Movie Review: ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’

12/23/2025 by Corrye Van Caeseele-Cook

Plot: In the aftermath of the events of Avatar: The Way of Water, director James Cameron’s third foray to Pandora finds the Sully family settling in with the Metkayina clan. Still reeling from the death of Neteyam, each Sully deals with grief in their own way. Jake (Sam Worthington) continues to prepare for war, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) wallows in guilt, and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) projects her rage onto human beings, in particular Spider (Jack Champion). Meanwhile Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) struggles with an apparent direct connection to Pandora’s deity Eywa and the profound implications that connection entails. With the backing of the RDA, Na’vi avatar Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) seeks to bring Jake Sully to justice and advance the goals of the RDA. With that in mind, Quaritch enlists the help of the Ash People, led by the brutal Varang (Oona Chaplin). The Ash People have forsaken the way of Eywa and are a brutal, violent, and destructive people. On the line is nothing less than the future of Pandora and the Na’vi people.

Review: When it comes to spectacle, director James Cameron is one of the all-time greats. He’s always been most at home when painting on a larger canvas, whether it is the adrenaline fueled action of the Terminator franchise or the doomed passengers of the Titanic. Undoubtedly, the world of Avatar has been his biggest canvas. For nearly two decades, Cameron has focused all his energy on bringing the world of Pandora and the Na’vi people to the public. The results speak for themselves, with the Avatar franchise already making over $5 billion worldwide and expanded into the realm of theme park attractions, books, and video games.

Personally, I love the first Avatar film. I thought it was an engaging, gorgeous, and emotionally resonant movie. Yes, I know that it was essentially Dances With Wolves in space. However, I’ll always appreciate any artist pouring their heart and soul into their art. There’s a level of vulnerability there that would be hard for any of us to emulate. Although it took 13 years for Avatar‘s sequel The Way of Water to grace cinemas, audiences still flocked to theaters to see Cameron’s groundbreaking spectacle. While still a good movie, it was definitely a step down from the original. Thankfully, fans of the franchise only had to wait a scant three years this time for Fire and Ash, the third in the series. Yet with the landscape of movies having changed so much, would Fire and Ash still have the juice and would it still make for a compelling story?

It pains me to say that despite some truly stunning visual effects, sound design, and cinematography, Avatar: Fire and Ash fell flat for me. Rather than soar like an ikran, the subpar story and repetitiveness are starting to show the cracks in this franchise. Plodding, pedestrian, vast in scope but hollow in story, Avatar: Fire and Ash fails to move the needle in any way and no longer seems worthy of my time and investment.

I want to begin with the positives because despite the fact that this movie didn’t work for me, your mileage may vary. If you’re the type of person that gravitates toward stunning visuals, especially in IMAX, then you absolutely need to see this movie on the big screen. Otherwise you’re doing yourself a disservice. Lead VFX production supervisor Joe Letteri and the wizards at WETA digital once again fully immerse you in the world of Pandora. It’s so on another level of greatness that I often forget Pandora isn’t a real place. It’s that tangible. Christopher Boyes and Bridget Yorke provide excellent sound design as well. It’s one thing to be enraptured by the VFX but the the immersive sounds add that extra dimension that makes it special. This all pairs beautifully with Academy Award winner Russell Carpenter’s cinematography. Although I didn’t always enjoy the high frame rate that Cameron insists on, Carpenter’s cinematography often offset this. The quiet moments between Neytiri and Jake were just as impactful as the final battle between the RDA and the Metkayina clan.

All of the aforementioned cinematic elements highlight the one thing James Cameron really succeeds at when it comes to the Avatar franchise, and that’s the world building. Pandora feels like a vital and real place full of society, history, and philosophy. The flora and fauna of Pandora’s environment while fantastical, also feel authentic. The Na’vi and Tulkan come across as people with a vibrant and dynamic culture. Sure it’s steeped in Native American culture, but that doesn’t make it any less genuine. We’re even introduced to two new groups of Na’vi, the aforementioned Ash People who have eschewed the ways of Eywa and the Sky Na’vi who feel like corsair traders. Additionally, Cameron still excels at directing action sequences, with the final battle between the Ash People, the RDA, and the Na’vi led by Jake truly jaw-dropping.

