Movie Review: Avatar: Fire and Ash

Yesterday I went to see the 3rd installment of the Avatar series, Fire and Ash, with Benjamin and William. I hardly ever go to the movie theaters anymore unless it's a big special effects production like this one (or Star Wars). I paid a little extra to get the 3d experience and it was very worth it. The 3d experience creates an amazing depth to the film putting the characters in the foreground with an incredible background. Also there were times it felt like we were in the setting, deep in forests, submerged in the water, as if we could reach the plants or the falling leaves. I took my glasses off a couple times to see the comparison and it was very noticeable. Most films I would say the 3d option is somewhat excessive, but in a sci-fi setting like Avatar it really helps you escape into that fantasy environment. Definitely worth the few extra dollars, if you've already made the effort to get the big-screen experience! It's like putting whip cream on an already delicious pie. 

So it should come as no surprise that the visual effects were a homerun once again. A visually stimulating film that is just hard to look away from. Director James Cameron has truly created a groundbreaking series here of science fantasy (that merges sci-fi with fantasy). It is ultimately a battle of technology verses the old natural world. I think this the central theme of all the Avatar movies and it was certainly relevant in Fire and Ash. The story itself had it's moments but certainly wasn't as amazing and magical as the original. All the same actors were back with some new additional characters, but for the most part it felt pretty similar to the 1st two movies.

I'd say my favorite addition to the film series was the villain Varang, played by the Spanish actress Oona Chaplin. She was the fierce leader of the enemy savage clan known as the Ash people. Her makeup alone was quite impressive with red, black, and white war paint. Her eyes were a piercing yellow (which especially caught my attention in the movie trailer). She wore a black-and-red feather crown, long black braided hair, and other various native adornments. She was like a seductive witch, a fierce warrior but also capable of fire magic. Everything about her was exhilarating, from the way she walked and swayed her hips, her sleek body, and the thong she wore. She was like the warrior version of Cleopatra or Medusa in full flight.

The rest of the usual characters were back led by Jake Sully seeking to continue his fight against the humans. His wife Neytiri who also begins to turn on the humans, most notably their adopted son Spider. Their main villain is still the Colonel Miles Quaritch who managed to escape death in the last movie. He is once again on a hunt to capture Jake Sully, who is considered the number one enemy by the human settlement in Pandora. The plot makes a unique twist when Kiri uses her magic of Eywa to save Spider and infuse him with Eywa's energy. This allows him to breath the air of Pandora without a mask. Once Colonel Miles and the humans discover this they seek to replicate his DNA so that the rest of the humans can breath on Pandora.

Jake's second son Lo'ak takes more of a central role in the story development as he further embrace his Na'vi identity. He partners with their reef allies, to convince the giant whales (known as tulkuns) to join their fight against the humans. This is a key development since the humans are still seeking to poach the whales for their precious minerals. There is once again a major water battle that develops towards the end of the film, where the whales save the day. The Sully family must constantly work together to save one another from capture. This is a reoccurring theme throughout the movie, where both Jake or Neytiri are captured, and the other must stage a heroic effort to save them. 

The villainy in the movie was actually quite complex and almost became 3 separate entities fighting against the Navi. First was the human settlement seeking to colonize the planet, collect all precious resources, and essentially eliminate all local natives. Colonel Miles was the specialist Navi avatar hired by the humans to hunt the navi hostiles. However Colonel Miles story grows more conflicted as he starts to care for his son, Spider. He eventually establishes a partnership with the ash clan led by their warlord, Varang. The Ash clan does not believe in Eywa and seeks to establish new authority in Pandora. Varang and Colonel Miles create a romantic partnership both intent to defeat their enemy and establish control of the region. At various times Colonel Miles comes at odds with the human command, and almost begins to go full on rouge native himself. 

During the final battle, the daughter Kiri is able to use her Eywa magic to unleash all the sea animals and air animals to attack (we saw this same thing in the first movies' finale). This time however Kiri was communicating directly with the goddess Eywa who we actually got a brief glimpse of underwater which was pretty cool. Jake and Colonel Miles have another epic hand-to-hand battle amidst a spinning vortex that basically ends in a stalement. Once Colonel Miles sees that he is outnumbered he then jumps into the vortex to what appears to be his final death (but of course this can't be assumed since he has died multiple times now in the film series).

There should most certainly be a sequel for these various reasons. First is that Varang escaped during the fighting, and she has already proven to be a very popular villain. Second is that the human issue has still not been resolved. They will continue to plunder the planet with new military forces unless some agreement can be reached. I don't see this problem going away unless Earth is destroyed. The final piece I'm not fully convinced on is the death of Colonel Miles. We last saw him falling thru this Vortex, but we never saw his body hit the ground, or any concrete evidence that he was actually dead. Since they already brought Colonel Miles back I wouldn't be surprised if they did again, although I think that would start to a get a little lame and repetitive. I think Varang should be the next central villain.