By Phebe Lyne
“Avatar: The Way of Water,” directed by James Cameron, was released in theaters in December 2022.
This film follows Jake Sully and his family as they experience a whole new world on Pandora, with a new type of Na’vi, new creatures and culture, and a new playing field. This film takes place a few years after the events of the first film, where we see Jake and his wife Neytiri start a family and continue to fight the humans, or “sky people,” as they push on to colonize the planet.
“The Way of Water” brings up new problems, such as the consequences of whale hunting, how families can overcome obstacles if they work together and how adapting to a new environment can give you an advantage. Since most of the film was underwater, the actors had to learn how to hold their breath underwater for long periods of time. The motion capture has greatly improved since the first film came out in 2009, and I really enjoyed the design of the characters and creatures, along with an amazing soundtrack, including a song sung by Zoe Saldana herself.
This film is worth the three-hour runtime along with its character and creature design. I would love to watch this movie and its other sequels if Cameron continues to go down this path. The next part of this franchise will be released in 2024.
