Avatar: De feu et de cendres

Some time ago in the previous century, James Cameron first developed the idea for the Avatar films. When he realized that the tools available at the time weren't sufficient to fully realize his vision, he refused to compromise and made a decision: to put the project completely on ice until technology caught up with what he had imagined. Over the following years, he focused primarily on technological research, working on innovative filming systems and motion-capture methodologies.

Only in the 2000s did Cameron bring the project back to life in a technologically groundbreaking process. Following the astronomical success of the first film, Cameron began mapping out an entire saga, spanning multiple films and decades of work, all while developing new technologies that would allow him to expand the world he'd created in innovative new directions. The second film, The Way of Water, was released some 13 years (!) after the first, marking a noticeable shift in approach: less a technological showmanship and more with an emphasis on character and story, with the technology serving as a tool to enhance the experience rather than dominate it.

Fire and Ash arrives at a point where the technology is fully mature with Cameron completely adept at using it, and the story is ripe and well developed. Unsurprisingly, the film is visually stunning and, in my opinion, absolutely must be seen in an IMAX theater. Given its bloated runtime, it's hard for me to imagine watching this at home on a TV - it would diminish so much of what makes the experience work.

The issue, however, is that it feels like the technological innovation aspect has reached a saturation point of sorts. The visual spectacle, while impressive, is no longer that far from what we've come to expect from other major blockbusters in recent years - at least in the way it is perceived by the viewer. Anyone who remembers the frenzy surrounding the original film's release in 2009 will recall just how unprecedented it felt at the time, while now we kind of got used to it.

On the plus side, what's been lost in terms of the original film's jaw-dropping "wow" factor is made up for by a level of technical maturity that allows Cameron to fully unleash his unique strengths as an action master. The result is some of the most ambitious and visually stunning action sequences I've seen in quite some time - with long stretches of the film functioning as pure, awe-inducing spectacle.

Unlike the second film, which opened with a significant time jump, this one picks up exactly where its predecessor left off-for better and for worse. On one hand, it maintains that feeling I love that this is one long, continuous epic rather than a series neatly divided into chapters. On the other hand, the film makes little effort to refresh viewers on key plot details or world-building elements, which may leave audiences who haven't revisited the previous film in a while feeling a bit lost.

From what I remember, there's noticeably more humor here than in the earlier films, and the story does indeed venture into interesting narrative territory. A lot of characters get more depth, new intriguing characters are added, and the stakes are at an all-time high. At the same time, a lot of it feels familiar, safe, even recycled-and there's a sense that the plot is beginning to circle back on itself. The ending left me desiring something a bit more as well.

The film lays intriguing groundwork for the (at least additional two) upcoming sequels, and if Cameron takes some of the criticism aimed at the second and third films to heart, there's real potential here for an amazing conclusion.

This has to be said: as good as the film is, and as much as I genuinely enjoyed it, it is unquestionably too long. Very few films, in my view, justify a runtime of around three hours - and this one pushes past that by roughly a quarter of an additional hour, which feels extremely excessive. It's not that the film is boring, but tighter script editing could have made the experience far smoother for many viewers. The only real upside to watching it at home might be the ability to take breaks - but when a movie reaches the point where a break feels necessary, it's usually a sign that the writer and editor became a little sloppy.

It may sound like I'm being mostly critical here, but the fact is I really did enjoy the film on the pure "experience" level. While far from perfect, it's highly entertaining and presents a sweeping, richly textured story that delivers breathtaking action and visuals that truly shine on the big screen.

Will I be able to re-watch it soon? Not likely. But James Cameron knows what he is doing, and the initial experience is definitely one to be had. Imagine a big-budget adventure/war film that blends classic sci-fi and fantasy elements - with characters and story in the background that we are invested in for years already.

Fire and Ash isn't a film that will change your outlook on life - or on cinema, for that matter - but it makes up for that by being a rare kind of spectacle, even by 2025 standards. As the third entry in a planned five-film series, it represents the midpoint of what has effectively become the life's work of a visionary director who has devoted decades of his life to realizing the fruits of his imagination. While it's very enjoyable and succeeds in pushing the story into interesting places, it's also guilty of leaning too heavily on familiar tropes from previous installments, and ultimately feels like it could have been a bit more refined.

I am going to be honest. How can a franchise make 5 billion USD+ (more than the last 8 Marvel Movies combined) yet not making an impact in the film industry besides looking good? I doubt that Cameron has so many things to tell that he needs two more whole new movie for it, cause this movie is over 3 hours, yet it doesn't have any depth to it that would deserve this runtime. It's basically the same plot as Way of Water, no, scratch that, it's Avatar 2's plot that wasn't told in 2 but rather was told in 3 instead.

