Christopher McCoy

It’s worth the 12 year wait between the first movie and this one. It’s worth the 3 hours and 12 minutes run time. It’s worth seeing it in the theatres, 3-D if possible. Avatar The Way of Water builds onto the world of Pandora and the core Na’Vi family we loved from the first movie in an elegant way that pulls on the heart strings. There is the duality of laughter and pain, joy and sorrow, peace and vengeance - I cannot recommend this movie enough. The story line serves as a love letter of sorts to the ocean and humanity’s relationship to it. Similar to the narrative painted in the first installment, Avatar: The Way of Water charges the viewers to imagine a symbiotic relationship with nature, but more specifically the ocean. The new water-locked environments and sea animals we were exposed to in this film were not only beautifully produced on screen, they were crucial to the story’s main points. Central questions like “What would life on Earth look like if humanity was as intentional with preserving the balance of life as it is with establishing world “superpowers?”; “When will it be enough?” Additionally, the messaging of family is heavily emphasized throughout this film. Not only are we shown how the Sullys are coping with parenthood, we see dynamics that echo the real-world such as foster parenting, insiders versus outsiders, the importance of community, sibling rivalry and the need for proving oneself to their parents. Is family the blood that binds us, the bonds we make with one another intentionally or somewhere in between? Like any long film, it requires preparation prior to watching. As long as you do so, you will have zero problems - it also helps that the film doesn’t make you feel like you just sat 3 hours when experiencing it. Looking forward to the third installment and beyond.