Introduction
Maintaining a legacy is often harder than creating one, and the same is applicable for the third instalment of James Cameron's sci fi epic, Avatar. It was always going to be difficult to repeat the humongous worldwide success of Avatar The Way of Water, and while the film pretty much makes up for it in the form of strong cast performances that include Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, and Jack Champion, director James Cameron did not really find the sweet spot between audience expectations and his own vision, this time around.
Basic Plot
The Pandora conflicts take a new turn as the Sully's are pitted against Mangkwan, an aggressive Na'vi tribe.
Positives
Cast Performances and Visual Aesthetics
These aspects aren't really new to the Avatar franchise but I'm surprised to see how consistent director Cameron is, in terms of getting the acting and visuals right, in his Avatar films. We do not expect inferior acting in an Avatar film, do we? Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana pack a punch with their impactful performances and while Worthington has made the character, Jake Sully, his comfort zone, Saldana's arc has been a bit different this time around. She mourns the loss of her son and is filled with hatred towards humans through out the first half of the film, only for the events to take a turn where she finally lets go off her taboo and learns acceptance. I liked this subtle dynamism personally, which, I'm sure was strong enough on paper, is brought to life by Saldana's performance. Kate Winslet impresses with her portrayal of the Metkayina free diver as well. The 'family conflict' concept is fleshed out well by the cast performances which focuses on how Jack Champion's character, Spider, is not discriminated against by the junior Sully's, while the seniors label him as an outsider. Champion brings in some amount of humor as well which feels good at times and it's the overall 'team-acting' that gives this film an edge.
Visuals continue to be one of the biggest draws of this franchise, and Fire and Ash is no different. Russell Carpenter returns as the cinematographer from the previous film and the results are stunning. The extensive use of top-notch CGI work, coupled with a nice camera work makes up for an immersive visual experience. There is this subtle detailing that I noticed about the colors being metaphorically used.. the Sully's seem positive with vibrant and active shades of bright colors, whereas, the Mangkwan's are shown along withdrawn and dry colors, often with the shades of red, that perfectly justifies their characteristics of being deprived and enraged at the same time. A major chunk of the impact is also created by the canvas, the film is built on. I mean, the massive world created by director Cameron goes perfectly in sync with the huge canvas it's set upon, and hence, the solid show-stopping impact!
Direction and Subtle Nuances
Director James Cameron continues to succeed in crafting details and elements which bring huge impact to the overall film, in spite of being quite small and negligible in particular. Issues of racism, inequality, incapability among others are addressed beautifully in the screenplay, which helps the overall tone of the film. The heightened drama is a highlight, and so are the emotions, and it ain't no joke for a filmmaker to design and place these elements so well in the writing that the audience feel for the characters in spite of getting overwhelmed by the visual aesthetics all the time. The overall balancing between visuals and emotions has thus, been nice, and the proper emphasis between both the elements, balances the tonality of the film. The 'balancing-out ' nature of the film also justifies it's idea of 'always a human but not all humans' quite well, and the scenes that are designed for establishing the same may seem disparate, but hold significance for sure. It's director James Cameron's conviction and the 'Avatar-ness' of the franchise that pulls off this venture and holds it together in spite of some issues is the pacing. It's the idea of generously using the tried and tested win-win themes, that helps this film stay afloat for most of it's runtime.
Underwhelming Aspects
Insufficient novelty and Repetitive Themes
I never really thought that I would have such complains from a James Cameron film, but Avatar Fire and Ash suffers from some generous amount of novelty issue. You see, the first Avatar film released in the year 2009 and since then, it's sequel took 13 years to release! This huge gap fueled intrigue among the public, and by the time Way of Water released in December 2022, the unanimous hype that kept building among the public for so many years started to pay back Cameron and Co. in the form of box office numbers. Frankly speaking, the success of The Way of Water was almost guaranteed, largely because of how long it kept audiences waiting—regardless of whether it actually had something new to offer. And the film did offer significant amount of Pandora adventure with newer and stronger characters, which made Way of Water bigger (in terms of visuals and scale), and better (from the story POV) than it's predecessor. Strangely enough, this is not the case for Fire and Ash. James Cameron decided to make a film bigger and better which he could've easily got away with only by utilizing the hype it carried—full marks to Cameron for that. But what's the point of relying on the hype of a sequel to get away with a threequel that has almost no freshness to it? Math didn't really math the way it used to math for Cameron, and while it's a rare phenomenon, the consequences are too big to ignore. It's only after you get over the jaw-dropping visuals that you realize, that almost all of the scenes feel like a continuation of Way of Water and has no unique identity whatsoever. This feels all the more evident due to the crazy 195 minute runtime, and by the time the climax plays, some of you may even feel exhausted, and honestly, I don't blame you. Unlike the impact that Metkayina characters had in Way of Water, the Mangkwan sub-plot remains largely dormant, and even if it does take off after the introductory fight sequence, it loses traction due to the film's recurring themes and the makers' call to prioritize safe-play in place of innovation. Recurring is also the long runtime, which should've ideally not been the case at all if cash-cowing was all that Fire and Ash was up to, in spite of all the potential that it had in store.
Conclusion
Avatar Fire and Ash majorly benefits from the genuinely breathtaking visuals and CGI work, towering cast performances, directorial nuances, and a whole lot of franchise value. The core strengths and 'true to the concept' nature of the film also becomes the major weakness, as the makers, trying to play safe, end up making things oddly repetitive in the name of convincing perpetuality. The makers have always said that the future of the Avatar franchise will be very dependent on how Fire and Ash performs at the box office. But, with Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 being in different stages of production already, and director James Cameron turning 71 this year, it will be safe to assume that the next parts will surely see the light of silver screens, no matter what. That's not to say that Fire and Ash will not make money at the box office, given the positives that it has to offer. 'I don't see a future.. I only see what we have lost' says Jake and Neytiri's son Lo'ak in the film, and I partly agree with that— Although I do see a future for the Avatar franchise, I also see the opportunity that this film lost!
Watch Out For
- Cast Performances
- Stunning visuals and CGI work
- Detailing
WTF Rating
7/10