Avatar 1-3 is probably going to be an 8 billion franchise by the time it's theatrical run concludes, but a franchise that makes 8 billion does not offer more than a "Wow, this is beautiful". When you think of a strong male character, you think of T-800, Luke Skywalker, or even Mad Max, and not Jake Sully. When you think of a strong female character you think of Sarah Connor, Ahsoka, or Furiosa, and not Neytiri. That's what I mean that despite it's success, Avatar does not have the depth, the world, nor offer anything more than the first movie didn't. Sure, I would recommend you watch this in theathre in Imax and one of the few movies that deserve the 3D as well, but once you get out of the theatre... there's no reason to watch this again. When a movie is only good for theathres, and can't be rewatched on it's own, you know that you did something wrong. We are talking about Cameron, who is probably the 2nd best director after Nolan, who revolutionized movies, we can thank him probably all the known franchises, then why didn't he has any idea for a world as colorful as Avatar, I feel by the time Avatar 5 airs, people are going to have enough of this franchise, cause I can't physically imagine someone finishing this and go "Wow, I can't wait for Avatar 4".

16 years ago, I was visually impressed by James Cameron's Avatar and it was my first 3D movie in the theatre. The movie also had a very old school kind of emotional drama in it. 3 years ago when I watched Avatar: Way of Water, I was stunned by the amazing visuals in IMAX 3D. Hands down, it was my best IMAX 3D experience. But, I walked out of the theatre with an incomplete feeling because of the unconvincing story and screenplay. I was thinking maybe the third part is going to show us something very new and blow our minds again. After watching Avatar: Fire and Ash my expectations were crushed and how.

When it comes to the technology and all the visual elements in the film, James Cameron hits the home run again. There are some new kinds of action sequences in the first half of this very long movie. But somewhere in the middle the movie halts and goes back to all the sides preparing for the 'big war' again and that's where the movie just starts to feel very repetitive. If you are asked to randomly watch the climax action sequences of this film and the way of water, there are very few differences to notice. Seeing the title of the movie most of us expected a new world to be introduced like The Way of Water but there is not much new in terms of world building. There is nothing much new to the storyline as well with the movie revolving around bad human vs good alien concept. If you think about both this and the previous movie together, it is just about humans coming for resources attacking the Na'vi and the wildlife with barely any changes. The first 90 mins of the movie is very crisp and interesting but after that the movie becomes a difficult watch and also very much predictable. The only saving grace for the movie is its visual effects. The effect when the characters are immersed in water is something you'd only see and experience in a good IMAX theatre.

The other major drawback of this film is its character arc. Apart from one or two characters, almost every character has the same arc in every film. Jake Sully and Colonel Quaritch's battle almost seems like Tom and Jerry at this point. The movie also takes it to an almost funny/friendly side and brings it back to the serious arc without any major reason to do so. While Kiri's character does some interesting stuff in this film, there is a major pay off moment that doesn't feel like one because of how it is portrayed. I was able to think of at least 2 different ways to portray that scene at the spot. Oona Chaplin as Varang is the only stand out performance of this film and her character design is also near perfect. I don't really have a lot to write about other performances and especially that of Jack Champion's Spyder (you can make the assumption).

Avatar: Fire and Ash is definitely a significant milestone for James Cameron in the visual representation of cinema. But it makes you wonder how many of these fantasy rides you want to continue going to if all makes you feel the same at the end.

I had a good time with this, but make no mistake: this is just the same movie as the sequel with some slight variation. Again, we have Quaritch as the bad guy playing cat and mouse with Jake. Again, we spend a majority of the movie following a subplot about harvesting a precious liquid from whales (or whatever you call them), which seems like it's tacked on to bring the movie to the 3 hour runtime for no good reason (an Avatar tradition at this point). Again, the finale involves the same characters battling it out in the same circumstances with a frustrating lack of resolution. The first two acts introduced some more darkness and stronger emotional beats than either of the first two movies, and the addition of the Ash people was an interesting take to finally see the bad side of Navi. But the third act just phones it in and goes for the familiar route.

I'm probably being generous with a 7. The visuals are stunning, as expected, and the action isn't necessarily bad - it's just nothing we haven't seen before.

If you've seen the first two installments, the third is unlikely to surprise you. What we get once again is flawless, mesmerizing visuals stretched across nearly three hours of screen time, accompanied by familiar characters, predictable dramaturgy, and a storyline reduced to almost primitive straightforwardness.

Yes, the film still boasts a strong, star-studded cast. And yes, the director remains one of the most influential visionaries in the history of cinema. However, there is a lingering sense that Cameron is operating on inertia here: there is little genuine novelty, no truly unexpected midpoint turn, and no tightly constructed narrative twist. The story unfolds along tracks that are easy to anticipate.

As a result, the film becomes an attraction of visual perfection rather than a true dramatic breakthrough. One can't shake the feeling that the franchise is being deliberately stretched indefinitely, relying almost exclusively on technological superiority.

Conclusion: I would recommend this film primarily to devoted Avatar fans and lovers of visually driven cinema who are content to spend three hours simply admiring Pandora and the sheer scale of Cameron's craftsmanship. For everyone else, unfortunately, it's something they've already seen in the previous two films.