Looking back at my Letterboxd ratings of the first two Avatar films, I realize that there is a slight decline.
That is not at all to say that “The King of the World,” James Cameron, is losing his touch as a filmmaker. His original world-building of Pandora and the Na’vi is so mesmerizing to see that it is becoming redundant to say so. In Avatar: Fire and Ash, the tradition of outdoing the previous film with truly special effects continues. The problem, as has been stated, is the writing (which is also by Cameron).
While the second film came out thirteen years after the first one, this one is only three years, and it picks up right where the last one left off. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is long past the days of being a human (to be fair, I, too, would betray the humans if I could be taller and have perfect teeth). He and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) are still mourning the death of their eldest son, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) from the previous film, an event that may or may not be blamed on the second eldest Lo’ak (Britain Dalton). Their adopted son, Spider (Jack Champion), is still trying to fit in after the previous film’s events, getting along mainly only with Lo’ak and especially Jake’s adopted daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver).
Meanwhile, Quaritch (Stephen Lang) is still out (well, the memories of his true deceased self from the first film that lay in an Avatar body) searching for Sully along with the rest of the humans (“Sky People”), led by a General played by Edie Falco and accompanied by one of the best parts of the film series, the character of Selfridge that is played borderline deliciously by Giovani Ribisi.
While there are indeed still some allies to the Na’vi, including Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and his pregnant wife Ronal (Kate Winslet), a new threat emerges in the form of a ruthless Na’vi clan led by Varang (Oona Chaplin, granddaughter of Charlie). Her addition to the Avatar verse is an impressive one (especially to Quaritch).
Again, it cannot be overstated: the visuals of the film are again raising the bar for cinema. In a time when we are becoming more and more familiar with scenes that are clearly using green screen, I found myself trying my best to find it here, and simply could not.
While Cameron does wonders with visuals and CGI, his writing is clearly lacking. Obviously, there are a lot of characters to follow (I have not even mentioned the sea creatures), so following the plot is a bit murky. What troubled me the most was the dialogue. There are a couple of moments where his dialogue works (“Don’t shoot anyone you love”), but others that are flirting with the arena of cringe (one scene in particular involving just Quaritch and Spider).
Parents, the PG-13 rating is basically the same as it was for the last two films. There is action and swearing (one F bomb I remember hearing), but nothing in the sexual content realm outside of two characters lying in bed together (granted, the Na’vi always did not wear much covering). Middle school and above.
Cameron has said the future of the franchise (there are at least two more films planned from what I can tell) rests on how much this film makes at the box office. Obviously, it will make a truckload, but if it still doesn’t make enough (since these films cost a ton to make), at least it does not entirely end on a cliffhanger of sorts. Even with the lackluster writing, I still have at least enough interest for one more film.
Because, you know, Sullys never quit.
Overall:
Nothing else to say 