While the third installment in the AVATAR franchise dazzles with amazing 3D visuals, it also starts to feel more like a real universe by introducing shades of grey to its antagonists and feel like its more about a thin story to prop up the visuals.
It’s not much of a secret that this reviewer isn’t a huge fan of the Avatar era of the directing career of James Cameron. While the tools and 3D processes he’s innovated with this franchise of films make a valid and undeniable case for the theatrical exhibition experience, the film’s narrative has always been what makes the series feel somewhat lacking. The original film’s macguffin, Unobtainium, was ultimately replaced by a metaphor to the whaling industry to make it feel more relatable in Avatar 2: The Way of Water. The latest installment in the Avatar franchise, Avatar Fire and Ash, which hits theaters on December 19th, picks up where The Way of Water left off (this was originally conceived as one long film split in half). One of my original concerns with The Way of Water was that it felt like a movie that was all-set up; this sequel does give you payoff for many of Avatar 2’s plot points, addressing the secret of Kiri’s identity and her connection to Eywa, the Gaia of the Avatar world of Pandora and Lo’ak, Jake Sully’s surviving son.
The big development in this sequel is Kiri’s connection to Pandora and how in a moment of potential loss, she is able to harness the power of Eywa to transform Spider (Jack Champion) into a being capable of living in Pandora’s atmosphere. As the whole premise of Avatar relies on humanity growing Na’Vi clone bodies due the planet’s atmosphere being toxic to humans, this opens up a potential genocide event from the company to wipe out the Na’Vi and Jake Sully. Sam Worthington’s Sully shines a lot in this installment as he’s lost family and purpose to keep going, Neytiri has retreated into herself and Jake blames his other son Lo’Ak in part for his brother’s death. Lo’ak is struggling with being alone and an outsider away from those he loves. Kiri struggles with having monumental powers but not being able to commune with Eywa and not knowing her origins as a clone.
But the story does shine a bit more here with the Na’vi clone of Quaritch (Stephen Lang) as he still struggles with his son Spider being on Jake’s side and potentially being used as a a tool by the company. He starts to develop shades of grey as he teams with Sully several times in the film due to dire circumstances. But also as he develops a relationship with Oona Chaplin’s Varang, a sort of dark mirror of Neytiri, part of a fire clan that has rebuked Eywa and wants to destroy Pandora. Having a mirror for both Jake and Neytiri really makes the series feel less cartoonish and more nuanced and Lang really does good work here.
The true work of course is the VFX and motion capture. There is so much nuance captured and reflected in the performances that it does seem very real and immersive, especially in 3D/4DX. It’s a feast for the senses and Cameron’s storytelling and scene staging echoes some of his best efforts in T2 and True Lies. That all being said, the film rehashes a lot of the same type of setpieces as Way of Water and in that sense it does feel overlong especially clocking in at around 3 hours. Fans of the series won’t complain, but the film’s cliffhanger elements do make the investment of time seem a bit aggravating for the viewer.
Overall, if you enjoyed previous Avatar films, Fire and Ash is more in that vein with more nuance and character work and world building. But it doesn’t serve as a great jumping on point. The series is in a position to become more compelling and that’s high praise from someone who is not a super fan of the lore but of the filmmaking on display here.
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VIDEO REVIEW