The Na’vi are back, everyone! After the release of the original “Avatar” back in 2009, fa

ns have been waiting anxiously for a sequel. With its dynamic characters, all-star cast, and real world message, the first Avatar was an automatic hit. Its popularity only grew after Zoë Saldana – the actress that plays Neytiri – appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Gamora. In fact, it is the highest grossing movie of all time by almost 200 million dollars.

The original Avatar, directed by the prolific James Cameron, followed Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington), a former Marine paralyzed from the waist down as he takes his twin brother’s place on a mission to Pandora, an alien world with a highly poisonous environment. To combat the toxic air, scientists have created Avatars; human/Na’vi hybrids. Using one of these Avatars, Jake goes down to Pandora with the mission to kill the natives, but ends up falling in love with a Na’vi named Neytiri and saves her tribe instead. 

But, as everyone knows, there’s always one major challenge with sequels: how to create something that measures up to the first.

Here’s the thing. The original Avatar was stunning but Avatar: Way of Water is a work of art. In the 13 years since the first Avatar came out, CGI technology has improved by leaps and bounds and now has the ability to create settings that look as real as the world right outside our windows. The visuals in Way of Water are breathtaking to say the least. The scenery is so lifelike and compelling that you can’t help but get sucked in almost instantly. Another plus? Jake and Neytiri are parents now, with four rambunctious, sassy, troublemaking kids. Their family moments are wholesome and adorable and you will want to hug the youngest one. 

So what’s the downside?

Well, the movie is over three hours long. Now, the first Avatar wasn’t much shorter at almost two hours and 45 minutes, but that extra half hour makes a huge difference. As someone who most definitely cannot sit still for that long, the runtime is a major drawback. While we want to explore Pandora and see the beauty that is Avatar, we don’t need three hours! To make matters worse, they could have cut at least a half hour of content without losing any major plot points. It’s unsurprising that Way of Water ended up being one of the most expensive movies ever at over 400 million dollars with this amount of footage. 

This movie is a work of cinematic artistry. It is a once in a lifetime look into a gorgeous fantasy world. But that’s what it is; a once in a lifetime experience.