One of the big things that made Avatar: The Way of Water so enjoyable a movie in relation to its predecessor was how new and distinct it was compared to that movie. The thirteen year gap felt a touch earned for this -it explored new corners of its world with a host of brand new characters, priorities, and conflicts. It’s the most interesting way to keep a franchise going, as James Cameron knew well. And I do wish there could have been more of that sensation present in his third film. I wish there were more fire and ash in Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Of course, a part of that may not be reasonably expected -a lot of this film was shot back-to-back with The Way of Water and so it makes sense that it would be on a similar wavelength with similar subjects and spaces at the centre. Still, there are segments and aspects of the movie that not only feel narratively and aesthetically attached to the previous film but repetitive of it, while suggested points of interest are unexplored. It is the first time perhaps that Cameron seems to reign in his ambition somewhat -or that on a greater scale he is perhaps creatively constrained. At the same time there is a greater focus on compelling character drama here, and certainly the action and visual effects of his mystifying Pandora haven’t suffered.
There is no notable time skip for this film -picking up fairly quickly on the heels of the last as the human military regroups and Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and their family settle in among the Metkayina clan. However it becomes clear that the adopted human Spider (Jack Champion) cannot live there long-term due to his reliance on oxygen masks to breathe the Pandora air. While transporting him, the family and a host of other Na’vi are attacked by an aggressive tribe and their cult leader Varang (Oona Chaplin), eventually also crossing paths with Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) -Spider’s biological father- still trying assimilate his son and kill Jake. Meanwhile Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), Jake and Neytiri’s other adopted child, in her deepening connection with the planet’s life-force Eywa finds the power to do something that could have drastic consequences for the world and the human presence there.
The character arcs for Kiri and Lo'ak (Britain Dalton), Jake and Neytiri's underdog son, are largely continuations of their storylines from the previous film. Lo'ak in fact takes over establishing narration duty; which proves to be an odd choice eventually, by the focal character of the film ultimately being revealed to be Spider -his torn identity and desire to belong among the Na'vi, the complex relationships Jake, Neytiri, and Quaritch all have to him forming a significant thematic backbone of the film. Early on, in response to a desperate situation, Kiri has Eywa save his life by enveloping his biology with mycelia allowing him to breathe the planet’s atmosphere. This of course becomes a major source of tension for the whole narrative, Jake correctly ascertaining the danger if humans discovered a means of reverse-engineering this. It is the strongest narrative beat of the movie, Spider is a compelling character to follow and as the most prominent entirely human performance of the film, Champion rises to the challenge well. This storyline also prompts some greater dramatic heft out of both Worthington and especially Saldaña -one sequence with the three of them after an escape is particularly well-executed.
But it comes with barely a pause. For as long as this movie is, the narrative pacing gives off the impression it is stretched for time. The action is a lot more harried. There are far fewer character or world-building beats for their own sake, the film is predominantly driven by plot instead. Kiri and Lo'ak are somewhat hard-done by this, whose storylines are already explicitly secondary, to say nothing of youngest child Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss) or Lo'ak's love interest Tsireya (Bailey Bass). Cameron's typical confidence comes off as shakier by these choices, as though he doesn't expect he'll have the chance to carry any plot threads forward for a future movie. The result is what often feels like the condensed form of a television season, with interesting little character threads and narrative corners that aren’t fleshed out to the degree they deserve. A little bit like Kevin Costner’s Horizon.
Still, the addition of a figure like Varang really works well -the Magua in this Last of the Mohicans scenario. The character, defined by her cunning and psycho-sexual power, is terrifically interesting, and Chaplin is wonderfully dynamic and intimidating. The relationship that develops between her and Quaritch is a bit meagre -mostly owing to Quaritch who, despite both his attachment toward Spider and conflicted relationship to the Na’vi that Jake at multiple points spurs on, is still something of a lamer villain than the script seems to think. But Varang’s power even within this coupling is striking. The Ash people around her are relegated though -few have any spoken dialogue, and in terms of a larger context and culture Cameron shows nowhere near the love he does the Metkayina. And indeed their home territory -in the ruins of a volcanic eruption, the most interesting new set-piece of the film, gets little attention.
In its place however there is some intriguing material with this sect of Na’vi joining forces with the humans. Their particular motivation is of course the human weapons -a blunt example of the corruption human artifacts have on Pandora and being another stark parallel to history. Varang is quite delighted to be taught how to use a gun in an intentional dark parallel to an iconic moment from Cameron’s Aliens. The reaction to this tribe from the humans on Pandora is very pointed as well -at best they are gawked at as a novelty by hordes of people wanting to see them up close. At worst they are of course unwelcome by the racists at the top of the chain of command, specifically Edie Falco’s military general and Giovanni Ribisi’s capitalist -here to merely be a symbol of the system behind all the exploitation. We see that the industrial infrastructure has expanded, the military and mining base is a mechanical labyrinth out of a dystopian movie to show how quickly the human toxicity on the planet grows. They are strong visual symbols, but Cameron struggles to find new expressions for his anti-colonialist screed -mostly we see the same kinds of exploitation, resource abuse, and unabashed greed that were present in the previous films. The plotting perhaps keeps him from delving further.
However this is perhaps not the intended focus of the film philosophically, which aims at a little more richness in personal and spiritual themes. The Ash tribe embody a curious sect of Eywa atheists, as the religious character of the Na'vi is made a little more complex. Yet it is Eywa who takes a more active role -Kiri's ability to harness her goddess powers evolves into a relationship of mutual assurance, the spiritual and the corporeal ultimately working together to reject the colonizers. Additionally, there are specific religious metaphors at play in a few sequences and a motif about 'seeing'; seeing individuals for their true character and values, or seeing the world and nature for the wonder it is. And through it all are decently strong undercurrents of grief, love, hate, and purpose -in Spider, Neytiri, Lo'ak, and Kiri.
Again though, while a lot of this is interesting, several of these ideas don't settle with the weight they should. Where considerable time is spent in this movie is the action, which is largely quite good. Cameron still knows the geography of good action very well, infused with adequate tension. The first encounter with Varang involves an uneasy alliance between Jake and Quaritch -there is some fun to it. Likewise exciting is the breakout of Spider and Jake when both are captives. The finale, as in the last film, is one forty-five minute battle sequence, and while there are exciting parts to it and some mildly intriguing tensions, it is the chapter of the film that feels the most like a rehash of the last, particularly a portion where Jake's family is captured and threatened and another involving a sacrifice. There are a few more creatures involved but the setting and players are broadly the same, and there aren't quite enough new components to render it as involved or thrilling this second time out.
It should go without saying that the visual effects remain the chief source of spectacle for Cameron's world and creatures. The Na'vi are still some of the most sophisticated movie aliens in design and tangibility, and the various new creatures seen in this movie (including a council of the giant-whale Tulkun) are believable enough themselves. It is of course a quality best experienced on the big screen, but Avatar: Fire and Ash doesn't justify it as well in other areas the way its predecessors did. To a degree it is classic Return of the Jedi syndrome -messier, repetitious, a little less graceful and less ambitious. Though it is still compelling and curious, evocative and exciting. It is a flawed movie, dull and exhausting in places, but like its heroes it deserves to be seen.
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