James Cameron (The Terminator, Titanic) returns with the second sequel to the high-grossing movie of all time, 2009’s Avatar, tracking the further adventures of one-time-human-turned-tall-blue-man Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) in the world of Pandora.
Key Moment
The disparate antagonists of the movie meet up for the first time. Somebody pulls out a little nose powder. Intense words are exchanged. Then things get hot.
Killer Line
“We turn our back on Eywa! A weak mother, her weak children. We do not suck on the breast of weakness.”
Standout Player
Oona Chaplin, who plays Varang, brings the fire to this movie. Every minute she’s not on screen you wonder what she’s up to.
Big Picture
I don’t know if this movie was actually better than The Way of Water or if my expectations were just lower, but I enjoyed Fire and Ash more. It felt a little more focused, with clearer and simpler character arcs, whereas the last one spent a lot of time setting up new characters and worlds.
The ash people (where the movie gets its title) are the best part. If anything, this movie could’ve used more fire and ash. Varang is a fantastic villain and a frequent scene-stealer. Her screen time fades toward the end, which was disappointing. I wanted to see her and her people really burning things up. But what we get from them is great—and I like their look.
If you haven’t liked Avatar movies previously, there’s nothing about this one that’s going to convert you. It’s still a bunch of blue people running around. It still features much of the same clunky dialogue. And, like the last movie, it still features whale-like creatures saying things in subtitles like “You’ll never hear my song again” (which is objectively hilarious). It also has the strange contrast of both hippie philosophizing about being one with nature and taking aesthetic joy in bloodlust and mass murder.
But the bottom line here is the visuals. As it did in the previous movies, almost everything here—the water creatures, the futuristic vehicles, the floating rocks—looks great. You never question its reality, nor does anything stand out as “fake-looking”. The color palette pops, and the action scenes aren’t buried in darkness. At this point, Cameron makes this stuff look so easy we’re taking him for granted. No one else is creating anything close to this.
Quick Takes
Let’s talk about the runtime. I’m a big “shorter is better” guy when it comes to movies. I believe editing has become something of a lost art, and it’s important to kill your darlings in favor of story. That being said, this movie—while it could have easily lost 30–40 minutes without really losing anything—was never boring. You feel the runtime, but it’s never painful because it’s so quickly paced and visually interesting.
Edie Falco has been a welcome addition to this series and is a good James Cameron actress. The type she plays here—the practical professional just trying to do her job, even if she may be on the wrong side of things—almost always works for me as a character (especially when surrounded by maniacs). It’s good to see Carmela in this kind of supporting role.
Since the release of the first Avatar—17 years ago—there was a brief push to make 3D movies happen. But no one could get it right except Cameron. He seems to be the only one who really understands how to use this technology to make it additive to a movie on a large scale.
Final Word
Whether or not you love the Avatar series, this is a movie theater experience like we don’t get often (three times in the last 17 years, to be specific). So don’t wait to watch it at home. Go see it in IMAX, 3D, D-BOX, or whatever combination—it’s worth the upgrade. It may not be a change-your-life movie, but it’s definitely a see-it-in-the-theater movie.