Title: Avatar: Fire and Ash
Describe This Movie In One Simpsons Quote:
COMIC BOOK GUY: But Aquaman, you cannot marry a woman without gills! You’re from two different worlds!
Brief Plot Synopsis: Plundering colonizers learn it’s not nice to mess with Mother Nature.
Rating Using Random Object Relevant To The Film: 3 John Bigbootés out of 5.
Tagline: N/A
Better Tagline: “Think Ewoks, only hotter.”
Not So Brief Plot Synopsis: A year after uneasily settling in with the aquatic Metkayina clan, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and the rest realize the non-recombinant Spider (Jake Champion) can’t survive indefinitely on Pandora wearing a breathing mask. But while riding guard with the Wind Traders in exchange for passage, they run afoul of a new threat. These Angkwan — or Ash People — are led by the sinister Varang (Oona Chaplin). She quickly realizes that allying with Jake’s old nemesis Quaritch (Stephen Lang) might serve both their interests in wiping out those pesky tree-hugging Omatikaya once and for all.
“Critical” Analysis: Our third trip to Pandora, the world James Cameron has spent literal decades[1] bringing to life, offers more of the same while introducing a few intriguing new wrinkles. Avatar: Fire and Ash represents both a continuation of the first two (with all that implies) and an unofficial conclusion to the “initial “first” story of Jake Sully and his journey among the Na’vi.
“The same” implies exactly what you think it does. Cameron made the first Avatar back in 2009, with plans to continue the series if “the first does well.” Avatar currently stands as the highest grossing movie of all time (adjusted for inflation, it’s 2nd). Its sequel, The Way of Water, is 3rd. The formula — eye-popping visuals married to vague animism and rudimentary storytelling — has proven to be a successful one.
So in one sense, Fire and Ash is a lot of what you’ve seen before. Jake and Neytiti’s kids, daughter Tuk (Trinity Bliss), adopted daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), and surviving son Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) are still adjusting to life on the reef. Meanwhile, the recently recombinant Quaritch still wants to bring Jake in, an aim increasingly at odds with the goals of the RDA. The bulk of the supporting cast from Way of Water also returns, including Cliff Curtis as Metkayina chief Tonowari, and Kate Winslet as his wife Ronal.
The higher frame rates are back as well, bolstering the visual impressiveness. You can criticize his films for being derivative, but Cameron continues to dazzle. Even a movie as quote-unquote technologically primitive as Titanic did what few others could: creating a world so immersive you can’t help but be swept along.
But Fire and Ash gives us something new. Two things, actually. There’s a new villain in Varang, whose new tribe is less interested in communing with the Spirit Tree than kicking Omatikaya ass. This opens new possibilities for Quaritch, who redirects his metaphorical hard-on for Jake into a literal one for the … disturbingly fetching Varang.
How much you dig Fire and Ash will also depend on your affection for Spider, Quartich’s dreadlocked son. He once again plays a pivotal role in the action, which may stretch the audience’s tolerance for repetitive rescues. Cameron loves him some “kids in danger” tropes, even if it’s hard to convince us he’ll actually Go There.
Widescreen battles are another Cameron trademark, and Fire and Ash feature several. We get aerial assaults (the Angkwan versus the Wind Traders), oceanic melees, and a guerrilla raid against the RDA itself. The climactic fight, if predictable (and overlong), is also one of the most stunning set pieces ever filmed. Digital or otherwise.
Stunning, and exhausting. Once again, there’s no arguing against Cameron’s artistry, but the final battle stretches almost an hour. We might be able to swallow this if the rest of the movie wasn’t 100 minutes of story stretched out over three hours. Again, just like the first two.
Fire and Ash is also the best Avatar by a fair bit. Varang’s introduction mixes things up nicely, and Chaplin chews the digital scenery with gusto. This in contrast to Worthington, who brings little new to Jake aside from basically telling Lo’Ak “the wrong kid died” for two-thirds of the movie. And for all the repetitive handwringing, speeches about noble savagery, and critiques of colonization and environmental depredation, there’s a definite sense of finality.
Granted, Cameron planned five Avatars in total and has already apparently shot footage for the 4th, but this feels like an ending, of sorts. There’s at least one significant character death.[2] And it’s all a pretty rude finger in the eye to the RDA’s plans. Avatar 4: The Search for Michael Myers is currently slated for a 2029 release. There’s no (current) reason that shouldn’t hold true, but even if it doesn’t, it wouldn’t matter at this point. Cameron might be an asshole to work with (or be married to), but the man’s legacy is secure.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is in theaters today.
[1]According to the man himself, he dreamed about Pandora when he was 19.
[2]Maybe. I’ll have more to say about this at a later date.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.