The story also features adolescent flirting, hand-holding, and crushes, as well as marital affection.
And, like the first movie, it has sci-fi action violence, with weapons, hand-to-hand combat, and the hunting of a sacred whale-like creature. Filmed mostly underwater, the three-hour-plus film is visually striking. Jake and his mate, Neytiri ( Zoe Saldaña), now have four children and decide to save their forest clan by seeking refuge for their family among the island dwelling Metkayina clan.
The sequel returns to Pandora 15 years after Jake Sully ( Sam Worthington) rallied the indigenous Na'vi clans against the corrupt "Sky People" (colonizing humans trying to mine and extract Pandora's resources).
Parents need to know that Avatar: The Way of Water is the long-awaited sequel to James Cameron's epic 2009 mega-hit Avatar.