Director James Cameron doesn’t do anything small. He makes big movies with big budgets and massive action sequences, all powered by some of the best special effects available. And nearly every film he’s made brings in a staggering amount of money.
His movies are meant to be seen on the biggest screen possible, and Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third film in the Avatar series, is no exception.
The film picks up shortly after The Way of Water left off. The Na’vi are still on edge, constantly looking over their shoulder for the perpetually vindictive Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and his crew. That tension only grows when it becomes clear that Spider (Jack Champion), Quaritch’s son, is living among the Na’vi. In an effort to protect both Spider and their clan, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) decide the only option is to relocate him to a remote corner of Pandora, hoping he’ll never be found.
That hope doesn’t last long.
Almost as soon as the journey begins, they’ve been made, and from there, like in Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film, it’s one battle after another… Sorry, I couldn’t resist writing that.
Quaritch, now joined once again by General Ardmore (Edie Falco), wants Spider brought back to their base, especially after discovering that he can breathe Pandora’s air without a mask, thanks to Kiri (Sigourney Weaver, de-aged to play a teenager). And then there’s the new big bad: Varang (Una Chaplin), who pretty much wants everyone dead, which is exactly what you want from a good old-fashioned villain.
One of the pleasures of this series is watching the characters age and evolve since the first film back in 2009 — which somehow feels like ancient history now. For Worthington, Saldaña, and Lang, slipping back into these roles must feel like putting on a comfortable pair of shoes. And Sigourney Weaver clearly seems to be having a blast playing a 14-year-old girl.
The cast is stacked, and Fire and Ash truly feels like an ensemble. Along with the core group, actors like Kate Winslet elevate the film, adding depth to a world that could easily coast on spectacle alone.
Performance capture acting has to be the ultimate acting high; it’s just you and your imagination and the sky’s the limit. Stephen Lang, in particular, continues to make Quaritch more devious with each installment.
And speaking of devious, Chaplin’s turn as the villainous Varang is outrageously good. Every time she’s on screen, the energy spikes and you can’t wait to see what she’s about to do next.
Thankfully, the 3D isn’t a gimmick. There are no cheap shots of spears or debris flying towards your face. Cameron uses 3D to pull you into the world, not push things out at you. There’s real depth and immersion here, which is why this film absolutely demands to be seen on the biggest screen you can find.
That said, even though I like this series, none of the Avatar films have ever cracked my personal top 10. And this one won’t either.
Still, it’s undeniably entertaining, and Cameron’s direction might be his strongest yet. His sweeping camera movements, with the Na’vi soaring through the air on their winged creatures (I still don’t know what they’re called) or gliding underwater alongside yet more creatures whose names I also don’t know, are often breathtaking. At times, you almost wish those moments would last longer.
The first half hour, however, definitely feels like a long half hour. There’s a lot of exposition, mostly for viewers who either skipped the last film or forgot what the heck happened. But once the film gets past that hurdle, Fire and Ash kicks into high and occasionally low gear.
