The conflict on Pandora escalates as Jake and Neytiri's family encounter a new, aggressive Na'vi tribe.
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver, Oona Chaplin, David Thewlis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Dileep Rao, Matt Gerald, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Jemaine Clement, Britain Dalton, Trinity Bliss, Jack Champion, Bailey Bass, Filip Geljo, Duane Evans, Jr.
Release Date: December 19, 2025
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, bloody images, some strong language, thematic elements and suggestive material
Runtime: 3h 17m
Review:
Avatar: Fire and Ash is a visual and technical marvel, much like the first two entries, that’s the rare spectacle that needs to be seen on the big screen however the story is far more clunky and repetitive than before which makes its three hours plus run feel far more taxing than it should. James Cameron’s third entry in his franchise again shows off his innate ability to continually up the ante on creating an immersive cinematic experience that envelopes you from the moment the film starts. The action sequences are truly mesmerizing and massive in scale across the board with the 3D experience here putting everything else out there to shame. The aerial and water set sequences are an assault on the senses especially when he utilizes a POV approach that firmly places the audience with the characters which is visceral and thrilling. Those set pieces alone are worth the price of admission since it’s something that filmmakers haven’t been able to recreate with such a level of technical CGI mastery especially in 3D. Issues start to pop up as the general gist of the story starts to reveal itself with the introduction of the Ash People led by Oona Chaplin’s Varang. Initially they serve as intriguing antagonists, particularly Chaplin who’s motion capture performance is impressive throughout but their backstory and motivations is oddly thin and rushed before turning into a mirror of Jake Sully and Neytiri relationship with Varang and Stephen Lang’s Colonel Quaritch. There is a fun psychedelic sequence between them which serves as their twisted courtship which is a trippy thing to experience in 3D. Their relationship should make more of an impact than it does but Chaplin’s Varang characterization stops there with her becoming little more than a hence woman for Quaritch to finally recapture Sam Worthington’s Jake Sully. Stephen Lang is still loads of fun as Quaritch but his character’s actions and motivations all change on a dime throughout the film which keeps him from being as menacing as he should be. Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña are both able to ease back into the roles with little trouble with a layer of emotion added early as they deal with the death of their son in the previous films. It gives them both a bit more to work with dramatically as both characters deal with that loss in different ways with Saldaña’s Neytiri simmering with resentment and anger towards humans which is mostly directed towards their adopted son Jack Champion’s "Spider". Champion does his best in that role, but the character still feels awkwardly out of his place from the way he’s written to his general 90’s drug dealer meets Land of the Lost’s Cha-Ka. The spotty writing extends to the other children, with Sigourney Weaver and Britain Dalton doing their best with the teen angst their characters experience for far different reasons. It’s an odd mis mash of ideas that doesn’t work as well as it should especially considering the amount of screentime it is given with those moments dragging the film’s momentum to a standstill in between the visceral electricity of the action sequences. It saps Avatar: Fire and Ash of its full potential which is a shame since these plays well as a trilogy capper to the story started in the original.
B
