Much Film, Little Meaning
The plot of the third part begins a week after the conclusion of the second. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family remain on the coast, together with the sea clan of the Na\'vi. They mourn Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), who died in "The Way of Water" — the eldest son of Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and Jake. Especially Lo\'ak (Britain Dalton): the younger son, who has changed due to the loss of his brother. In the film, it is he who tells the story.
Miles Socorro (Jack Champion), nicknamed Spider — the son of Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) — still lives with them. But he is a human and cannot breathe freely on the surface of Pandora — the planet where the events unfold. He needs a special mask — if it breaks or the battery runs out, Miles will die. Therefore, Jake decides to deliver Spider to the humans so as not to risk his life anymore.
They set off on a journey together with the air nomads of the Na\'vi, but the Sully family is unlucky. They are attacked by the Mankwan tribe, who have turned away from the goddess Eywa, sacred to the inhabitants of Pandora. They want to destroy all the customs of the other Na\'vi clans. Meanwhile, Colonel Quaritch is once again on Jake\'s trail.
The third "Avatar" resembles "Groundhog Day," where the hero experiences the same day over and over. It\'s the same here: from film to film, the story hardly develops. Evil people attack the inhabitants of Pandora in an attempt to strike it rich, and Jake stands up to protect the locals. He vainly tries to draw the enemies\' attention to all the richness and depth of this planet, while the same Quaritch is always hunting him. It feels like we are watching an animated series where the same thing happens from episode to episode: the villain tries to achieve a cruel goal, and the hero always defeats him. The formula of the triquel remains the same, even if they try to introduce changes — but more on that below.
The runtime of "Avatar: Fire and Ash" is 197 minutes — it is the longest film in the franchise. Too many plot lines were crammed in here, some of which are meaningless.
Despite the length, the tape feels crumpled. Sometimes events happen too suddenly, which looks unnatural. It seems that the picture was heavily cut: according to rumors, about 45 minutes were removed. From this material, two two-hour films could have been made; everyone would have benefited!
This also applies to the final segment of the film: there are many climactic moments following one after another. At some point, you might think: "how much longer?!" And the editing is strange — the events could have been packed much more compactly without losing meaning!
Furthermore, the story abounds with illogical moments. For example, when Jake surrenders and is sentenced to death by firing squad, no one even thinks about arranging a fair trial (or the appearance of one) — even though he is still a human, at least legally. And it would be fine if it were the usual tyranny of the military and corporates, but no — a crowd of onlookers gathered near Jake\'s cage joyfully film everything on their phones. For them, the Na\'vi are nothing more than aborigines without any rights.
Instead, the script could have been at least partially built around Sully\'s attempt to draw the attention of ordinary people to the atrocities of the RDA corporation on Pandora. As an option, through a court session taking place against the backdrop of the battle with the Mankwan and Quaritch. Or with the help of a simple speech by Jake.
When Emotions Are Stronger Than the Script
There are enough interesting moments in the plot, but there are questions about them too.
Kiri\'s story... is intriguing. The heroine is somehow connected to Eywa more strongly than the others, even if she has some problems with it. Her actions help the other protagonists many times. However, some scenes stand out slightly from the general tone of the franchise. It seems that we are no longer watching science fiction, but real fantasy. Thanks to her, you can feel all the magic of Pandora in a literal sense. This allows the viewer to understand why Jake is trying so hard to protect this world.
For example, Kiri saves Spider and changes him. This leads us to an important plot line that merges with the one where Jake was taken prisoner. Their common culmination is Sully\'s difficult but logical decision. However, the potentially dark and tragic moral dilemma led to nothing. The authors only created the appearance of it.
I liked the Mankwan people: they add a new side to the established vision of the world and conflict. This expands and deepens the universe, because the Na\'vi can also be evil. Their leader, Varang (Oona Chaplin), stands out especially. The heroine possesses a unique charisma that is felt through the screen. Thanks to the character design and personality, the actress\'s movements and facial expressions, as well as the general tone, she fascinates with grace, cruelty, and an unshakable spirit. It\'s a pity her development was limited to a couple of lines in a dialogue, and the outcome of her story turns all the Mankwan into a hollow formality. Replace them with anyone else — nothing will change!
Colonel Quaritch did take a small step forward in development. He is no longer such a stupid soldier — he tries to be a father and understand himself. But the changes are too insignificant, and it is more of a setup for the future than full-fledged growth.
