When Avatar came out back in 2009, it completely changed the world of science fiction. It revolutionized the use of CGI and even created a renaissance in 3D. It is now the top grossing movie of all time.
We have waited a long time for the sequel but it finally came out and it looks like we will not have to wait long for the next sequel.
How does Avatar: The Way of the Water compare to the first movie? Part of the attraction of the first movie was encountering this new planet for the first time, and enjoying the beautiful depiction of it on the big screen.
Although we are familiar with Pandora, it was predominantly the forest ecosystem. In the Way of Water, not surprisingly, we shift to the sea.
Here we encounter a community that lives in the sea. They are similar to the forest people but have evolved to adapt to sea life. This allows the audience to recapture the sense of wonder from the first movie.
The basic plot is that Sully, the human who lives in an avatar body, and his wife build a family and enjoy life on Pandora. But of course the sky people (humans from earth) return to the planet to wreck everything.
This time, the humans have a new plan. They have placed the memories of some of their deceased soldiers into avatars, to close the physical strength gap between the opponents. Their mission is to hunt down Sully and his family, and to stop their resistance to the human plans for Pandora.
Sully and family, hoping to protect themselves and their people, leave the forest and travel to the sea, seeking sanctuary from those who live there. While they are extremely skilled in the forest, they have a steep learning curve when it comes to sea life.
Of course the humans eventually track them down and there is a big battle that is just as entertaining as the big battle in the first movie.
Of course the movie is not just about fantasy and science fiction. There is an environmental message that is applicable to the real world. In this case, it is not a very subtle warning about the killing of species, especially whales. It is an important message and it does not take away from the story.
The Way of the Water is definitely a good movie. While it doesn’t quite meet the standard of the first but it gets close. It follows the formula of the first to great effect. And in case you are wondering, it is now the third highest grossing movie of all time.
