Avatar: The Way of Water

 Now that it is streaming on Disney Plus, me and Noshi sat down to watch this sequel to the hit movie Avatar.

Though a sidenote first, I loved the CGI use of the original, changing movies forever (albeit perhaps not always for the better), but the film itself I thought back then rather meh.  Yeah, I`m probably one of those five people globally...

 

Taking place about 16 years after the first movie, Jake Sully lives as the chief of the Omatikaya clan, having raised a family with Neytiri.  He now has two sons, Lo'ak and Neteyam, a daughter Tuk as well as adopted daughter Kiri, who strangely and mysteriously was born out of Grace's inert avatar.  Spider, the son of the late colonel Quaritch, also lives with the tribe together with the remaining human scientists.

But as Earth is dying, the RDA returns en masse for a new colonisation effort, including a new project of avatars implanted with the memories of deceased soldiers from the previous effort, including their leader who has the memories and personality of Quaritch.  After a year of their intrusions, Jake is leading a guerilla effort against them, but his children are captured.  jake and Neteyam free them, but Spider remains with his "father", learning them about the Na'vi language and culture.  

Jake and his family are forced to leave the tribal lands after a large assault, burning large parts of it down, and flee to the eastern seaboard where the Mekayina live, aquatic adapted Na'vi in harmony with the creatures of the sea.  Lo'ak befriends one of the sea predators, Payakan, an exile like he feels he his himself as well.  Kiri links with the tribes underwater lifetree, getting to meet her actual mother, but falls unconscious in the trance as she suffers a seizure from the experience.

But Quaritch is on their trail and out to take Jake down.  He starts attacking and interrogating various tribes, but they do not betray their kindred.  He orders whalers to hunt the Tulkun, and as the beasts are threatened Lo'ak learns Payakan was exiled as he attacked whalers that killed his mother.  When the children go to help the beasts, they are caught again, forcing Jake to go to Quadritch to free them in exchange for his own life, but Neteyam is killed when trying to set his siblings free.  An enraged and devastated Jake now faces the colonel, who uses Kiri as a hostage, causing Neytiri to do the same with Spider.

He knocks Quaritch unconscious aboard the sinking ship, but while Spider does rescue him, he refuses to rejoin with him.  Instead, he is welcomed as one of their own into Jake's family, who become part of the sea tribe, planning a new campaign to get the RDA back off Pandora.

So, indeed another visual spectacle for sure, with a flavour of Moby Dick poured over it, and an overall enjoyable movie.  Surely I will watch the next one again as well when it get's released next year, but I can't say still I`m totally into the franchise.  

But it is a nice, albeit long at 3.30 hours, evening entertainment!