The third Avatar movie is more Avatar 2 Part 2 than something really new, picking up the story a short while after the end of The Way Of Water, with grief inevitably weighing heavily on the Sully family and acting as a running thread that gives a number of scenes added emotional weight and punch. With renewed threats from the military/corporate invaders and the Ash People, a Na'vi tribe that blends mysticism with cutthroat savagery, the film doubles down on the power of family and its environmental/political messaging, the Sullys are split apart often in order to look for/rescue each other, and uneasy and unexpected alliances form in a more action-driven and episodic storyline that all leads to another ridiculously huge battle finale. The level of technical accomplishment on display should neither be taken for granted nor underestimated, and the level of detail, the multiple elements in a single frame and the marriage of motion capture and animation is often quite extraordinary and unlike any other movie, with some incredibly beautiful images along the way. With a running time of over three hours, it is to its credit that the film never drags and is again a truly immersive experience (on a cinema screen in 3D). The lead cast - especially Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi and Britain Dalton - deliver strong performances, with Oona Chaplin a worthy addition as the sultry, power-hungry and slightly unhinged Ash Queen, even if the new tribe feels somewhat underutilised. Balancing frequent dynamic action sequences with dramatic moments, Fire And Ash is nevertheless a remarkable achievement that is an absorbing and entertaining experience, even of in terms of the franchise it feels like, sorry, treading water to some extent. It also serves as a reasonable trilogy-capper, but hopefully James Cameron will deliver his original intention of a five-film cycle.
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