Review 765: Avatar: Fire and Ash

In a lot of ways, Avatar: Fire and Ash feels like the culmination of an adventure across a three film saga (though a fourth film is reportedly coming), that began all the way back in 2009. Had this film been the conclusion, I would've been content to never take another trip to Pandora 

Set a year after the events of The Way of Water and settling in with the Metkayina Clan, Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri's (Zoe Saldana) family grapples with grief after their son Neteyam's (played by Jamie Flatters in The Way of Water) death. Eventually, they encounter a new, aggressive Na'vi tribe called the Mangkwan aka Ash People, led by the fiery leader, Varang (Oona "Talisa from Game of Thrones" Chaplin), who has allied with Jake's old enemy, Quaritch (Stephen Lang), as the conflict on Pandora escalates to devastating consequences.

Family, Home & Trust are the core themes of Fire and Ash   the score by Simon Franglen is monumental, the flying and underwater sequences  The use of strobe lighting and POV shots when Quaritch is under the influence of a hallucinogen that the Mangkwan inhale is one of many reason why I've never done drugs. The lighting and cinematography are all gorgeous, creating an absolutely stunning landscape 

The Ash People are meant to represent the "Dark Side" of Pandora, they're cult like in their practice and beliefs  At least, that seems to be the case on paper, because in a film that's well over three hours, they were shockingly underdeveloped. Oona Chaplin's Varang feels like a secondary villain in this film to Stephen Lang's Quaritch.

Sam Worthington continues to  in the role of Jake Sully. Jake thought that he could protect his family but over this film, we see that belief be put to the test.

Zoe Saldana  as Neytiri 

This is the first time in Cameron's Avatar Trilogy where I unconsciously accepted Stephen Lang's Miles Quaritch as the main antagonist of these films. In the first film, he was a slightly archetypal Col. villain Cameron introduced and wasn't really sure he warranted a return in The Way of Water. Here however, Quaritch steps up his game to become a formidable arch nemesis to Jake Sully because some of the things that he does 

Falco commands authority, ruthlessness & determination in every scene she's in 

We even get some larger appearances from Joel David Moore and Giovanni Ribisi as Norm Spellman and Parker Selfridge after being demoted to cameos in The Way of Water 

James Cameron's Avatar is an astonishing filmmaking achievement; the type of cinema experience that only comes along once in a lifetime. All three films are such visionary and revolutionary use of all the special effects tools at Cameron's display, such a pure spectacle that it can only be properly experienced on the big screen.