James Cameron’s latest sci-fi blockbuster, Avatar: Fire and Ashhas finally been released in theaters, setting a new standard for the iconic Avatar franchise. This new film continues the Na’vi war against the RDA on Pandora as Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) fight to protect their children from Col. Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and a vicious new Na’vi tribe.
Avatar: Fire and Ash certainly has its flaws as it repeats many storylines from previous films. However, if you make it through the whopping three-hour-plus runtime, you can see that Avatar: Fire and Ash is in many ways the best film in the series.
It expands on the lore of the Avatar series
Just like Avatar: The Way of Water before that, Fire and ashes continued to expand the lore and depth of the Avatar universe. While the second film revealed the aquatic Metkayina tribe, the third revealed two new tribes on Pandora – the flying wind traders and the violent Ash People. This gave us a better understanding of the Na’vi and the various societies on their world.
However, one of the most intriguing new developments concerns the Na’vi deity, Eywa. Fire and Ash has confirmed that Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) was fathered by Eywa herself, giving her the ability to control the plants and wildlife on Pandora. While this was already hinted at in the previous film, Fire and ashes fully establishes Kiri as a messianic figure for the Na’vi.
The film also features a huge twist when one of Pandora’s forest spirits revives Spider (Jack Champion), giving him the ability to breathe without a mask and form mental bonds with the animals. Essentially, Spider has become a human-Na’vi hybrid.
This makes us rethink everything we knew about Pandora, because it shows exactly how humans can live alongside the Na’vi. While both races could ideally coexist, the RDA threatened to exploit Spider’s new abilities to allow humanity to completely take over Pandora.
Fire and Ash’s characters are far more interesting
Compared to previous Avatar films Fire and ashes spends more time fleshing out its main characters, resulting in a more engaging narrative. In particular, we see the Sullys struggling to come to terms with Neteyam’s death afterward Avatar: The Way of Waterwhich brings out the worst in everyone.
Jake focuses on his work to avoid thinking or talking about his pain over Neteyam. Neytiri increasingly develops prejudices against people, which causes her relationship with Jake, Spider and the other children to break down. Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) also feels so guilty about his brother’s death that he almost commits suicide.
Fire and ashes takes the franchise into darker territory, exploring the characters’ weaknesses and pushing them to their limits as their conflict with the RDA intensifies. One such story reaches a thrilling climax when Jake considers killing Spider to prevent humanity from copying his ability to breathe freely on Pandora.
The threequel also places a greater emphasis on the younger characters introduced in The path of waterwho have proven to be far more convincing protagonists than Jake. We see Kiri come into her own as she awakens her true potential as a child of Eywa. Spider develops a new sense of belonging with the Na’vi, similar to Jake in the first film. Lo’ak also gains the courage to defy his people’s traditions and stand up for what is right and for those he cares about.
Fire and ashes It also does better with its villains, particularly Quaritch, who has long been one of the series’ best characters. The path of water did something unique with Quaritch by bringing him back as a Na’vi clone with the memories of his original, human self.
Fire and ashes further developed Quaritch, showing his struggle between his duty to the RDA and his love for his human son Spider. We see that he is morally far more complex Fire and ashesas he repeatedly works with Jake to protect his son from harm. Although Jake tries to get Quaritch to change his views about himself and the Na’vi, he remains committed to his duties and explores new ideas about freedom and identity with the help of a very committed villain.
The film also features a great new antagonist in Varang (Oona Chaplin), the destructive leader of the Ash People. She is a frightening character with understandable motivations, as she felt abandoned by Eywa after a volcanic eruption destroyed her village. Varang also acts as a perfect reflection of Neytiri, who is also consumed by hatred and loss in this film.
This parallel was cleverly conveyed when Neytiri disguised herself as one of the Cinder People and later washed off her red face paint as if it were blood while Jake tries to kill Spider. Varang and her tribe ultimately showed that not all Na’vi were innocent victims of the human invasion of Pandora and that they were capable of great evil.
It’s a harder tone with deeper themes
The Avatar franchise has long addressed important themes such as environmentalism, faith and the dangers of colonialism, racial prejudice and war. Fire and ashes expands on its story by exploring the effects of loss and grief on the Sullys. Although the franchise’s heroes, particularly Neytiri, had lost their homes and loved ones before, the films barely gave them any time to process everything that had come before Fire and ashes.
The third film also deals more with the religious themes of the franchise. Through Fire and ashesJake and his family find it difficult to trust Eywa again because they felt abandoned after she seemingly let Neteyam die. While the Na’vi stuck to their beliefs in the first two films, Fire and ashes shows how that faith can be shaken after such terrible tragedies. This makes Eywa’s intervention during the film’s final battle much more worthwhile.
Fire and ashes also explores the clash of cultures between the Na’vi and humans. Despite Jake’s urging, many Na’vi are reluctant to use the Sky People’s steel weapons, preferring instead to do things their way. Even when at war against such overwhelming forces, they insist on holding fast to their traditions as they fight to protect their people.
In total, Fire and ashes encourages the audience to open their minds as the characters try to accept each other and find their way through such a confusing conflict. Even though it seems like the war for Pandora is far from home, Avatar: Fire and Ash This was the most compelling and insightful chapter in the franchise to date.
