In 2009, “Avatar” was first introduced in theaters. Its immersive storyline and captivating graphics had people engrossed, and it ended up being the highest-grossing film of all time. After being placed on hold for 13 years, Avatar made a comeback. In December of 2022, “Avatar: The Way of Water” was released and it received an abundance of watchtime and ratings. People were in awe and found that the visual effects were very appealing to the eye. This movie’s box office estimated out to be 2.923 billion dollars and it took 250 million dollars to make. The movie resulted in a 1.5 billion dollar profit, and it ended up being the highest-grossing film of 2022.

The sequel still takes place in Pandora, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) have started a family and reside in a forest terrain. They live there until it is clear that they are under threat, and Jake Sully makes the tough decision to pack up everything and take him and his family elsewhere to seek sanctuary. They end up staying with a water tribe known as At’wa Attu.They introduce themselves to the leader, Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and his wife Ronal (Kate Winslet). However, they’re wary of them. They don’t believe that they would be able to adapt due to their different features and abilities. Despite the Sully’s being met with hostility, they still try their hardest to adjust to their ways.

The special effects and CGI in “Avatar” are nothing like people have seen before. In “Avatar” the CGI was titled as award winning, but it doesn’t even compare to the CGI in “Avatar: The Way of Water”. The CGI was even more advanced than before. The lighting and the characters’ facial expressions were more intricate, and the way the Na’vi looked standing next to humans looked more natural. There were roughly 3200 shots of CGI, most of which were underwater. The process of CGI is very difficult, so these shots are very impressive. The director, James Cameron, wanted to ensure that technology was advanced enough to accurately depict his vision, which is why he waited so long. Cameron was also hesitant to let other people chime in when it came to writing the storyline, and when he did, he sent back over 800 pages of notes to the writers.

Some of the best special effects displayed are when the characters are shown exploring the Pandora sea. They are seen swimming at rapid speeds, interacting with the unique sea animals and battling with one another. These underwater scenes are some of the most realistic shots in the movie, and this is because actors were required to have a year of diving experience so that the scenes were actually shot underwater. In Kate Winslet’s role as Ronal, she ended up hitting the world record for holding her breath underwater for seven minutes.

This movie is three hours long, but each scene is included with reason and helps the sequence of the plot line flow well. A lot of the main plot holes included in “Avatar” are clarified, so it’s easy to understand what is happening and who everyone is. Each character gets the chance to be introduced properly, so it makes the overall experience of the movie impactful. The build up in this movie keeps people on the edge of their seat and makes the movie not seem too long, as it places the viewer in the world of Pandora.

This sequel was worth all the time that it took to make, and there are many more to come. During the making of “Avatar:The Way of Water”, Cameron and his team already began working on Avatar 3 and 4. It is estimated that these movies will come out sooner. “Avatar: The Way of Water” was brilliantly made, and despite the repetitive plot, it’s redeemed by the visuals and overall theme, which centers around family values and protecting the ones you love. I highly recommend it if you want to experience an emotional upheaval.