Avatar: Fire and Ash
2025
**½
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Britain Dalton, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Jack Champion, Bailey Bass, Oona Chaplin, David Thewlis
As Jake and Neytiri grieve the loss of their son in different ways, they face a new threat when an aggressive Mangkwan clan, led by their matriarch Varang, joins forces with Colonel Quaritch. Quaritch wants to get to his son, Spider, but I'm unsure what motivates Varang. Following the disappointingly uninventive The Way of Water, the third Avatar movie offers 197 minutes more of the same. Apart from introducing the new clan and showing that Kiri can now log into Eywa, nothing of consequence happens. Cameron delivers an endless series of captures and escapes, and the climactic battle in the air and water looks awfully lot like the end of the previous installment. The film once again looks impressive, and it won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, as expected.
