Has it been almost 20 years since the last Avatar film? Time sure flies…

Film auteur James Cameron is back again to remind us that even with a standard good versus evil heroes’ journey plot, you can indeed teach an old dog tricks that can still captivate audiences.

Flame On

Such is the case of Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third in the long-spanning Avatar series that blends Dancing with Wolves, Princess Mononoke/Nausicaa, and the Dune novels into a modified high concept sci-fi world that just feels like an ephemeral dream the longer you spend time in it. The first 2009 flick was the start of a technical and story-telling journey, while parts 2 and 3 are back-to-back filmed two-fers that complement each other. Avatar: The Way Of Water is about the Jake Sully Na’Vi family living in a new home and culture somewhere in Pandora, with the eventual third film being about the same family taking a stand and dealing with guilt.

For Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), it’s about the fact that he didn’t do enough to protect his family from the fights in part 2. With the loss of his son Neteyam, he passively shifts the blame onto his younger son Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), who also bears the full weight of this. Jake’s wife Neytiri also has anger issues against humans to deal with, as she’s not on-board with having human teen Spider (Jack Champion) around even if he is accustomed to being part Na’Vi.

Meanwhile, the dastardly humans and suits of the Resources Development Administration (RDA) are planning to harvest and kill more whale-like Tulkuns for a big payday, while also tasking their avatar-using soldier/Recombinant Miles Quarritch (Stephen Lang) who still has a vendetta against the Sully family since the last film. After all, Jake did kill him in the first flick. Amidst the growing conflict, we have a rogue Na’Vi group called the Magkwan clan led by hostile leader Varang (Oona Chaplin) who loves robbing mercenary ships and procuring weapons to make the whole of Pandora bow to them.

Personally, the standout characters are Lo’ak and Kiri. The former has guilt to deal with from the second film while also proving himself to his patriarch, while the latter unlocks a new power in Pandora and seeks to get back to it while inadvertedly causing a rupture in Na’Vi culture and balance. Varang is a pretty fun villain to follow and root against, but the good guy family folks are a bit more engrossing with their subplots of redemption and getting in touch with the literal world they’re in.

All this ties in to the final epic battle that has to be experienced to be believed. I should stress that all this should be watched in IMAX and with 3D glasses; James Cameron uses the tech of cinema to the fullest in delivering his eco-friendly scifi fantasy story, capping it off with this third film with richness and aplomb. The plot is fine and all, but you’re here to see a boatload of Na’Vi versus mecha and robot action, and even two Na’Vi tribes shooting arrows at each other while even blasting a gun or two to get the upper-hand while piggyback on flying dragon things. Each Avatar entry ups the ante in spectacle, camera work, 3D effects, and direction without compromising visual storytelling and cheap tricks like half-a-second-jump cuts. Avatar: Fire and Ash is mimicking the epic blockbuster film experience with lingering shots and scenes that just take their time to seep into the audience.

If anything, my only issue is how the film switches between frame rates in the IMAX 3D version. The film starts off with 120fps, then dips to 24-30 fps in intervals. The back-and-forth is pretty random and can get jarring for some who are used to watching films in consistent 30fps. The last time I saw a film this bad with this is The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. At the very least, Avatar: Fire and Ash is better handled narrative and action-wise.

Too Hot To Handle

All in all, Avatar: Fire and Ash is a good capstone film that (possibly) ends the trilogy James Cameron had set out to do since 2009’s Avatar. His visionary sci-fi world of horses with six legs, dragon lizard things, and weird fish beasts has indeed enchanted the world with its visual allure and 3D tech innovations and revolutions.

The plot isn’t half-bad either; it’s not the most original but it is captivating and heartfelt enough that you care for the blue Sully family and their tribulations against the humans and their tech, as well as rival Na’Vi raiders. The show has a lot of lore going on with Pandora and its denizens, so I’m happy that the film takes its sweet time just reeling us in before bombarding us with climactic action setpieces. This third film won’t change your mind about the series overall, but they are still spectacles and technical marvels to witness on the big screen. If you need a damn good excuse to spend a ton of money on an IMAX 3D film, at least make it this one from a director and his crew who actually knows what they’re doing.

Final Score: 70/100