On December 16, 2022, 20th Century Studios released Avatar: The Way of Water, the sequel to the 2009 film Avatar. The highly anticipated motion picture presents the original characters Jake Sully and Ney’tiri Sully taking their four children, leaving their land of Hometree, and traveling the regions of Pandora to escape danger from Jake’s past enemies. The film was directed by legendary director James Cameron, who also directed the iconic films Titanic and The Terminator along with the first Avatar movie. With Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Kate Winslet, and Sigourney Weaver in the cast for this Avatar sequel, we were granted an abundance of phenomenal, award-winning actors. 

     Along with the perfect casting, it’s absolutely necessary to note the flawless combination of genres of action and comedy, with hints of thriller. The film carries through every emotion possible within the three hours and twelve minutes of riveting adventure. The main themes in the story revolve around the importance of family, unbounded loyalty, and unforeseen friendship. The uniqueness of the plot is conveyed as the characters team up with enemies, connect with creatures, and learn warriorhood. The characters undergo many moral tests and make a series of life-or-death decisions. We are introduced to many new and enticing characters of different backgrounds and customs. They make known Lo’ak Sully and Tsireya of the Metkayina tribe, who are teased as a romantic possibility which I’m hoping is continued in the next film.

     Additionally, the special effects of the movie were completely off the charts.  From the impeccable depiction of the underwater creatures, to the human-like facial expressions of the people of Pandora, the quality of the special effects was astounding. The fight between Jake and the Colonel, two ten-foot-tall blue aliens, was so intensely impressive. It left me and others in my theater on the edge of our seats. For the miraculous ocean, the crew constructed a thirty-two-foot-deep tank that held 90,000 gallons and simulated waves and currents. All of the extreme efforts they took contributed to the high-quality production.

     One of my personal favorite aspects of this production was the completely euphonious soundtrack. Composed by musical prodigy Simon Franglen, the album contains music from Canadian-Ethiopian artist the Weeknd and co-lead Zoe Saldana. The music in the film will leave your heart heavy yet hopeful. One detail that, perhaps, led to the film’s success was its immense budget which topped 350 million US dollars, making it one of the four most expensive movies of all time. Lightstorm Entertainment had no problem earning it back though as the movie passed $1.5 billion in the international box office within the third week of its release, making it the #1 worldwide release of 2022. Ranked or not, it was definitely the movie of the year in my books!  I, for one, have absolute faith in the success of the next movie. Avatar 2 is a must-watch and if you miss it in theaters, it is expected to join Disney+ later in 2023.