Avatar: Fire and Ash review

Epic series' third instalment goes deeper and darker... 

A lot of online reviews of this third instalment of the Avatar series have been super critical suggesting that it looks the same as the first two which to me is like going to a park and saying “These trees and flowers are the same as last year”. People easily forget how these films have created a sense of wonder, created a world that must surely be one of the most immersive, different places the cinema is ever going to take you. I think Fire and Ash is the best of the Avatar films so far; richer, more exciting and for those who inexplicably find enormous sea creatures and floating mountains boring, there are some new locales and people as well. Though it does have some similarities this is patently not the same storyline as the second film as some have said it is, rather that film was the launchpad for something even bigger. For me this a film whose three and a quarter hours running time never feels overlong and it’s been ages since I saw something this breathtaking and visually inventive in the cinema.

 

Warning- Major Spoilers (and superlatives) after the break!

 

The film uses a higher frame rate to give a clean, realistic appearance that brings you directly into the striking flora and fauna of Pandora. Visually it’s as gorgeous a place as ever with imagery that seems drawn partly from Japanese art and also those Roger Dean album covers from the Seventies. Certain Pandora tableau would fit perfectly well on the sleeve of an old Yes record.  While the visual splendour of Pandora remains, this movie takes the story to deeper, darker place while at the same time upping the stakes in terms of some thrilling chases, battles and combat. James Cameron’s sense of urgent drive that powered the likes of Aliens and the Terminator films is in full effect here with pursuits and jeopardy both horizontal and vertical creating some gasp worthy moments.

Pandora has hitherto been portrayed as an idyllic place only spoiled by incursions from the “sky people” but in this film we meet an indigenous tribe whose lust for violence exceeds even that of any invader. Led by the feral Varang this tribe prove to be the disrupters for characters still trying to process what happened in the previous film. What an anarachic difference they make happiest trashing enemies, though you may ponder why they’ve never attacked the other Na’avi before. They definitely add a riskier element; and are not bound by the spiritual considerations of other tribes. They bring a risk to the narrative; at various points you feel any of the main characters could be killed. Varang is played with all the gusto this sort of over the top role needs by a red painted Oona Chaplin, complete with yelps and growls, she provides Quaritch with an equal partner event though they don’t entirely trust each other. Where the military’s hardware and tech is soon smashed up, her animalistic cunning is less easily dissipated. Most of the serious peril faced by the main characters comes from her rather than the soldiers.

Already suggested by Kiri’s bond with Pandora’s natural world and the way the Tulkun have a spiritual bond with the Metkayina, the concept of a connected world is more prominent in this film. The story puts more focus on Eywa, the oft mention global consciousness that connects everything in Pandora.  Interestingly the story doesn’t present a benign or even neutral God, rather one with their own agenda perhaps, neither kind nor unkind. They don’t personify Eywa (yet I suspect that will come) but the concept becomes a player in the drama thanks to the way Kiri can access power which enables her to save Spider and, later, the God seems to help marshal the planet’s wildlife to fight back turning the outcome of the climactic conflict.

The movie looks at what people will do- or have to do- to protect their families and interests. While the greed of the human Tulkun traders is perhaps a little too simplistic (Scorseby is the only character who seems wholly unchanged this time) the value of the Tulkun oil and additionally the possibilities offered by Spider’s transformation from an ``air breather` are clearly motivation enough for the soldiers. The way that Jake changes is especially interesting; from being the warrior of the last film he becomes more considered, more willing to strategize in a less moral way and this does lead to one of the film’s darkest moments. Meanwhile the ongoing head to head between Jake and Quaritch leads to some interesting developments. Jake knows Spider is Quaritch’s weak spot so the story asks how much will he use this character whom he has brought up as his own for the greater good? When Sully and Quaritch are forced to work together for a while it creates an uneasy dynamic which adds a lot to both characters. Whether this is the end of the line for Quaritch in the story remains to be seen, while he was saved at the last minute at the end of The Way of Water there is no such action shown here. You never know though…

Spider turns out to be an unexpectedly pivotal character in this instalment having up till now been used more as the lighter relief or reacting to events.. Finally he gets more agency here thanks to a significant change. When on the run with the others and his last oxygen mask runs out (this is slightly clumsy foreshadowing as its never troubled the plot before) Kiri is able to transform him so he can breathe unaided, which no human can do on Pandora. We’ve seen the basis of this process before but this development opens up possibilities for the humans who now see Pandora as having even more potential.

The narrative also flashes up some interesting character responses to this scenario. Early on, seeing him as part of the “pink skin” problem Neytiri seems disposed to kill Spider if she needs to do so, something alluded to in the second film’s climax too. Yet later when Sully realises the boy’s death would solve so many problems and takes him away to do the deed, she rushes to stop this happening. Another scene shows a moment when Lo’ak contemplates suicide- its brief and soon passes- but is an unexpected character note that again shows how far things have come. When the first film came out I never imagined we would be drawn to feel so much for these alien characters but now we do. Meanwhile Lo’ak actually becomes the narrator of this story taking over from Sully which seems symbolic and bold considering the headspace the younger character is in at the start of the film. I can’t understand the reviews that have said there is little or no character development when clearly there is as much as any blockbuster film will ever give you.

The narrative looks at ways grief can change people through both Neytiri and Lo’ak . She is struggling not just with the impact of what happens but with her whole faith. For a while she seems to go rogue (a solo rescue attempt at the government facility is an action highlight) but it is when facing Varang that she realises what sort of person she might become if she abandons her faith. Varang’s tribe are given enough background to explain why she and her tribe are so different to the other Pandorans losing their faith in Eywa after a volcanic catastrophe.

All the characters seem richer here, there are more intervals where they really seem to talk as opposed to the slightly expositional dialogue of the previous films. Issues are drawn through the movie rather than resolved in one conversation and you get a real sense of family and how sometimes it’s unity is threatened by events. At this point in the story they have been through so much. Neytiri in particular is really put through the wringer here and this is while she is still grieving for her son. These more intimate, personal scenes provide a strong emotional ballast.

I’ve also seen some comments to the effect that these are digitally generated characters but that is only their on screen appearance. These are actors giving strong, interesting performances which deserve to be recognised the same way they surely would be if they appeared without the Na’vi skin. They are not AI creations, they rehearse and shoot like any other film. What you see in their faces however blue and alien they may look, are real human actors we’re watching.

There are some outstanding performances here including Zoe Saldana as the bitter, grief stricken Netyri, Oona Chaplin’s remarkably wild Varang, Britain Dalton’s troubled, restless Lo’ak, Jack Champion’s loyal, heroic Spider, Sam Worthington’s stoic but conflicted Sully, Stephen Lang’s determined Quaritch and most amazingly of all Sigourney Weaver playing Kiri, a young girl with all the energy, curiosity and delight that involves.

Of course what impresses too are the many action sequences which often seem to run concurrently as the family are soon separated in different iterations to fight separate battles. James Cameron is a master of creating and marshalling this sort of thing and there are a number of astonishing scenes contained in this film which dazzle with new ways of utilising the Pandoran landscape and the harsh metal of the human base. Occasionally you see feats to which your initial reaction might be” No -one could do that” but Cameron uses the connections between the landscape and its inhabitants to enhance what these people can do. Crucially each skirmish means something more to the ongoing story; these are not mere set pieces and integrate into the narrative in what is a very well-paced movie.

Chances are if you’ve either not watched or enjoyed the previous two films, Fire and Ash won’t alter your opinion but for those of us who enjoy these trips to Pandora it is a robust, exciting, inventive and emotional continuation of a fascinating story.