REVIEW: 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' Is A Technical Masterpiece That Delivers An Underwhelming Conclusion To The Saga
- Christopher Mills
- 4 hours ago
- 6 min read
The world of Pandora came to James Cameron in a dream. It was a dream that he knew he couldn’t fulfil with the technology he had during the 90s, but in 2009, he brought the world of Avatar to life, blowing audiences’ minds with visuals that had never been seen before and 3D technology that had finally been used correctly.
It was nearly a decade’s wait for its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, which once again took everyone’s expectations and blew them out of the water. Now three years later, James Cameron has brought us the conclusion to what he has described as the final chapter in the first Avatar saga, Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Avatar: Fire and Ash takes place some time after Avatar: The Way of Water and deals with the Sully family as they still grieve over the death of Neteyam (Jamie Flatters). A new threat rises from the ashes of Pandora that allies itself with Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and the rest of the RDA to finally take down Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) once and for all.
Avatar has been a franchise that has been close to my heart, and it was a movie that highlighted at a young age that no matter how vast your own fictional world may be, it's possible to bring it to life. James Cameron has been spreading the news that Avatar: Fire and Ash is the conclusion to the first Avatar saga, with Avatar 4 and 5 being the start of a whole new saga. With these expectations, you'd hope that a three-hour and seventeen-minute-long movie would be able to provide a satisfying ending while still leaving the odd loose thread here and there, but instead, you're left confused about what Cameron's intention with the story was the entire time.
What has remained consistent through all three Avatar movies is that the world of Pandora is still a sight to behold. The visuals of Avatar: Fire and Ash are nothing short of breathtaking, and as we get introduced to the Mangkwan, aka the clan of the Ash people, whose terrain leaves the feeling of destruction and rage and lacks the colour of the Metakayina's bright blue water and the bright green forage of the Omatikaya, it still remains just as distinct and unique as the previous two locales. James Cameron continues with his great use of the HFR (High-Frame Rate) technology, which helps with the use of 3D and allows it to have less strain on people's brains, and while I still highly recommend watching Avatar: Fire and Ash on the biggest screen possible and in 3D to get the most out of your viewing experience, there are some scenes in the final act which do tend to appear like the frame rate drops drastically, which tends to take away your attention from the action.
The world-building with Pandora is quite easily the best aspect of Avatar: Fire and Ash. We get introduced to two new tribes: the Tlalim, aka Windtraders; and the Mangkwan. The introduction of these two clans further expands the world, making it seem larger than it already is. We quickly become accustomed to the Windtraders as they arrive and are given the task of taking Spider back to the High Camp research base. It's here that we discover that they don't play favourites or take sides when it comes to the war between the Na'vi and the RDA, highlighting their pacifist side, although, as you're shown not soon after, they're still ready to defend themselves.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is a movie that's rooted in its themes on faith and belief. We've learnt that Eywa runs through all life in Pandora, but the same can't be said for the Mangkwan. Varang (Oona Chaplin) states that when they needed help, Eywa was nowhere to be found, and since then, she and her people have turned to darkness, raiding and killing other Na'vi who have a strong belief in Eywa. Varang is an intriguing character, and it starts with her character design. She's the only Na'vi to sport spikes on her Kuru, which reflects how she uses it to control other Na'vi, removing their will.
What remains present throughout the entirety of Avatar: Fire and Ash is the cycle of violence that continues. We have the Mangkwan, who enact senseless violence amongst their own kind, who team up with Quaritch and the RDA once Varang finally finds someone on equal ground. It's a timely message that we see play out in our real world across the globe as James Cameron interjects the senseless violence from our world into Pandora.
Oona Chaplin delivers a ferocious performance as Varang and really helps to sell the rage that she feels, and the combination of her with Stephen Lang's Quaritch really stands on top as one of the best villain duos, as Lang provides us with yet another performance that solidifies Quaritch as one of the most legendary villains we've gotten this century. He's determined to take down Jake Sully and will do anything to get his hands on him, willing to even kill Sully's children if he must. What we see from Quaritch in Avatar: Fire and Ash compared to Avatar: The Way of Water is that he's a compassionate guy; unlike Varang, he isn't just rooted in evil, and he's able to set aside differences to work towards the same goal.
James Cameron plays around with the idea of Quaritch going through an identity crisis: is he an RDA human general, or is he a Na'vi? As part of the audience, it's hard to get into his head, but you can see how he crosses the line of fully becoming a Na'vi. It's unfortunate, as there is a great scene between Jake Sully and Quaritch which begins to tease Quaritch fully accepting what he is, but the story rushes to its ending, and we never really get to see it play out as Cameron struggles to juggle several storylines that need to conclude within the three hours.
Unlike Avatar: The Way of Water, we don't have Jake narrating the story, but instead we get Lo'ak (Britain Dalton), who narrates the movie. He's made to seem like the central character at first with how he's still dealing with the death of his brother and the toll it's taking on him mentally as he continues to be blamed for his death by his father. Avatar: Fire and Ash tries to have emotional payoff with all of its characters, but for a good portion of the movie, Lo'ak is absent, and the relationship with his father isn't resolved as one would've liked to have hoped. It all makes for a third act that's absolutely stunning with its visuals but lacking with its writing as it rushes to the finish line.
A character that's a clear fan favourite, unlike Lo'ak, who receives the poor end of the stick, is Spider (Jack Champion). The entire movie revolves around him, and while his story dives deep into spoiler territory, I can say that his character becomes forever changed and quickly becomes the centre of attention for all characters involved. Cameron handles Spider's story arc throughout the movie well, as we get to see Neytiri fight her hatred for humans and Jake not only look out for his family but also make life-changing decisions that regard Spider's life.
Outside of Spider's story, which in all honesty is just the overall story for Avatar: Fire and Ash, the movie has no real stakes for any of its central characters and instead delivers moments that have been predicted from the film's marketing. Avatar: Fire and Ash is the most anticlimactic conclusion that I could've expected for this first saga, which unfortunately leaves a bad taste in my mouth after having this movie as my most anticipated film of the year. While it tends to have similar story beats to Avatar: The Way of Water, which is expected as these two films were originally conceived as one movie, it doesn't ever reach the heights of Avatar: The Way of Water, although it constantly tries to.
James Cameron highlights that he's able to have the ability of expanding worlds that he creates with new characters such as Varang that remain a highlight with Oona Chaplin's scene-stealing performance. It's just disappointing that despite Cameron's direction, Weta's breathtaking visuals, Russell Carpenter's gift of delivering consistently amazing cinematography and Deborah L. Scott's eye to tell stories and bring cultures to life through the use of the costumes, which is unmatched, unfortunately, the story, which feels way too simple and convoluted at the same time, leaves a taste in my mouth that I just can't wash away.
The interest for an Avatar 4 and 5 is vanishing, but if we ever do get them, I can only hope that the story can go in a different direction than what we've received over the last three films.
About Avatar: Fire and Ash
Premiere Date: December 19, 2025
Writer: James Cameron, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Director: James Cameron
Production: Lightstorm Entertainment
Distribution: 20th Century Studios
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Oona Chaplin, Kate Winslet, Jack Champion, Britain Dalton, Trinity Bliss, Bailey Bass
