Parents' Guide to

Avatar: The Way of Water

Movie PG-13 2022 192 minutes
Avatar: The Way of Water Movie Poster

Common Sense Media Review

Sandie Angulo Chen By Sandie Angulo Chen , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Long but dazzling return to Pandora has sci-fi violence.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Jake Sully riding on a fish
    1:06
  • Avatar: The Way of Water Movie: Scene #1
  • Avatar: The Way of Water Movie: Scene #2
  • Avatar: The Way of Water Movie: Scene #3

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 39 parent reviews

Anonymous
Written by Anonymous
April 7, 2023
age 16+

3 hours of extreme unnecessary violence !

3+ hours of senseless violence. Our American soldiers saw the slaughter of Indians as natural event, and would not rest until they were all killed hundreds of years ago. That’s exactly what this movie portrays. Since they have destroyed Earth, now they seek other planets to destroy. Now they intend to destroy Pandora as well. The entire movie is full of senseless unnecessary violence, fighting and killing. They kill “fake” whales. Which still is hard to watch. Unnecessary swearing throughout the movie as well. It’s extremely mean spirited, violent and disgusting. And they now speak fluent English as well as fluent dirty slangs. Definitely not appropriate for any kids under 13.
marvelnerd11
marvelnerd11 Adult
December 18, 2022
age 10+

More kid friendly than the 1st

This movie is much milder than the first in most ways. There is much less language than there was in the first, with the exception of one f word near the end. There is nudity (for anyone who wants to have their kids look away, it is near the beginning when the kids visit the lab. The scene moves to a tube holding an avatar. The avatar is completely naked, but the nudity only last 3-4 seconds. This is the only scene with nudity. The costumes in the rest of the movie are less revealing than those in the first.) There is violence, but again, less than there was in the first, with one exception. A man’s arm is severed, but the lead up to the moment is worse than the actual moment itself. (If you want your kiddos to hide their eyes, it is during a big fight scene with boats. A wire is wrapped around the boat and begins to cut into it. You’ll know when to have them look away.) Overall, if your kid was able to watch the first movie without any issues, they will be fine to watch this one. Personally, I enjoyed the movie. While it is long, it wraps you up into the story so much that you almost forget that you are watching a movie.
See all 39 parent reviews

What's the Story?

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER is set approximately 15 years after the events of the original Avatar. In the forests of Pandora, Jake (Sam Worthington) and his mate, Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), are now parents to two teen sons, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) and Lo'ak (Britain Dalton), as well as a young girl named Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), and Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), the teen daughter they adopted after she was born under mysterious circumstances. Jake has helped the Na'vi fight against the Sky People (humans trying to mine and extract Pandora's resources), but the onslaught of the humans' military operations ramps up when they launch a new mission: sending a select group of avatars with the uploaded consciousness and memories of the long-dead Col. Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and his loyal soldiers. Quaritch and his Na'vi-fied squad terrorize Jake and Neytiri's Omaticaya clan until Jake convinces Neytiri that their immediate family should leave and seek refuge with the far-off island dwelling Metkayina clan, who are a different shade of blue and boast fin-like tails and flipper-like hands. Their leader, Tonowari (Cliff Curtis), and his spiritual leader mate, Ronal (Kate Winslet), tentatively grant Jake and Neytiri's family sanctuary, but eventually Quaritch tracks them down and brings the war of the Sky People to the water clans.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (39 ):
Kids say (112 ):

James Cameron's crowd-pleasing sequel is a spectacular technical achievement that, while overlong, manages to dazzle the senses enough to prove that the director is still a visionary. Avatar: The Way of Water isn't a movie you see for its layered, complicated plot. The storyline is simple, and the dialogue is mostly expository or cliché, particularly when Quaritch talks. But it doesn't quite matter, because Cameron puts the movie's $350 million budget to remarkable use in all of the underwater sequences, the incredible creature effects, and the overall immersive return to Pandora. It's worth seeing on the biggest screen possible, in 3D if you can. Yes, the three-hour-plus runtime is long, but it's easy to get lost in the movie's memorable world-building. The motion-capture performances are fascinating to behold, and Winslet and Curtis are welcome additions to the cast. Of the young actors, Dalton stands out as Neytiri and Jake's troublemaking younger son, Lo'ak, who befriends an outcast tulkun (the sacred alien whales). Also worth noting is Jack Champion as Spider, the human boy raised among the Na'vi but whose mask marks him as different. His bond with Kiri, who's also a little bit different, seems headed toward romance, but it's too early to tell (not to mention complicated).

Lang's Quaritch is only slightly less unhinged in this installment than he was in the first film. But he's far from the only antagonist. The Na'vi face seemingly insurmountable odds as the humans' tech gets better and deadlier. The action sequences come mostly in the third act, but there are moments of pulse-pounding peril throughout that will make audiences clutch their seats (or their partners). There's even an extended ship-sinking sequence that's reminiscent of Titanic, right down to how people grip the railing and hold their breath as areas flood. While there's no Pandoran quartet playing classical music, composer Simon Franglen uses the late James Horner's original themes to create an evocative score as the Na'vi fight for their lives. With Avatar: The Way of Water, Cameron and cinematographer Russell Carpenter have created something monumental in scope, so much so that the movie's flaws don't prevent it from being stunning.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the visual and special effects in Avatar: The Way of Water. How do they compare to those in the first movie? How has technology changed since that one was released?

  • What themes does James Cameron consistently work into his films? Compare aspects of Avatar to the Terminator movies and Titanic. What similarities can you find?

  • Discuss the difference between how humans dealt with the Na'vi in the first movie and in this sequel.

  • How do the different tribes from Pandora interact, work together, and use teamwork to achieve their goals? Why is that an important character strength?

  • The language and culture of the Maori people indigenous to New Zealand provided director James Cameron with inspiration for the sea-based Metkayina people. What are respectful ways to acknowledge other cultures?

Movie Details

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