This American fantasy-science fiction movie continues the Avatar Franchise, and deals with conflict in Pandora, where intense fighting has surfaced.
AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. Starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Oona Chaplin, Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver, and Kate Winslet. Directed by James Cameron. Rated M (mature themes, violence, and coarse language). 197 min.
Review by Peter W Sheehan, Jesuit Media Australia
The film is the third film in the Avatar series and was written by James Cameron, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver from a story written by Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno. It is the sequel to “Avatar: The Way of Water”. Many members of the cast reprise their roles from previous Avatar films, and two more Avatar sequels are currently in the stages of production.
The sequel was filmed in New Zealand. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a human, has fallen in love with Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), who is a member of the Metkayina clan, and they have married. Grappling with the death of one of their family, Jake and Neytiri encounter an aggressive Na’vi tribe called the Ash People. The Ash People are a volcano-dwelling tribe led aggressively by Varang (Oona Chaplin), a fiery tribe leader. Varang, however, is linked to Jake’s arch enemy, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who was formerly a military commander who led the human organisation that colonised Pandora – an earth-like habitable moon. He and other fallen soldiers were resurrected as Avatar “recombinants” and Colonel Quaritch seeks “revenge” against Jake and his motivation becomes a key theme. Sigourney Weaver is the adopted daughter of Jake and Neytiri, and she features the end of the film, briefly.
“Fire” in this film’s title signifies hatred and violence, and “Ash” signifies its aftermath. The film aims to penetrate the depth of the characters it portrays, and it explores both the good and the bad of the characters it shows. Fight scenes in this film are routinely mounted in a thrilling manner, and reflect what the Avatar series has captured well in the past. Filming for the movie is done with “Performance Capture” photography which produces live-action scenarios that create some remarkable visual effects. Photography in the film demonstrates an extreme level of visual artistry. James Cameron continues as Director of the series, and the film is given a musical score.
This film is a well-directed sequel to a very original movie, but aggression is the name of the game. It is a visually sophisticated production that is filled with technological-delivered intense aggression, that promises more just like it to come.
Reviewed by Peter W. Sheehan, an Associate of Jesuit Media