Name: Avatar: Fire and Ashes
Director: James Cameron
Author: James Cameron, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Josh Friedman, Shane Salerno
Mould: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Oona Chaplin, Kate Winslet, Britain Dalton, Trinity Bliss, Jack Champion
Style: epic science fiction
Rating: 3/5
Avatar: The Conspiracy of Fire and Ashes
Jake and Neytiri have not recovered from the death of their first son, Netaim. But after losing their home, they have started settling in the Metkayina clan while their wounds heal. His other son, Loach, still blames himself for his brother’s death, but fears of the coming war remain. They encounter a fierce Na’vi tribe, the Mangquan clan, who do not believe in their goddess and have embarked on a path of rebellion. The Ashes team up with the Omatikeya clan’s enemy, Colonel Miles Quaritch, and do their best to defeat Sulis as well as capture the Spider.
What works for Avatar: Fire and Ashes
James Cameron has done a fantastic job in keeping the world of Pandora alive and running. Nearly a few decades in the making, Avatar remains a visual masterpiece that not many have been able to replicate or even come close to. Thankfully, it is stable once again. The filmmaker manages to keep the essence of the transcendental experience alive throughout Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Another admirable factor is the relationship between Jake and Neytiri, which goes through a roller coaster of emotions over the course of the film. This shows how powerful the world-building has been and has taken form in Avatar. They have their differences and loving moments and happily there aren’t too many of them.
Ultimately, towards the end, the actual battle the plot leads to is worth the wait. With many action scenes and potential losses for the Na’vi tribe, you can’t help but root for the leads and cheer as they take charge of the bad guys.
What doesn’t work for Avatar: Fire and Ashes
The dialogue is almost too poor in some cases. While trying to be Gen Z-friendly, all the ‘bros’ and dap-ups get a little too much of is an audience. Speaking of new characters, while we’re glad there weren’t too many unseen faces to learn about, this sequel’s antagonist, Oona Chaplin’s Varang, wasn’t given a chance to shine. Despite being a leader himself, he is on the verge of becoming submissive after being exposed to Quaritch. The adversarial ending of her appearance on screen is honestly disappointing, because not only does she not kill anyone important, but she also escapes Sulis very easily. His standoff with Neytiri should have been bigger and better!
The film moves at a rapid pace, with the most basic changes taking dozens of minutes to occur. The exploration on the part of the children and their relationship with their ‘mother’ (whose names are so varied that you’re not sure it’s the same entity every time) takes a very long time to complete, with very clear hints from the beginning.
In the end, none of the characters get cathartic or cruel endings, except for Kate Winslet’s Ronal, who gets a nice, emotional ending. While the previous film left a big impact with Netaim’s defeat, Fire and Ash doesn’t evoke the same emotions.
Acting performance in Avatar: Fire and Ashes
Jack Champion as Miles "spider" Socorro and Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch won the crown for it, with Sigourney Weaver as Kiri winning the consolation prize. The first two managed to bring the thrilling element, giving their best performances in the entire film.
Avatar’s Last Judgment: Fire and Ashes
With nothing to mourn and a clear plot, the third installment of the Avatar franchise will not blow your mind. It takes a comfortable seat in the cinema hall for 197 minutes, which is actually too long to show some of the expected cards. Kids and fans of the Pandora-world will certainly enjoy getting back into the universe, but with hardly any ashes lying around, we wonder if fire alone will be enough to quench viewers’ thirst.
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