Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third installment in filmmaker James Cameron’s sci-fi saga that once again follows former human turned Na’vi, Jake Sully, and as his family as they traverse the alien planet of Pandora, encountering new and old threats along the way. I had the pleasure of seeing this film in IMAX 3D, so while this film’s narrative never quite escapes familiar territory compared to the previous two films, I must say that this film was quite the visual treat. When this franchise’s first installment premiered in 2009, its visual effects were praised as undoubtedly the film’s biggest highlight. The world building of the Pandora, as well as the advanced CGI techniques used to fully realize it, solidified Avatar’s spot as the number one highest grossing film of all time to this day. This film was no different, accompanying its incredible visuals and thrilling action set pieces with introducing us to new locations, creatures, and characters, including the Ash People. Similar to its predecessor, this film continues to expand the lore of Pandora by introducing new Na’vi tribes that correspond with each element. (Kind of reminds me of another franchise called Avatar.) The Ash People, that represent the element of fire, and their leader Varang serves as this film’s antagonists. I found her to be an interesting villain thanks to her performance and her relationship with this franchise’s returning antagonist, Miles Quaritch. I also found it quite interesting to see how the new and returning human characters of this franchise discovered new ways to survive on this alien planet as well. However, speaking of Quaritch, this is notably the third time he’s been a main antagonist in this saga. Like I mentioned before, despite the new locations and characters we get introduced to, this film recycles the story beats and themes of environmentalism from the first film even more so than its predecessor, The Way of Water. It is always great seeing the dynamic of Jake Sully, Neytiri, and their family again, though, as they overcome both physical adversity and emotional. One of my favorite plot points was actually Neytiri’s complicated relationship with humans and learning to accept Spider, Quaritch’s son and the only human member of their family. So, while this being the longest film in the franchise makes the repeated narrative choices a bit more noticeable this time around, anyone looking for the another action packed and visually appealing adventure with the Sully family across Pandora will definitely find it here. Score: 7/10
Noah Robinson 