AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Jack Champion, Britain Dalton, Kate Winslet, Oona Chaplin, Cliff Curtis, Brendan Cowell, David Thewlis, Bailey Bass, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, and Giovanni Ribisi
Director: James Cameron
NICK
Thus far, Avatar has meant spectacular visual achievements with dynamic world-building, underdeveloped characters, and a thin story. With Fire and Ash, the first two are still true (it’s mesmerizing to witness), but the latter two are greatly improved upon. This is the first time I was able to get invested in these characters as their development takes center stage via engaging story threads. It’s far from perfect, of course, thanks to a final act that somehow feels both overstuffed and understuffed, but this is a vast improvement over the previous trips to Pandora. And for the first time, I’m looking forward to coming back.
AMARÚ
Fire and Ash could be the best of the series or the worst, which is a testament to James Cameron’s directorial consistency. Cameron somehow surpasses the previous two films’ mesmerizing visual effects, and also improves on the franchises’ biggest weakness: creating memorable character development by the end credits. However, the execution of these impressive features left me feeling like I watched a three-hour television season instead of one cohesive film. With such a grand scope, the editing choppily juggles the multitude of storylines, unceremoniously dropping some, never to return. Yet, the film’s massively entertaining feats make its sum greater than its vacillating parts.
QUENTIN
I recently called Wake Up Dead Man the “least good” chapter of the excellent Knives Out franchise. On the flipside, Fire and Ash is the “least mediocre” chapter of the extremely blah Avatar franchise. Credit given for slight improvements to character development, but the terrible dialogue, atrocious performances, and lazy writing remain throughout the unnecessary 195-minute runtime. Then there are the visuals... during quieter moments, they can be breathtaking; however, during fast-paced and chaotically directed action sequences, it’s back to looking like a video game cutscene that has been run through a smoothing filter. Once again, it’s more of the same, with an extra dose of repetitiveness.
ADRIANO
I’ve enjoyed the previous Avatar films, but with Fire and Ash, James Cameron doesn’t offer much that is new. I always found the claim that The Way of Water was one big retread of the first movie silly, but here, it certainly retreads a lot of the previous films' ideas while barely expanding on the world. At more than three hours, it’s hard not to notice, too. As a spectacle, it’s still marvelous to look at (only time I’ll ever succumb to 3D), but with a smaller gap between films, this was less of a fulfilling continuation and more just being Avatar again.
BODE
For as flawed as the Avatar films can be, I’ve been on board with James Cameron’s vision from the start thanks to the awe-inspiring digital wizardry and sincere passion that drives them, which is more than I can say for some CG-heavy modern blockbusters of its size and scale. That’s why I’m bummed to report that while Fire and Ash once again delivers in terms of craftsmanship, its narrative is basically The Way of Water: Part Two, mostly repeating ideas to lesser effect. I still had a good time with this, but I hope future sequels have more actual new material.
KATIE
Avatar: Fire and Ash continues James Cameron’s series of visually arresting epics. Although it feels like a direct continuation of The Way of Water narratively, the film feels bigger and more spectacular. The story is derivative, but it's visually stunning and all-encompassing, and I can't help but lose myself in Cameron’s richly imagined world and colossal action sequences. I was disappointed that the new addition of Varang, played by Oona Chaplin, is underutilised. She’s set up perfectly as the film’s villain, but doesn’t fulfil her chaotic potential. What Fire and Ash lacks in character development, it makes up for in spectacle.
