Avatar The Way of Water movie review: The long-awaited sequel to the 2009 film continues its breathtaking saga of Pandora, reuniting audiences with Jake Sully and Neytiri as they protect their young family and ageless traditions.
Moving from the sweeping vistas of Pandora’s forests, James Cameron trains his vision on its seas in Avatar: The Way Of Water. Former marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) left his human form in the 2009 original film to become one with the Na’vi and join his mate, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) in the fight to preserve the land and its people. The two have settled into domesticity and started a family, but as they say, peace never lasts long. The Sullys’ world is threatened once again and Jake has to regroup to protect his family after all this time.
James plunges us back into Pandora at a furious pace as we are re-introduced to the world and the years that have gone by. Few friends have remained, old foes return and a new generation is beginning to take shape. Jake and Neytiri’s children have both their spirit and drive as they stumble into new adventures, this time under the sea. The Way of Water introduces us to a new Na’vi clan, the Metkayina, led by leader Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and his wife Ronal (Kate Winslet).
Shifting gears from the floating mountains and dense woods, the lifestyle of the Metkayina is peaceful and remains a safe harbour for the Sully family. One new, young character reminds the ‘refugees’ that ‘the way of the water has no beginning or end’. It is this lesson that they must learn over the events of the film, just as Jake learned about connection among all living things in the first film. If one has not seen the first film, the introduction of characters old and new can be a bit overwhelming seeing as the story sweeps ahead to a grand final, inevitable clash.
The underwater sequences in The Way Of Water are absolutely breathtaking, worth the price of admission ticket alone, and the wonder on the faces of Sully family as they witness this new paradise reflects the amazement of our own. James Horner’s score adds to the moving sequences
