Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) 20th Century/Sci-Fi-Action-Adventure RT: 197 minutes Rated PG-13 (intense sequences of violence and action, bloody images, some strong language, thematic elements, suggestive material) Director: James Cameron Screenplay: James Cameron, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver Music: Simon Franglen Cinematography: Russell Carpenter Release date: December 19, 2025 (US) Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Oona Chaplin, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Jemaine Clement, Giovanni Ribisi, David Thewlis, Britain Dalton, Jack Champion, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Jamie Flatters, Bailey Bass, Filip Geijo, Duane Evans Jr., Matt Gerald, Dileep Rao.
Rating: ** ½
It’s time for a reality check. The Avatar movies have never been about plot. It’s always been about the visuals. And yes, they’re amazing. But hasn’t that always been the case with James Cameron? He’s always been on the cutting edge of special effects. Look no further than Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). I can still hear the collective gasp of the audience when they saw what he did with the T-1000. Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third entry in the series of way too long sci-fi spectacles, continues this trend. It’s just as visually impressive, especially when viewed in IMAX 3D. The rest of it, sadly but expectedly, is a different story.
This is the part of the review where I describe the plot. Is that even necessary here? Is it even necessary to discuss the plot, such as it is, of Avatar: Fire and Ash? Aren’t all the Avatar films pretty much the same? They all deal with a race of peaceful blue aliens (aka the Na’vi) fighting off the violent human invaders destroying their home world while trying to claim it for themselves. It’s a story as old as 1492 at least. The films all follow the same basic trajectory. The Na’vi people try to live their lives. The humans keep coming after them. It culminates in a huge battle. That’s the long and short of it.
In the latest chapter of the endless saga, hero Jake Sully (Worthington, Clash of the Titans) and his wife Neytiri (Saldana, Guardians of the Galaxy 1-3) are grieving for their son Neteyam who was killed in the previous outing. He blames his surviving son Lo’ak (Dalton) while she develops a hatred towards all humans, even their adopted son Spider (Champion, Freaky Tales). It’s decided that the best thing for everybody would be to send him back to his own kind at the military base of operations.
Their enemy Colonel Quaritch (Lang, Don’t Breathe 1 & 2), also Spider’s bio-dad, is still after them. He hasn’t forgiven Jake for betraying him and…. oh yeah, killing him at the end of the first movie. He lives on in the avatar of a Na’vi. This time, he has an accomplice in the form of Varang (Chaplin, Games of Thrones), the evil leader of a tribe that rejects the teachings of their god Eywa. Together, they try to wipe out the planet Pandora’s indigenous species. I guess I should mention there’s a reason to keep Spider alive and well and it’s not just family ties. He might hold the secret to sustaining human life on a planet not meant for them.
That’s a basic overview of Avatar: Fire and Ash and that’s all you really need to know. Obviously, that’s not all that’s going on here. There’s a lot going on, but it’s really nothing more than sound and fury. The storyline is messy and redundant. It’s all over the place and repeats the same story beats for most of its 197-minute running time. The final battle is cool; I’ll give it that. There’s something satisfying about the aliens fighting back against the uninvited, unwanted guests and their collaborators.
I don’t know where to begin about the acting. Is that even a factor here? There aren’t that many humans in Avatar: Fire and Ash. The performances are mainly motion capture. Most of the characters are Na’vi or humans in avatar form. As always, Cameron is right on point with this tech. You could almost believe they’re real beings as opposed to CGI. Like I said, these Avatar movies are all about the effects. The only problem with this aspect of Avatar: Fire and Ash is that it’s too much at times.
If anything is AI in Avatar: Fire and Ash, it’s the script. This movie is so badly written. And it’s lazy too. It’s mainly recycled material throw together in a way that supports the large-scale action scenes. The story doesn’t make a lot of sense, but I suspect audiences don’t really care about that. Also, it’s far too long. I really felt that three hours and seventeen minutes.
I honestly don’t know what else to say about Avatar: Fire and Ash. I didn’t hate it, not at all. I didn’t really like it either. To me, it’s just Avatar. It looks great on the surface, but it’s empty inside. Even its message about colonialism and living in harmony with nature is basic and superficial. I almost hate to say it, but I think Cameron may have finally overplayed his hand with this whole Avatar thing. Maybe it’s time for the King of the World (if he still holds the title after this) to move onto something else.
