#REVIEW: “AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong

It was summer of 2009, the world was anticipating the latest vision from James Cameron. 22 years had passed since he directed Titanic, and the world of Pandora and the Na’vi people were unknown.  Avatar and its sequel forever changed Cinema, filmmaking, and the moviegoing experience itself. It revolutionized 3D and the way the way audiences experience movies. Avatar: The Way of Water revolutionized HFR (high frame rate) and 3D further, pushing the boundaries of what audiences can expect. So the question has to be asked, what can audiences expect this time as the bar keeps getting raised?

Avatar: Fire and Ash promises a new threat and world for Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), and his family Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), and Spider (Jack Champion) to overcome. That new threat comes in the form of Varang (Oona Chaplin) and then a third attempt by Quaritch (Stephen Lang) to take down his traitor and deliver the US government what they want. There is a lot going for the Movie to please audiences with something finally new after two installments of marine versus captain again. And when it is the Sullys versus Varang, the Movie is excellent, but when this takes a backseat to more American capitalism and war propaganda, it slowly loses its footing. There is no denying that the audience expects the grand visual spectacle they’ve come to love with Avatar. While the first movie positions itself as a retelling of Dances With Wolves, Way of Water is an engrossing visual masterpiece, and with less time between The Way of Water and Fire and Ash, compared to Avatar and The Way of Water, Cameron hasn’t found a way to reinvent something again, so while the visuals are not earth-shattering and new, they’re still absolutely  top-tier and create a world of awe for the audience to completely get lost in.

At the core of Avatar and the Franchise is a story of family, loyalty, and fighting for what is right. With a near-ten hours of screentime, things need to go beyond that basic storyline. It needed to evolve, and even with a new threat present with Varang, there was hope. Unfortunately, Cameron fails to identify why Varang – a different subculture of Na’vi, wants to fight the other Na’vi – thusly, making her anger and determination for complete control feel empty. The characters need to be fleshed-out more beyond family, civic duty, and moral standings. Cameron rides his hopes on the familial fighting and protection of loved ones being enough to encourage audiences to indulge to stay locked-in.

What does work here, story and performance wise, is a new dynamic that Cameron puts between Jake and Spider, allowing Sam Worthington and Jack Champion to explore more of their adoptive bond –  a new dynamic. While we will not openly spoil anything, there is a lot to unpack with their relationship this time around, and it does provide some authentic moments. The same can be said about Sigourney Weaver’s character as well, Kiri, who is continuously trying to connect with Eywa and brings another layer to her environmentalist character. While Saldaña and Lang are both excellent again, neither of them have much growth in their characters here.

The true star of the Movie, who also is *criminally* underutilized, is Oona Chaplin as Varang, whose performance, despite not being given enough, can be regarded as one of the most terrifying villains in modern movies. She is outstanding, commanding, and horrifying in her performance that simply puts a chokehold on audiences, and hopefully, moving forward her character continues to grow and expand.

Overall, since 2009, Avatar has arguably been “style over substance” for some, with each outing feeling a little more apparent than the last. Avatar: Fire and Ash is the most egregious of the offenders. The story feels like a direct continuation and rehash in ways of The Way of Water, but its visual merits are impossible to ignore. The scale of what Cameron pulls off in terms of visual spectacle is nothing shy of remarkable. We just wish the same could be said about its story and emotional resonance. What Avatar: Fire and Ash lacks in story and progression, it makes-up tenfold in spectacle and sensory delight.

20th Century Studios Canada release AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH in theatres on Friday, December 18, 2025.

Our Coverage of the AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH Canadian Premiere with legendary James Cameron and Stephan Lang here.