I’ve been looking forward to checking out the new Avatar movie, Avatar: The Way of Water, and have some mixed feelings about the film. It’s definitely worth a watch if you liked the first Avatar and would like to continue where they left off, with Jake Sully becoming a real Na’vi. Please be warned there are some little spoilers ahead. It’s hard to write a review of a 3+ hours movie without revealing something!

*I was provided with a free movie code for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Avatar: The Way of Water, a.k.a Humans are the Worst

Avatar: The Way of Water is out now for purchase on all digital retailers. It is not yet available for rent or streaming on Disney+. Check it out on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/40P8X2t

As we learned from the first Avatar, humans are heartless beings that destroy planets and civilizations without care. While there are a few good eggs, most of them are portrayed as bad guys. It gets worse in the second film, where pretty much EVERY earthling is an enemy that kills and destroys ruthlessly to get what they want.

And the military? Those guys are the Worst! Gun happy and cruel, they follow orders without question and don’t hesitate to kill the Na’vi or their animals. It makes you wonder about this future Earth. Is nobody paying attention to what these people are up to? Are there no regulations in space?

The movie overall left us with a lot of questions. It seemed like the idea to keep the movie going was that Jake and his family make one bad decision after another. The first of those being them leaving the original Na’vi clan to go live with the water people. Like, why would that stop the military from pursuing their resources if they decided to regroup and come back? Is it really all just about Jake Sully?

Enter one resurrected bad guy hell bent on revenge and the answer to the above question is apparently, yes, we have to believe it IS really all about Jake Sully and nobody is going to bother the tree Na’vi at all anymore since they left.

Big Visuals and Big Explosions

Overall, Avatar: The Way of Water is visually stunning. It all seems very real, not like an animated film. It’s like a beautiful nature film combined with a war movie. One minute it’s all guns and explosions, the next they’re all swimming peacefully with sea animals.

Water obviously plays a big part in the movie, and if you have any worries about drowning, the multiple scenes of “gumping” may get you feeling a bit anxious. I’d never heard the term, but my husband is a SF Underwater Combat Diver, and apparently for them, gumping is a the term used to describe those last few moments when you make a “gump” sort of noise before you suck in water and experience a shallow water blackout. Or you drown if you are in deep water and sink. I do not recommend Googling the term “gumping” because the Urban Dictionary has a lot of pretty gross definitions for it, none of them involving water.

I actually had a bit of high anxiety off and on throughout the whole movie, with all the fighting, possible drowning, and Neytiri doing that high pitched wheezing scream thing she does when she’s angry or anguished. The marine group (now all masquerading as Na’vi) were all pretty brutal. My husband at one point exclaimed, “This is like some Vietnam War shit.”

To me, it felt like they sacrificed some story substance for a lot of in your face visuals. And then in the end, you are left hanging and realize you spent over 3 hours and are not really sure what’s going on. The only thing you know is that nothing is resolved, and Jake and his family are not safe, nor is anyone around them.

But am I still going to watch the third Avatar when it comes out? Of course! I am still hoping for a happy ending.

Watch the Trailer:

Official PR Info:

BURBANK, Calif. (March 28, 2023) – James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water is available to buy TODAY exclusively on all major digital retailers including Apple TV, Prime Video, Vudu, Google Play and Movies Anywhere. 

Fans can now add the film to their digital movie collection in spectacular 4K Ultra HD™ quality and immersive Dolby Atmos audio. Plus, they can enjoy over three hours of never-before-seen bonus content featuring the filmmakers, cast and crew.

To celebrate today’s digital release and Earth Month, fans can continue to participate in the “Keep Our Oceans Amazing” campaign, which launched with the theatrical release of Avatar: The Way of Water. This initiative supports The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and its work to protect 10 of our oceans’ amazing animals and their habitats, connected to the beauty of Pandora.

From now through July 31, 2023, fans can create their very own Avatar-inspired ocean creature. For every creature created in the Virtual Pandoran Ocean, Disney U.S. will give $5 to TNC U.S. to help them achieve their global goal of protecting 10 percent of the ocean by 2030.