Avatar: Fire and Ash
3D seemingly died a cultural death in the 2010s, but James Cameron has always been somewhat of a traditionalist. His third (and far from final) instalment of the Avatar franchise, Avatar: Fire and Ash, has a decidedly old-school feel since it’s made precisely for 3D viewing. In fact, it’s unwatchable without the use of 3D glasses, though Cameron doubling down on their use is strangely admirable (and perhaps necessary for the visually stunning world he’s created).
Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) returns with a vengeance, targeting fellow human hybrid Jake (Sam Worthington), his wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and their children. Spider, a human living among the Na’vi after being adopted by the couple, has to wear a breathing helmet in order to survive on Pandora. He is used as a pawn in the RDA’s colonisation program (“How do we colonise if we can’t breathe their air?” ponders Giovanni Ribisi’s amoral Parker Selfridge).
The film has an overtly anti-imperialist subtext, tackling the dismantlement of Indigenous land and culture through US military expansion. It’s with these inferences that it excels, particularly via the colonel’s new sidekick – and the series’ new villain – Varang. Played by a fiery Oona Chaplin, Varang is the leader of the Mangkwan clan (or “Ash People” as Neytiri calls them). Varang appears to allude to CIA PSYOPs, as a once marginalised person who now colludes with the invading enemy. Giving a stellar performance that fleetingly grounds the film in reality, Jermaine Clement’s socially aware marine biologist, Dr Ian Garvin, provides critique of the RDA’s colonialism. He pleads with his human colleagues that the Na’vi natives are not “savages”, but have a rich culture of music, art and traditional medicinal practices.
But at three hours and 20 minutes, the movie starts to feel less like a pertinent political allegory, and more a ponderous sci-fi epic. Though Chaplin breathes some new life (or fire) into the feature via her highly complex character, she alone cannot save it from overindulgence. This is, therefore, ultimately a film for the fans. And though potentially daunting for unseasoned viewers, Cameron’s world-building is nothing if not visually impressive and meticulously crafted.
With movies four and five due for release in 2029 and 2031, respectively, there’s yet more of Cameron’s grand vision to come. An unashamedly bold, ambitious threequel, Avatar: Fire and Ash is a work of stunning scope that raises the bar for sci-fi fantasy.
Antonia Georgiou
Avatar: Fire and Ash is released nationwide on 19th December 2025.
Watch the trailer for Avatar: Fire and Ash here:
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