Disney / Buena Vista
Three years on from Avatar: The Way of Water, James Cameron’s third film in his blockbusting action sci-fi franchise featuring blue space cat people is ready to dominate cinema screens across the world once more, as we return to the planet of Pandora for the continued trials and tribulations of Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family, as they once again must face off against foes both old and new.
As such, cinemagoers are in for even more of the same in terms of the visual style, the action, and the melodrama.
However, where the first film at least offered genuinely impressive visuals in a decidedly worthwhile 3D experience wrapped around a predictable but well-structured narrative, the second film was a visually stunning but tonally disjointed effort with significant pacing issues, and with the third installment, Pandora feels increasingly sterile and unengaging, which makes one wonder if all those deep sea dives are negatively impacting Cameron in some way, shape or form.
This time around, the storytelling in particular is sorely lacking, saturated by tropes and banalities, not to mention woefully ham-fisted family melodrama that would make even the most shameless Hallmark screenwriters cringe, and the acting is also at its most atrocious to date, with any good performances feeling wasted on such a narratively underwhelming film.
Such issues may be forgiven to an extent if the film as a whole is thematically sound, however, while Cameron’s emphasis on the importance of environmentalism and the evils of colonialism are still unambiguously present, he also continues to utilize tired and deeply problematic tropes of the “white savior” and the “noble savage,” in spite of these issues having been heavily scrutinized in conjunction with the previous installments, and rightfully so.
Pacing-wise, the film is less disjointed than than the second installment, but it is nonetheless still unforgivably overlong, once again attesting to the size of Cameron’s ego now that he is no longer hampered by the same constraints as he was early on in his career, the Canadian filmmaker having long since become the victim of his own successful circumstances rather than a champion against the odds in the face of filmmaking adversity.
All of that being said, those who enjoy the films will likely find more to enjoy the third time around, as the narrative points and the type of spectacle on display are prime for mainstream entertainment, albeit the regurgitations of the greatest hits of Cameron’s past moments of action-packed grandeur will render the viewing experience utterly derivative and frustratingly dull for others.
As such, for those who wistfully reminisce about Cameron’s heyday, Avatar: Fire & Ash is yet another reminder that while the filmmaker’s technical ingenuity and pigheaded tenacity both prevail, his days as an engaging storyteller appear to be a thing of the past, but at least the inevitable box office success of his latest effort will help keep cinemas open, so at least there is a silver lining to this disappointingly tepid franchise.
Extras include an English audio track for families who don’t speak Na’vi, an exhaustive three hour making of, a featurette and marketing materials and music video, and a tribute to the late producer Jon Landau.
Verdict: 4 out of 10.
