The 3rd time is not the charm for James Cameron. While the eye-popping visual experience is still the franchise calling-card, writers Cameron, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver are stuck in the same story as the previous Avatar: The Way of Water. In fact they’ve doubled down on their whale buddies and murderous “Sky People”. With the storytelling lacking vibrant, new characters there is simply no need for a run time of 3 hours and 12 minutes, making this is the longest with almost moronic dialogue tropes that harken back to old popcorn munching movie serials from generations ago. “Hear my words”, please!
This film looks and feels reductive. The main characters, heroic Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) along with chief villain Quaritch (Stephen Lang) are more metaphoric place-settings. They didn’t elicit the emotional connection seen previously. However, being back in Pandora is still a magical experience. The wonder of the blue-hued Na’vi and the Tulkun whale-like prescient gentle giants hold your eyes, even when the story drags on and on.
Who will save Sully, Neytiri and all the indigenous people of Pandora from the invasion of the military from Earth coming to ravage the natural resources from the pristine moon Pandora? Neytiri and her adopted daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) try to find the mystical Eywa, the much sought after “Great Mother” (Mother Nature?) who can help them find their way home. Once again, Kiri uses her magic underwater trying to save her people and it is visually exquisite. But we’ve seen it before.
Complicating their effort is a new character, the leader of an opposing warrior clan, the Mangkwan, led by the wide eyed killing machine Varang (Oona Chaplin). Varang rejects Eywa and aligns with Quaritch and the invaders’ contemptuous Quaritch, introducing Varang to the killing power of high powered automatic weapons (guns). Her fascination with ordnance is a piece of commentary on current events that is both true and disheartening.
When all else fails, Fire and Ash saddles up and goes into battle, over and over again, by land, sea and air. The action cinematography of the aerial combat and the underwater sequences are equally forceful, but the story needed to feel less repetitive.
Spider (Jack Champion) is back. Quaritch’s son, the human who can breathe the air, is even more pivotal to the story and the battles this time out. He’s trying to find the place he most belongs in this outing. Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) Jake’s son has his own story ark. His guilt issues told in the previous film are dealt with here, as is his special friendship with a Tulkun whale.
See this with an audience on a big screen to get the full experience and in 3D, which Cameron has mastered. The first two Avatar films rank as the most successful in box office history. There isn’t much in this one deserving to surpass those two. This is a bloated plot with repetitious scenes, dialogue and confrontations, so temper your expectations for another profound, transformative encounter with the Na’vi. Fire and Ash is somewhat underwhelming, but it won’t crash and burn.
20th Century Studios 3 Hours 12 Minutes PG-13
