When does ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ come out? How long is the movie?

James Cameron immersed the world, literally, in the distant planet Pandora in 2009 when he revolutionized the 3D film experience with ‘Avatar’. The visually stunning movie broke box office records at the time and 13 years later is still the number one grossing film.

Thursday 16 December, the long-awaited sequel ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ will hit theaters. The second installment of Cameron’s CGI franchise that will consist of five in total. The film is just over half an hour longer than the original ‘Avatar’. However, the full 192 minutes of the animated motion picture has been described as “a movie crossed with a virtual-reality theme-park ride.”

What is the story of ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’?

According to the film’s synopsis, ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ is set over a decade after the original movie. It tells the story of the Sully family, Jake, Neytiri and their five children.

A familiar threat forces them to flee and seek refuge in the land of the Metkayina clan that live in the Pandoran oceans. But as trouble follows them they will have to endure tragedies and go to great lengths to keep each other safe and fight to stay alive.

What are the critics saying?

The general consensus is that ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ is even more visually spectacular than the first and deepens the original story. One critic went so far as to say “such a staggering improvement over the original because its spectacle doesn’t have to compensate for its story.”

As for the length of the movie, three hours and 12 minutes, if not done right could be quite the slog but in the case of ‘The Way of Water’ “it’s not a big ask,” says film writer Lindsey Bahr. “Cameron’s sequel is a truly dazzling cinematic experience that will have you floating on a blockbuster high,” she said. And that it “will make awe-struck believers out of even ‘Avatar’ agnostics” which she counted herself as one.