Unfortunately, Cameron and Avatar: Fire and Ash really struggle when it comes to the story. Cameron, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver co-wrote the script and nothing feels particularly fresh, with Fire and Ash repeating many of the same beats from the previous films. It’s basically inner turmoil between the Na’vi people as they struggle to co-exist with a race that’s actively trying to colonize and destroy their planet, Jake rallying his adopted people and trying to balance his home life, another confrontation with Quaritch, and a rousing third act battle that while exhilarating leaves many story threads unwound. Also there’s a weird subplot involving Kiri and Spider that heavily suggests a romantic connection which is quite odd considering that the last film portrayed them as brother and sister. I did appreciate that this story is told moreso from the perspective of Lo’ak who also narrates the film. That was a nice change of pace.

Furthermore, the pace and dialogue was laborious and cringe worthy respectively. At a whopping 197 minutes, this movie is far too long and you really feel it. This is the first time in awhile where I looked down at my phone clock and was dismayed to see there was still an hour to go. There’s just too many moments that drag, especially when we’ve seen them before. I’ll freely admit that I often found myself bored, which when looking at the larger context of Cameron’s filmography, feels blasphemous to say. It’s also quite clear that Cameron possesses a tin ear for dialogue. If I took a shot for how many times Lo’ak and his friends said “bro” I’d still be drunk. Other lines like like “That ain’t cool” and “Well this is awkward” feel so forced and inauthentic that you can’t help but notice them.

Then there’s the acting. Zoe Saldana’s Neytiri continues to prove why she’s the MVP of the series. When we meet her in this third film her grief is consuming her and she’s a full on racist that’s projecting her rage onto all humans. It’s a stunning performance, motion capture or not and her character is easily the most nuanced. Worthington’s Sully seems stuck in the same gear however, with him bitterly resentful of Lo’ak who he blames for Neteyam’s death. I did appreciate how his relationship with Lo’ak evolves throughout the film. Stephen Lang’s Quaritch had the most interesting but occasionally disjointed arc. His character ends up cozying up with the Ash People in order to bring in Jake. Quaritch’ s character feels very much like Marlon Brando’s Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. Should there be more Avatar films it will be interesting to see where his character goes. Without question though, Oona Chaplin’s Varang is the best addition to the series. She’s the epitome of a cult leader with her followers totally devoted and damn near worshiping her as a deity. Varang’s movements, inflections, and ruthless actions make for the best villain we’ve seen yet. My only complaint was that she wasn’t in it enough.

The fatal flaw in Avatar: Fire and Ash is how much the crux of the story revolves around Spider’s journey. When a miraculous event allows Spider to breathe the Pandoran atmosphere and develop Na’vi biological features, he becomes the most important asset for the RDA. He’s also trying to walk the fine line between a relationship with the avatar of his biological father Quaritch and his adopted father Jake. The Sullys are essentially his family. While on paper these make for excellent plot points that would normally enhance the film, the problem is that Jack Champion delivers an inauthentic and borderline awful performance. There’s an empty quality to his acting that never inspires empathy, pathos, or even interest in his character. Half the time he acts like some obnoxious, surfing dudebro and it was difficult to watch. There’s a scene between Jake and Spider late in the film that should have been the most important and powerful of the entire movie but it lands like a fart in church. To be fair, Spider’s character is not well written, however I can’t help but think a more talented actor could have saved a good portion of Avatar: Fire and Ash.

Although, Avatar: Fire and Ash garnered a soft opening weekend domestically, globally it made almost $350 million. With the holiday season upon us and no major releases on the horizon for several months, I have no doubt that Avatar: Fire and Ash will have legs at the box office and crack a $1 billion or more once again. Undoubtedly, this will lead to the proposed 4th and 5th Avatar films. Also, I undoubtedly will watch them in the theater. Cameron will always have my money but it’s going to take a marked increase in creativity and story innovation to maintain my overall interest.

Dazzling visuals are simply no longer enough.

My rating system:

1 God Awful Blind Yourself With Acid Bad

2 Straight Garbage

3 Bad

4 Sub Par

5 Average

6 Ok

7 Good

8 Great

9 Excellent

10 A Must See