Most of the characters in this film get noticeable plot lines. Here we see real emotions creating living characters. They feel, and therefore perform, at times, meaningless acts. Partially, the stupidities I mentioned above are related to this. We often make mistakes under the influence of emotions. Here the title of the triquel — "Fire and Ash" — is used in a figurative sense, reflecting the internal state of the protagonists and their emotions: Neytiri\'s hatred (fire) and Lo\'ak\'s grief (ash).
The filmmakers tried to dilute the previous plot by adding gray tones to the story — an attempt to change the formula, which I mentioned earlier. Here is the maniacal Na\'vi tribe, and Jake Sully facing a moral choice, and a sometimes doubting Quaritch, and even Neytiri, who wants revenge. But since almost all plot arcs become meaningless or simply break off, it is difficult to feel all this. The film does not provide answers to many questions: What happened to Quaritch in the end? Where did Varang go? What will happen next with Kiri? Will the hunt for Jake continue? And so on.
A Film That Our Cinema Cannot Handle
The problems of "Avatar: Fire and Ash" are not limited to a controversial script. The plots of "Avatar" films have always been simple, but visually they are attractions. They allowed the viewer to enjoy the beauties of Pandora: forests, seas, and so on. Here all this remained at a high level: the mesmerizing nature and its mystical element — all this still pleases the eye! The detailing of skin, effects, and characters\' facial expressions — it creates the impression that you have entered a video game where the graphics have reached realism. When real actors and drawn Na\'vi meet in one frame, no dissonance arises!
The action also pleases, although it is simple: there are no interesting camera solutions, any unusual staging or scale. Ordinary battles, although some individual moments are good: one can recall the scene of Jake\'s escape from captivity with the help of a huge bulldozer.
But several nuances kill the impression of all this beauty.
Firstly, referring again to the subtitle of the triquel — "Fire and Ash" — I want to note: there are not that many effects related to fire in the film. And a significant portion of them was shown in the trailers. Water is shown much more often in the picture, as in the second part. And there is almost no ash at all. It\'s as if Cameron assembled half of the film from scenes shot for "The Way of Water" but not included in the final cut — secondary again!
The authors missed a whole range of opportunities to demonstrate fiery effects in all their glory — although it would seem that the entire Mankwan clan was invented specifically for this. The same backstory of Varang could have been shown in detail in a flashback: a volcanic eruption, lava flows, ash emissions, and everything related to it. But it\'s not here.
One can assume that the director wanted to play on the contrast of fire and water. In that case, it turned out interesting, although there are also few scenes where these two elements touch.
Secondly, to feel all the beauty of the picture, you need to watch the film not just in a cinema, but in special IMAX halls equipped with the latest technology. James Cameron even sent letters to American cinemas explaining exactly how the equipment should be calibrated.
In our cinemas, the film is most often shown in simple 2D, which, apart from the screen size, is no different from a regular monitor. Often this harms the image, as the picture is heavily stretched. And the cost of such sessions is off the charts: in my cinema, the ticket price was 750 rubles, regardless of the time of day. And this is not the highest cost, it can be higher — I checked!
IMAX screenings in the RF exist, but their quality leaves much to be desired — at least because the equipment in them is often outdated. In this regard, a real scandal broke out online: viewers accuse some IMAX cinemas of using "camrips" or regular 2D files for screenings. This has a terrible effect on image quality. Ticket prices at the same time reach 2000 rubles. Be careful!
Verdict
"Avatar: Fire and Ash" is a controversial film.
The visual component of the project remains at its peak, demonstrating magnificent detailing of characters, the nature of Pandora, and various effects. But the authors again use the same techniques as in the previous film, and there is no longer a sense of novelty. And what is there is difficult to feel in our cinemas, which often show simple 2D sessions at inflated ticket prices.
The authors tried to solve the plot problems of "The Way of Water" by deepening the characters\' stories through an increased emphasis on their emotions. But due to the bloated runtime and clumsy editing — despite the three-hour duration, it seems that much was cut from the plot — combined with a problematic ending — many plot lines remained unfinished, and the final act is tiring — the attempt is far from ideal. Although it is still better than the second film.
The triquel became the lowest-rated part of the franchise: on the Rotten Tomatoes platform, the film has about 68% positive reviews from critics against 76% and 81% for the sequel and the original, respectively. On the iMDB service, the third film has a rating of 7.4 out of 10, the second — 7.5 out of 10, and the first — 7.9. The box office of "Avatar: Fire and Ash" confirms this: at the time of writing, it has not reached 1.3 billion. This is a lot, but it makes it clear: viewers have begun to lose interest in the franchise.
As has James Cameron. He does not plan to leave the director\'s post for the next films, but he will devote significantly less attention to them, ceasing to control every small detail. What will happen next with "Avatar" is an open question.