Back in 2009, James Cameron directed the global phenomenon of Avatar, starring Zoe Saldaña, Sam Worthington, and Sigourney Weaver. The movie opens with American scientists on another planet named Pandora, using false bodies (avatars) to communicate and live amongst the Na’vi natives, with a secret mission to obtain a valuable mineral, Unotanium, that lives in the planet’s soil. The story follows ex-Marine Jake Sully and Na’vi princess Neytiri. Although the movie grossed $2.9 billion worldwide, it took 13 years for a sequel to be debuted. That sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, was almost as successful, grossing $2.3 billion worldwide. This year, Jake and Neytiri come back to the big screens in the long-awaited Avatar: Fire and Ash.
With the returning cast of Worthington, Saldaña, Weaver, and Jake and Neytiri’s kids, the family faces something like never before. The “Ash” people, a clan of Na’vi that has abandoned the great mother Eywa, join forces with the sky people, now led by Ash clan leader Varang and Colonel Miles Quaritch, the man Jake Sully has been fighting for his entire existence on Pandora. With access to human weapons, the Ash clan becomes hard to beat for the forest clans, Omaticaya, and the water clans, Metkayina. Writers Amanda Silver and Jack Raffa, and director Cameron brought the Na’vi back to screens globally, but this time, with a bit scarier twist. The humans have become easy to defeat, but the Ash clan goes on a killing spree to get what they want, so through their faith in Eywa and each other, the Na’vi have to band together and fight to protect their family, their people, and their planet.
With the success of the first two movies, fans and critics had very high hopes for Avatar: Fire and Ash. Many claimed that the new movie focused too much on Colonel Quaritch and that the fan-favorite family didn’t get enough screen time. Or even that the stunning visuals can’t save the bad script. Verified reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes, DZ, said, “The dialog and plots get ever more stilted (Bro! I can’t believe Aliens are using 20th/21st-century human bro-isms on a 20-whateverth-century alien planet).” This movie continues to paint a fascinating picture of Eywa and the Na’vi culture surrounding her, but it doesn’t stop people from having negative thoughts about the third movie. Since Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: Fire and Ash were filmed simultaneously, the main criticism was that the third film felt like a continuation of the second. The fans’ beloved Na’vi clans are still fighting the same war as Avatar: The Way of Water, protecting families and sacred grounds. Unfortunately, I share those opinions, but I also think the writer, actors, and director did a good job of preserving the same magic from the first two films.
Director Cameron had confirmed two more sequels in the works for the Avatar universe for the next few years, with the possibility of more additions afterward. With Cameron still in the director’s chair for the masterpiece series, Avatar 4 is set for December 19, 2029, just four years after the third film, and Avatar 5 is set for late 2031. However, on the press tour for Avatar: Fire and Ash, Cameron reported that he is ready to end the series early, if the third installment doesn’t show as much financial success as the first two films, so this also may be the last time our beloved Sully family is on the big screen.
