Avatar: Fire & Ash- The BRWC Review by Josiah Teal
The third entry in James Cameron‘s box-office-conquering franchise, Avatar: Fire & Ash, brings audiences back to Pandora with the promise of recapturing the magic of the 2009 phenomenon. 2009’s Avatar had 9 Oscar nominations, is the highest-grossing film of all time, and has its own place at Disney World. It was enough to let James Cameron spend ten years developing a sprawling saga meant to rival Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings. Even with Best Picture nominations and financial success taken into account, Way of Water did not carry the same cultural currency as the original. Way of Water and Fire & Ash enter the box office in a post-MCU world. Avatar was a cultural touchstone when some of Hollywood’s biggest franchises were in their infancy. But in a world of franchise fatigue and unending shared universes, can James Cameron convey his vision beyond the screen and show audiences why Pandora meant so much in 2009? And more importantly, why does it matter in 2025?
Picking up soon after the events of Avatar: Way of Water, former Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family are struggling with the loss of their son. Jake is preparing for war, while his wife, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), calls upon the goddess, Eywa, for guidance. The family is fracturing. After Jake and Neytiri decide to take their adoptive son, Spider (Jack Champion), to Neytiri’s tribe, the family does their best to find closure. But along the journey, the Sully family once again encounters the RDA’s wardog, Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang), accompanied by a new ally, the vicious cult leader Varang (Oona Chaplin). As Varang and Quaritch stalk the Sully family, it’s evident that she is something the likes of which Pandora has never seen.
Varangis is one of the most intense and interesting characters in the Avatar canon. Hailing from a tribe decimated by volcanic Ash, she spreads her destruction to Pandora with religious zeal. Teaming up with Colonel Quaritch, the RDA supplies Varang with all the weaponry she needs to cleanse Pandora through fire. Varang leaves destruction in her wake, making for a much more compelling villain than even the dreaded RDA. Skirmishes and splintering subplots follow as Avatar: Fire & Ash chronicles Quartich’s destructive alliance, Jake & Neytiri’s relationship, Sully’s family healing, Spider’s relationship with his father, and the spirituality of Pandora. Yet within the web of subplots, Jake Sully must once again face the dreaded RDA in a climactic battle of sky, earth, and water.
Cameron’s visual style is still Avatar‘s greatest strength. Whether it’s the depths of the ocean or the floating mountains of the sky, Pandora is as lush as ever. The bioluminescence, paired with James Horner’s original scoring motifs brought to life by composer Simon Franglen, brings the audience back to the world that made Avatar such a landmark of the late 2000s. Cameron offers kinetic aerial fights and a few Terminator 2-esque explosions, but shines most in the quiet beauty of Pandora. Franglen’s score accents Cameron’s cinematic storytelling, making Pandora feel as alive and spiritual as mythos suggests.
As with previous installments, the motion capture technology is impressive. Cameron’s ability to blend emotional nuance and the latest technology is a clear highlight of the franchise. Saldana, Worthington, Weaver, and Lang all add gravity to their roles and lose nothing to Mocap. Once again, Avatar pushes CGI, Mocap, and broad digital visualization further than ever before. Whether it’s the subtleties of Saldana’s grief-stricken opening or the vastness of Pandora’s landscape and wildlife, Cameron captures everything.
Performances throughout Fire & Ash are strong. Saldana balances Neytiri’s loss within a spiritual framework well. Sigourney Weaver is always a delight. And Worthington and Lang are always believable as hardheaded marines within a mystical world. However, the breakout performance in Fire & Ash comes from Oona Chaplin as Varang. Chaplin’s visceral performance channels elements of Mad Max: Fury Road and Citra from Far Cry 3, all to create a chaotic, unseen side to the Na’vi.
World design, performances, and cinematography have always been the staples of Avatar. They are the lifeblood of the franchise that makes Pandora feel real. Yet the biggest detractors of pure Pandora escapism in Fire & Ash are the spiraling and uneven subplots. Even within the three-hour-plus runtime, Fire & Ash introduces a variety of subplots to solve within minutes or leaves them open for hours without progress. Conflict between Jake and Neytiri springs from Neytiri’s prejudice towards her adoptive son, Spider, only to be resolved a few moments later. These narratives often lack subtext, as characters speak exactly what they feel.
2009’s Avatar structured Jake Sully’s arc through the “Pocahontas Narrative,” and, on that foundation, the core messages Cameron’s world radiates throughout the story. But as with Way of Water, Fire & Ash attempts to weave a massive ensemble story without dovetailing into a cathartic finale. By the time Fire & Ash reaches its showdown, overplotting dilutes the core arc of Spider, Jake, and Quaritch.
The box office may not reach the heights of the 2009 epic or Way of Water, but Fire & Ash will still maintain Avatar as a financial juggernaut. Cameron’s blend of technology and nature is always wondrous and worthy of silver screen exploration. Fire & Ash introduces vibrant new characters, while keeping the spectacle of an immersive, nostalgic experience.
But Fire & Ash is a mixed bag. For every bit of groundbreaking development or compelling character moments, the film offers dozens of subplots that undercut the overall flow of Cameron’s story. Even with Verang adding something unique to the franchise, she is missing from most of the second half. James Cameron maintains his originality and tech-driven direction throughout Fire & Ash, but unlike the original, the subtext is often missing beyond the scope of the story. The feeling of Pandora remains in the music, gorgeous scenery, and detailed world-building. Fire & Ash will be no stranger to the Academy Awards and will make plenty at the box office. Pandora still dazzles the visual senses, but without renewed narrative focus, Cameron’s world risks becoming a spectacle without the resonance of the original.
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