The story: Picking up a few weeks after the events of Avatar: The Way Of Water (2022), Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) are still reeling from the death of their eldest son Neteyam. But they have more pressing matters to deal with. A new Na’vi tribe, the Ash People, teams up with Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) in his unrelenting quest to take Jake down once and for all.
Writer-director James Cameron’s Avatar franchise is the gift that keeps on giving.
The introduction of the fantastical world of Pandora and its towering blue humanoid inhabitants, the Na’vi, in 2009 became a cultural phenomenon.
It featured ground-breaking technology and generated massive box-office revenues, grossing more than US$2.9 billion (S$3.7 billion) worldwide and becoming the highest-grossing film of all time. It went on to pick up two Oscars for visual effects and art direction.
Fans were transported back to Pandora in Avatar: The Way Of Water 13 years later. Audiences lapped it up again, and the sequel made more than US$2.3 billion worldwide. It also won another Oscar for art direction.
Do not expect much in the storytelling department, as the message has not changed since 2009. The preachy environmental lesson remains. Humans are still trying to colonise Pandora and exploit its natural reserves, and Jake and company continue to do battle against humans.
There is a story arc about family dynamics and how children grow up to become their own person, involving Jake’s kids Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), and Quaritch’s son Spider (Jack Champion). But the potential to give that narrative some depth is lost in Cameron’s attempts to expand the Pandora universe.
The formidable and fearsome Varang (Oona Chaplin) is a good addition. Cameron devotes quite a bit of time to the Ash People’s backstory – how their once lush habitat was destroyed in a volcanic eruption, and how the young Varang became the saviour of the clan.
Varang (Oona Chaplin) is a fire-worshipping leader of the Ash People.
PHOTO: TWENTIETH CENTURY STUDIOS
Like its predecessors, the action sequences are thrilling, such as one underwater scene involving monstrous squids. The climactic battle is a spectacle, despite having too many parties thrown into the mix.
It will not be a surprise if Avatar: Fire And Ash picks up another visual effects Oscar.
Cameron said in a Nov 24 podcast that he will not continue with Parts 4 and 5 if Fire And Ash does not make enough money.
However, it looks set to be another box-office winner, considering how Part 3 has already received a Golden Globe nomination for cinematic and box-office achievement on Dec 8, before it even opens in cinemas.
Hot take: Do not expect Cameron to inject any freshness into the story or characters, but he will take you on an extraordinary three-hour visual expedition.
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