Pushing the boundary of family, legacy in ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’

As an avid fan of the Avatar franchise, Dec. 19, the release date of “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” has been on my calendar for over a year. After seeing the second movie — “Avatar: The Way of Water” — in theaters two years ago and leaving the three hour screening with extreme Post-Avatar Depression Syndrome, I was hungry for more.

I watched the first “Avatar” movie ahead of the release of the second, as the sequel was getting a lot of hype on social media. I was skeptical of the blue people on my screen, but I came to fall in love with the forest, the Na’vi people and, of course, the evolution of Jake Sully himself. I finally understood the connection and the longing people felt for this foreign world.

So, on Dec. 23, I sat in Row F for all three hours and 15 minutes of the third movie. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

The movie opens right where the last one left off: The oceanic Na’vi people — or the Metkayina clan — were recovering from the absolute destruction we saw in the last hour of “Avatar: The Way of Water.” The Sky People tore through the village and surrounding waters, killing hundreds, including Sully’s eldest son, Neteyam. In some ways, we are dropped right back into the action with the start of “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”

A lot of the third movie’s plot is centered around the previously-sidelined character, Miles “Spider” Socorro. In a quest to return him to the High Camp, where he can be safe from Pandora’s unforgiving toxic air, the Sully family runs into the Ash People, also known as the Mangkwan Clan. This ruthless, freaky group of Na’vi attack the Wind Traders that Sully and his family are hitching a ride with. In this, a new conflict is born.

Much like the second movie, a lot of the plot revolved around antagonist Corporal Miles Quaritch pursuing Sully to the ends of Pandora. But this time around, he is not alone. In an unlikely partnership with the Ash People and their leader (Tsahìk), Varang, Quaritch continues his quest to pursue Sully while also seeking out his son, Spider.

While much of the movie’s action takes place in the oceanside village, similar to the second movie, we also see a variety of new locations in “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” including the volcanic home of the Ash People. In addition, the introduction of Varang adds a more daunting and, quite frankly, frightening element to the movie. Her leadership style includes some form of psychedelic drug, sacrifices and relentless killings.

However, I would be remiss to write this review without mentioning some shortcomings. The final battle scene of the movie, where the Sky People attacked the oceanic clan and the Tulkun population, felt very similar to the final scenes in “Avatar: The Way of Water,” with even the same children being kidnapped and stashed away on the boat as bait for Sully. Additionally, the movie teases viewers with the idea that the corporal will embrace his Avatar body and finally see the beauty in the world around him, and quit his allegiance to the Sky People and their pursuit of Sully. This is presented several times throughout the film, and yet nothing comes of it.

However, despite these drawbacks, it was still a cinematic masterpiece, much like the first two. The “hyper-realistic, performance-capture-driven, photorealistic CGI style” used in the movie is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a movie, and its seamlessness makes me believe there is no difference between the humans and the Na’vi people on my screen.

The creativity used in both the animals and the layout of the forest continues to blow my mind, and you can guarantee that, when the fourth Avatar movie comes out in 2029, I will be at the first screening.

Rating: 9/10

patelou@miamioh.edu