Avatar: Fire and Ash
PG-13 2025 ‧ Action/Fantasy ‧ 3h 17m
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Director: James Cameron
Writers: James CameronRick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Stars: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver
Review---
Familiar, far too long but also a lot of fun
Far from perfect and far too long, the flaws in James Cameron's third Avatar outing, Fire and Ash are there for all to see and in reality, far from surprising but as per his first two multi-billion dollar outings Cameron's latest visual feast is still a fun and entertaining blockbuster that deserves to put bums on cinema seats.
Arriving 16 years after Cameron's original Dances with Wolves courtesy of the Blue Man Group box office behemoth dropped into the big screen world, Ash continues on with the pattern the legendary filmmaker set in place with his 3D extravaganza and if anyone is expecting Ash to deliver in the unexpected, they should temper expectations in a major way and learn to just enjoy the ride.
In a world that seems to find things easier to hate rather than like, Ash could become a bit of a punching bag for those wanting to bemoan the fact Cameron hasn't tried to rewrite the rulebook here but the same naysayers are probably just as likely to have enjoyed the likes of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars or Marvel's plethora of big screen outings, all franchises and brands that have stuck to what works for better and worse and managed to enthral millions of cinemagoers across the decades.
Kicking off right where The Way of Water finished, Ash finds Sam Worthington's Jake Sully and Zoe Saldaña's Neytiri struggling to maintain their edge and freedom in the face of growing adversity, adversity that includes their continued battle with Stephen Lang's Quaritch and new adversary Varang, solid new addition Oona Chaplin who brings a fierceness to her fire queen.
To call Ash's narrative barebones basic would be perfectly acceptable, even kind in many facets and it's a shame that Cameron and his fellow screenwriters Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa haven't managed to fix the series weakish script work but if people can move past the fact it's always likely the original Avatar was an outlier in regards to it's all round winning ways, Ash much like its predecessor provides much in the way of cinematic joys and spectacle.
While failing to maximise the addition of the new fire clan led by Varang, who appears set to become the films secondary focus only to be overshadowed by the presence of Quaritch and the impressive performance of Chaplin, Ash still does a lot of things very well including a great opening stretch featuring wind traders and the increasingly stunning special effects work that brings Pandora to life in mesmerising ways, especially in the intended 3D format.
Releasing at a time and place in movie history where many big-scale films have failed to reach the audience they had hoped for, there's much lying on the shoulders of Cameron and his Na'vi friends to bring joy to the Hollywood universe and cinema chains around the globe, while it's very unlikely that Ash will reach the highs of Avatar or Way of Water, there's enough here to suggest audiences will be happy with what they see and spread the word, encouraging others to make the effort to get back out and partake in the big-screen experience.
Having listened to Cameron's recent commentary regarding his future plans for the Avatar cinematic space there's a high chance we may have seen the last of a Cameron lead Avatar feature and if that's the case, we can be thankful Cameron did so much for the medium he loves even if he never managed to recapture the lightning in a bottle magic he did with his 2009 launch.
Final Say -
Walking a familiar path and dancing to the same beat that's been danced too before, Avatar: Fire and Ash isn't able to reach grand heights but as a fun and visually outstanding big screen spectacle, Cameron proves he is still king.
Arriving 16 years after Cameron's original Dances with Wolves courtesy of the Blue Man Group box office behemoth dropped into the big screen world, Ash continues on with the pattern the legendary filmmaker set in place with his 3D extravaganza and if anyone is expecting Ash to deliver in the unexpected, they should temper expectations in a major way and learn to just enjoy the ride.
In a world that seems to find things easier to hate rather than like, Ash could become a bit of a punching bag for those wanting to bemoan the fact Cameron hasn't tried to rewrite the rulebook here but the same naysayers are probably just as likely to have enjoyed the likes of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars or Marvel's plethora of big screen outings, all franchises and brands that have stuck to what works for better and worse and managed to enthral millions of cinemagoers across the decades.
Kicking off right where The Way of Water finished, Ash finds Sam Worthington's Jake Sully and Zoe Saldaña's Neytiri struggling to maintain their edge and freedom in the face of growing adversity, adversity that includes their continued battle with Stephen Lang's Quaritch and new adversary Varang, solid new addition Oona Chaplin who brings a fierceness to her fire queen.
To call Ash's narrative barebones basic would be perfectly acceptable, even kind in many facets and it's a shame that Cameron and his fellow screenwriters Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa haven't managed to fix the series weakish script work but if people can move past the fact it's always likely the original Avatar was an outlier in regards to it's all round winning ways, Ash much like its predecessor provides much in the way of cinematic joys and spectacle.
While failing to maximise the addition of the new fire clan led by Varang, who appears set to become the films secondary focus only to be overshadowed by the presence of Quaritch and the impressive performance of Chaplin, Ash still does a lot of things very well including a great opening stretch featuring wind traders and the increasingly stunning special effects work that brings Pandora to life in mesmerising ways, especially in the intended 3D format.
Releasing at a time and place in movie history where many big-scale films have failed to reach the audience they had hoped for, there's much lying on the shoulders of Cameron and his Na'vi friends to bring joy to the Hollywood universe and cinema chains around the globe, while it's very unlikely that Ash will reach the highs of Avatar or Way of Water, there's enough here to suggest audiences will be happy with what they see and spread the word, encouraging others to make the effort to get back out and partake in the big-screen experience.
Having listened to Cameron's recent commentary regarding his future plans for the Avatar cinematic space there's a high chance we may have seen the last of a Cameron lead Avatar feature and if that's the case, we can be thankful Cameron did so much for the medium he loves even if he never managed to recapture the lightning in a bottle magic he did with his 2009 launch.
Final Say -
Walking a familiar path and dancing to the same beat that's been danced too before, Avatar: Fire and Ash isn't able to reach grand heights but as a fun and visually outstanding big screen spectacle, Cameron proves he is still king.
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