'Avatar: Fire and Ash' review: James Cameron cranks up the heat in thrilling new installment

Courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Disney

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At a time when the theatrical moviegoing experience feels perpetually on the brink of collapse, James Cameron once again rides in like a king returning to his throne. Armed with state-of-the-art motion capture technology and the kind of blank-check franchise only he can command, Cameron uses “Avatar: Fire and Ash” to remind us that there are still cinematic experiences that simply cannot be replicated at home, no matter how impressive your setup may be.

“Fire and Ash” is a thunderous, visually intoxicating expansion of the “Avatar” saga, which began with a $2 billion phenomenon and grew even larger with 2022’s equally massive “The Way of Water.” That sequel pushed motion capture to astonishing new heights, most notably by filming underwater, and this third installment continues Cameron’s relentless pursuit of technical innovation.

You could fairly describe “Fire and Ash” as more of the same, or even “The Way of Water 2.0,” and you would not be wrong. But that framing undersells just how singular these films feel in a modern theatrical landscape. The scale of the world-building, paired with a stunning high frame rate Dolby 3D presentation, places “Avatar” in a league of its own. There are only so many experiences under $20 that can genuinely feel like a three-hour vacation, and this is one of them.

That is not to say the film is immune to criticism. The plot and dialogue do not always hit their intended marks, and your emotional investment in Spider, the human teenager played by Jack Champion, may vary. Yet Cameron’s visual command is so overwhelming that it often renders those shortcomings secondary. At one point midway through the film, Cameron briefly gestures toward something deeper and almost theological, staging a surreal moment that evokes the cosmic awe of “2001: A Space Odyssey.” It is a reminder that even within a blockbuster framework, Cameron is still reaching for something larger than spectacle alone.

“Fire and Ash” picks up almost immediately after the aquatic climax of “The Way of Water,” with Colonel Quaritch (Stephan Lang) once again clawing his way back from defeat. Regrouping alongside his corporate overlords, Quaritch remains committed to humanity’s ongoing effort to colonize Pandora, a planet of near-miraculous beauty meant to serve as a lifeboat for an Earth humanity has already ruined.

The Sully family, now living among the Metkayina water tribe after leaving their original Omatikaya clan, are attempting to lay low amid the chaos. They are also still reeling from the devastating loss of their son Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), whose death casts a long emotional shadow over the film. Jake Sully (a commanding Sam Worthington) has fully embraced his role as a Na’vi war leader, ready to die for the people he once fought against. Neytiri (Zoe Saldana, excellent as ever) finds herself at a personal crossroads, torn between her grief, her simmering hatred of humanity, and her uneasy relationship with Spider, who is effectively an adopted son to the Sullys and, inconveniently, Quaritch’s biological child. It is an emotional knot the film smartly refuses to untangle too easily.

Returning characters are joined by familiar faces like Kiri (a remarkably convincing Sigourney Weaver), whose deep spiritual connection to Pandora is further explored here with jaw-dropping results. Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) carries crushing guilt over his brother’s death, while Metkayina leaders Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and Ronal (Kate Winslet) continue to anchor the clan with authority and resolve.

The film’s most compelling addition, however, is Varang, played with ferocity by Oona Chaplin. A self-anointed queen of the Ash People, Varang leads a tribe once devoted to peace before a volcanic catastrophe hardened them into something far more dangerous. Cameron uses Varang to introduce a new kind of menace to the franchise, one rooted not just in colonial greed but in grief and radicalization. A hallucinatory, fever-dream sequence involving Varang and Quaritch is among the film’s most striking moments, especially in high frame rate 3D. It is overwhelming, disorienting, and unmistakably the work of a filmmaker who refuses to play small.

No one pushes the boundaries of blockbuster filmmaking quite like Cameron. “Fire and Ash” carries more urgency and intensity than “The Way of Water,” largely because the audience now understands exactly how far the RDA is willing to go to claim Pandora. The action spans land, sea, and sky, and within 35 minutes the arrows are already flying. From that point forward, the film rarely relents. Cameron treats cinematic limitations as challenges to be overcome rather than rules to be followed.

The motion capture technology continues to evolve, delivering astonishingly lifelike facial expressions and a tactile, lived-in sense of place. Pandora feels real, not just rendered. A climactic battle set within a volcanic environment is genuinely breathtaking, one of the most visually ambitious sequences Cameron has ever staged. Lang, Worthington, and Saldana remain the franchise’s emotional backbone, with Lang clearly having the time of his life as a swaggering, smart-mouthed antagonist. While the film could stand to lose about 25 percent of its cheesier one-liners, it is hard to deny the dumb grin they tend to produce.

“Fire and Ash” occasionally flirts with a sense of deja vu, which is unusual for a filmmaker who typically stays well ahead of imitation. Still, the sheer craftsmanship, scale, and attention to detail make the familiarity easy to forgive. I am not sure how much fuel remains in the “Avatar” tank, but I cannot imagine a theatrical ecosystem without it. In 2025, it is hard to believe another filmmaker could command this level of trust, money, and technological freedom to realize a vision on this scale.

If “Fire and Ash” does turn out to be the end of the line, it would still stand as a monumental achievement. The “Avatar” saga has carved its place into cinematic history, not just as a financial juggernaut, but as a reminder of what movies can be when ambition meets obsession, and spectacle is treated not as an end, but as a language.

Grade: B+ 

AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH opens in theaters Friday, December 19th.