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!

 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 reviewed

 

It’s rare for each film in a trilogy to be equally good, however Guardians of the Galaxy have managed it. This third instalment is just as packed with action, quips, character and heart as the previous two yet still has something different. Just like its predecessors the pace is fast, the ideas keep coming and there are plenty of dramatic moments plus a rousing climax. Yet what has always made this particular strand of the MCU stand apart is the characters and each of the principals gets more to do this time courtesy of a very well rounded script. In a sense it’s the Guardian’s growing up movie- and appropriately includes the MCU’s first ever f-bomb – yet not without losing the sense of fun that has been with them from the start.

 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

The first Guardians of the Galaxy film was a big surprise that made even the lighter entries in the Marvel movie canon seem a bit too serious and this rambunctious sequel carries on the combination with mostly successful results. It is at times so over the top that any attempt at serious analysis is doomed to be dismissed by a one liner possibly issued by a raccoon! Yet there is some development though trying to inject a more emotional strand into proceedings tends to clutter the narrative with multiple but similar beats. Still it’s a fun ride and should be seen on the biggest screen you can find!

Guardians of the Galaxy

Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel
Written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman

Directed by James Gunn

 
The liveliest Marvel offering yet is funny, thrilling and wonderfully retro space opera.

If there really is a place where space battles happen you feel it is probably much more as
depicted in this film than either the gleaming or grimy universes usually imagined. Guardians of the Galaxy takes a lot of visual screen and comic influences, mashes them up and coats them in a deadpan humour garnished with a retro music feel that makes every minute of the movie so much fun you cannot fail to enjoy it. Even Iron Man will seem slightly po faced after this!