Many years after the humans attacked the people of Pandora, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) becomes chief of the Omaticaya clan and starts a family with Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña). The two raise their children Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), Tuk (Trinity Bliss), and adopted daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver). The kids become great friends with a human boy named Spider (Jack Champion) who is the son of Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang). 

In the movie, Earth is dying, and the humans (RDA) are determined to colonize Pandora and make it their new home. Colonel Quaritch’s memories are implanted into a Na’vi avatar, along with other deceased RDA members, to create a special avatar task force with one task: find and kill Jake Sully.  When the kids accidentally encounter the RDA, Spider is captured to be used as an interpreter and guide for them to locate Jake. 

The Sully family is thrown into devastating situations throughout the film. Jake makes a difficult decision to move his family out of the forest to protect his people from the RDA, since they have Spider’s knowledge of their whereabouts. They travel to the Metkayina reef people’s clan, where they are granted refuge. Here, the Sully family learns the clan’s culture and the way of the sea. 

Throughout the film, Jake has immense character development. He believes that his role as a father is to protect his family, and because of this, he always encourages his children to make good decisions.  Lo’ak feels that he constantly disappoints his father because he makes rash decisions that sometimes end with people getting hurt. Since the RDA captures the Sully children, the Metkayina clan and RDA fight until the kids are safely brought back. Jake shows strong leadership throughout the battle, by doing everything in his power to protect his family. Near the end of the film, however, Jake expresses to Lo’ak that he is proud of what he has done in the battle and “sees” Lo’ak for who he truly is. 

The film displays the importance of family and belonging. The Sully family’s connection with each other shows that they are willing to always stick up for each other. Jake’s re-emphasis of his famous line, “Sullys stick together,” shows their loyalty towards each other. He describes how they are each other’s greatest weakness and greatest strength. When they first moved to live with the Metkayina, the reef people judged them and made fun of them for being different. Nevertheless, they defended each other and helped each other adjust to their new home. 

Another recognizable character bond was between Lo’ak and Neteyam. Lo’ak feels that he’s always in the “shadow” of his older brother’s success and achievements. This pushes him to try his hardest to impress his father and finally make an image for himself. On the other hand, Neteyam loves his younger brother very much, only wanting to keep him safe and out of trouble. As the battle between the RDA and the Metkayina begins to unfold, Lo’ak and Neteyam work well together and their bond grows stronger. 

The cast did a phenomenal job of displaying emotions and character development throughout the film. The plot ensures that the audience will be engaged and “on their toes” at all times. 

Overall, I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys the “Avatar” storyline. As a sequel to the first “Avatar” film, it did live up to its expectations. I really liked how the film was set in an oceanic environment instead of a forest, which was unique and made the film even more interesting to watch. This movie does a great job of portraying key themes of family and belonging, while also offering tons of entertainment. 

“Avatar: The Way of Water” is now available to watch in theaters.