Avatar: The Way of Water is a unique movie that explores the concept of family, home and death. It showcases the struggles of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) as they try to protect their family amidst the threat of a re-launched attack by the RDA, led by the dreaded Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang).
The movie begins on a joyous note with Sully having become the Olo’eyktan of the Omatikaya and also the proud father of four children – sons Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) and Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), and daughters Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li). The Sully family is content and happy. However, the peace is short-lived as they are soon forced to flee to the turquoise kingdom of the Metkayina clan. There, they invoke “Uturu”, a Na’vi tradition that allows sanctuary to anyone seeking refuge.
Unfortunately, their troubles are far from over as Quaritch returns with a vengeance, and Sully and Neytiri must now protect their family and the Tulkuns, who are the soul brothers and sisters of the Metkayina clan. It takes a lot of courage, but they manage to fight off Quaritch. Sadly, Neteyam, Sully and Neytiri’s oldest son, is killed in the process.
The movie ends with Sully and Neytiri connecting to Metkayina’s ancestral tree, which allows them to visit and see Neteyam in a spiritual sense. This implies that no life is truly lost, even after death.
Avatar: The Way of Water is a film that touches upon various themes such as the catastrophic dangers of colonisation, the battle between man and nature, and the understanding of grief and loss for the children. Through this movie, James Cameron cleverly infuses a deep message about the human need to conquer and the importance of family and community.