Well, everyone, today, we finally review the last of the films that I still had yet to review from 2025 before we go full on into 2026. That is, other than me pulling up reviews of films from other years here and there. Anyway, this time around, we talk about a film that happened to be one of the couple of the biggest hits at the box office, alongside Disney’s Zootopia 2, and very few others from this past year. It is the third installment of a franchise that has continued for almost a couple decades, thanks to its popularity. Ladies, and gentlemen, I give you all my review of the third installment in the franchise, the one, and only Avatar: Fire & Ash.
Plot: During another war Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), his queen, Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and the rest of their tribe have with Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang), and his army that continues to be hellbent on destroying all the Na’vi tribes, he, and his tribe discover a volcanic tribe, known as the Mangkwan tribe, who rejects the Avatar spirit Eywa. During an expedition in which Jake, and his tribe find themselves having to escort Spider (Jack Champion) from their tribe for reasons that would involve keeping him safe, they are Jake, and the gang are attacked by the Mangkwan, led by their matriarch, Varang (Oona Chaplin). Now, as Varang, and Colonel Quaritch surprisingly team up to try, and destroy Jake, Neytiri, and the rest of the Na’vi, along with any other Avatar tribes, can Jake, with any help possible, defeat Varang, and Quaritch, and save their tribe from destruction once, and to all?
So, did Avatar: Fire & Ash somehow end up being superior to Avatar, or Avatar: The Way Of The Water, or did this film fall short of those? Well, I will say this. First of all, Avatar: Fire & Ash did have quite a few highs. First of all, you have to give the movie credit for having really great visuals, just like the first two. Director James Cameron mentioned that if he, and his filmmaking team go through with making the fourth, and fifth films (which he plans to release in 2029, and 2031, respectively), he will likely cut back on budgeting, and not make those sequels as expensive to make. If that happens, will that keep the visuals in the 4th, and 5th films as grand as these three films thus far? More than likely, but I guess we shall see. Well, for now, at least we can be grateful for the fact that the visuals have been great in all three of them thus far. In addition to all of this, it is great to see that for this film being a little over three hours, like the second one, at least, while the first film is at least 2 1/2 hours, the filmmakers do not waste much time, if at all, in making this one as good as possible. Even when it comes to the story, yes, it may be a lot of the same story as the first two films. However, the filmmakers raise the stakes this time not only for the visuals, but also for areas like character development, and even for the story itself.
To begin, when it comes to character development, not only do they do well with developing characters like Jake, Neytiri, and Quaritch, for example, but also with characters like Jake, and Neytiri’s kids, the human character, Spider, and even with the new villain, Varang. Honestly, while the character development was certainly good in the first two movies, they probably did a better job with that aspect in this third film, especially when it came to developing relationships in this movie. Whether it’s Jake, and Neytiri’s relationship, Spider, and Kiri’s, or even Quaritch, and Varang’s once they team up, character development, and the relationships that go along with that, is one of the film’s strongest aspects. Honestly, because we have an Avatar tribe that consists of a group of villains, as well as them just battling the Na’vi, and then teaming up with Quaritch in the process, it likely makes the film a little more interesting than the first two, wouldn’t you say? Honestly, when it comes to especially the villains of this movie, I was a little surprised by the direction that this film took that whole deal. But hey, at least it helps make this film less cliche from the first two films. There are also some additional new characters that are great, like some of the sea creatures that communicate through sound, and require translation, you name it. Finally, there is a really interesting ending that occurs this time around.
In addition to this, because of us getting new characters, and there being more things going on, Avatar: Fire & Ash doesn’t seem to feel like much of a retread of the first movie at least like the second film seemed to be at least to a degree. What’s more is that Cameron does well with expanding the world building in this third film. Interestingly enough, this third film does well with incorporating new elements that were not present in the first two movies. After seeing this movie, people will probably be surprised to find the sorts of surprises that are found in this film? Does this mean that people will like Avatar: Fire & Ash as much as Avatar, or Avatar: The Way Of Water? Well, maybe not in every way, but probably at least in some ways, yes.
However, like quite a few films, Avatar: Fire & Ash is not without a some flaws here and there. First of all, there were some action scenes that might have dragged on a little too long, most notably one scene that occurs between the beginning, and middle of the film, when we’re first introduced to Varang, and the rest of the ash tribe. What’s more is that there were maybe a couple additional scenes that might have dragged on a little too long at times. Because of all of that, this third film probably didn’t need to be as long as it was. But hey, at least it gave the movie reason to keep going for a little while longer. In addition to this, when the climax occurs, I won’t give away what happens for those of you that haven’t seen this movie yet, but still plan to. I will at least say this, the climax, let’s just say felt a little like a cop out around the very end. I’m sure that might not have been Cameron’s intention. Still, the way that the climax wrapped up could have probably been handled better. One other thing to mention is that the way that character growth was handled, and how some characters were even dealt with, it was a little strange too.
And that’s my review for Avatar: Fire & Ash. Though there were some aspects of this film that could have made it better, Avatar: Fire & Ash still remains one of the stringer sequels out there. There’s really excellent world building, cool visuals, a lot of great character development that make this film eye catching. It most certainly was a great way to spend at least the Christmas holidays, or at least seeing it shortly afterwards. If you want a sequel that not only is eye opening visually, but also improves with areas like character development, and growth, then all the more reason to see Avatar: Fire & Ash. The characters are likable, and people are bound to love any newer elements that get incorporated this time around. Definitely go see Avatar: Fire & Ash, if you can. You may yet be surprised this time around.
Final Rating: 8.5/10
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 