timely now than it was 13 years ago.  Apparently, we’ve aged, but we still haven’t fully learned.

Good, Clean Fun

While the film highlights the themes of climate change, it also highlights what Western nations have done to other nations that are considered third world with great natural resources.  In the film, the sky people who have destroyed their planet are insistent on taking the land already inhabited by the Na’vi who have not started a war with them.  Sound familiar?  Another theme of the film is family.  A lot of families in today’s societies are not all blood-related.  There are different types of families that are stronger than blood and I’m glad that Cameron and company decided to highlight that. 

I also like the idea that there are multiple nations seemingly represented in the film, including African, Polynesian, Latin, and Native American.  The way that Cameron and company highlight the beauty and richness of these cultures is by showing audiences that there are other types of Na’vi in Pandora.  This time, the audience gets to meet the sea people who have sea green skin and eyes.  Their look is different, but they are able to co-exist with the forest living Na’vi; showing that we can be different and still co-exist.

Highly Recommend

Way of Water is just as stunningly shot (if not better) as the first film.  I highly recommend paying the extra money for the IMAX 3D experience.  Yes, it will be way over budget.  And, yes, it will be worth it to get the full effect of a film that was shot just so you could experience it in a 3D environment. 

Way of Water is a gorgeous film and continuation of the previous movie that won the hearts of billions of people.   Not only that, but the introduction of a different type of Na’vi is refreshing.  Did I mention that I highly recommend seeing this film?  Way of Water is a love letter to indigenous people, the beauty of nature, and all of its creatures; on sea and land.

Wondering what other movies would be worth a watch during the holiday break?  You can read my review of Wakanda Forever.

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