Avatar: The Way of Water is the sequel to James Cameron’s 2009 Avatar, a story of the alien species called the Na’vi, who must defend their home world Pandora from humans, otherwise known as the “sky people”.

Way of Water brings back the characters from the first film, with Jake Sully and his wife Neytiri, who now have three kids Neteyam, Lo’ak and Tuktiri as well as his two adoptive kids Miles and Kiri.

After killing general Miles Quaritch in the first film and sending the “sky people” home, Quaritch returns to Pandora in Na’vi form along with his fellow now Na’vi comrades. The team has only one goal in mind, kill Jake Sully.

13 years after the first film, which was revolutionary with its CGI that stood the test of time, I couldn’t imagine how they could’ve possibly topped it. But James Cameron did it again. The CGI in this film was easily the best I’ve ever seen and two times better than the first.

To see just how unbelievable the CGI is, watching it in 3D is a must. I’m personally not a fan of 3D films, but this movie just wouldn’t be the same without it. Every scene feels so immersive and real. This was one of the only films I would prefer in 3D, as it makes the CGI looks 10x better.

As for the storyline, the movie is packed with action from the very beginning. From the moment the movie starts, you are already on the edge of your seat. The only issue I have is everything feels very predictable. No matter what the situation was, I was almost always right with what the outcome would be. It had a very average storytelling you see in most Hollywood films. But in the case of The Way of Water, the CGI is so breathtaking that it makes up for the average storyline

Another issue I had with the film was the runtime. The movie pushes three hours, similar to the first one. Despite the movie having plenty of action from the beginning to end, the movie is simply longer than it should have. I felt the movie could have easily been wrapped up in two hours. The constant action definitely made up for this, but it can become repetitive after a while.

I enjoyed the expansion into other parts of Pandora, and the other species of Na’vi that the planet holds. The movie had to take a new turn as to set it’s self apart from the first one, and I thought it did a great job of that.

As for the ending, I felt it answered a lot, while also leaving storylines open for future movies and a lot of content the franchise can explore. With the new movies already rumored to have been made, I feel the franchise still has plenty left to show.

Overall, the CGI alone makes this movie a great film. Add along the 3D immersive feel, and this movie is easily one of the best of the year. I would give it a 8/10, with it’s predictable storyline being its downfall.