Avatar: Fire and Ash info:
Director: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang
Hello and welcome to another week here at 1guysmindlessmoviereviews.com. Also… welcome to my first review of 2026. This is the funny time of the year when we are watching movie releases from the previous year. So, it’s possible that my next few reviews are 2025 movies. But aside from that, I hope everyone had a safe and fun start to the new year. We like to turn New Year’s Eve into a giant game night with food, drinks, and games with friends for a few hours. Then maybe some more games after that. What did you do that evening?
As for “Avatar: Fire and Ash” this week, I have lots to say. It’s director James Cameron’s usual long-form epic film format. Lots of visually stunning images and deep character development. But also a lot more of the same as well. But before I dig too deep into my take. There will be epic spoilers ahead, which means if you haven’t seen this third Avatar outing yet, then you might want to go check out some of my other reviews here. For everyone else, I see you.
Ok, so “Avatar: Fire and Ash” picks up almost immediately after “Avatar: The Way of Water”. Jake, Neytiri, and the rest of the Sully family are still living amongst the water Na’vi. They are also still grieving the loss of their son from the previous film. This is by far the darkest entry in the franchise, and grief is a major driving force in the story. But there is also a shift in who the story revolves around.
After Spider (Jack Champion) has an oxygen scare, Jake and Neytiri decide it’s best if he goes to live with his own kind. Even though he wants to stay and the other kids want him there, it’s too dangerous. They choose to use the traveling Wind Traders to smuggle him away, and the rest of the family decides to go with him to see him off.
When I mentioned earlier about this being a visually stunning movie… it was this part in “Avatar: Fire and Ash” was in my head. The whole scene with the Wind Traders is very well done and does indeed look amazing. Even when they get attacked by a new clan called the Mangkwan, it looks good. Unfortunately, not only does this clan do quite a bit of damage, but their actions also cause the Sully family to become separated. Spider runs out of oxygen, and right before he dies, Kiri uses her abilities to bring him back. The real miracle, though, is that he can now breathe the same air as them.
Once Quaritch (yes, the same Quaritch) sees that, Spider is now in danger. They are worried that they will try to study him so they can replicate his lungs for all humans on Pandora. Am I the only one who is bothered that Quaritch (Lang) is back again as the main antagonist? This isn’t a slasher film where the same killer gets resurrected in every film. I don’t understand how Jake can kill hundreds of people and Na’vi in all these battles, but he keeps letting the one guy live who is consistently trying to kill him and his family.
Besides that, I do like the Mangkwan clan (The Ash People), led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). They offer something different in the Avatar films that we haven’t seen yet. “Avatar: Fire and Ash” has a more violent and raw Na’vi tribe that wants power and seemingly kills for fun. It adds another complex layer to Pandora that helps drive the story so it’s not the same one repeated in every film. These are good stories, and I don’t want them to get watered down with the same villain, final battle, and result every time.
Ultimately, it leads to another epic battle between our Na’vi heroes and allied clans against the humans and the Ash People (including Quaritch). This battle was better than the last film. I do feel like they up their game each time as the humans brought bigger ships, but the Metkayina Clan was able to gather the giant tulkuns to assist them. It made for some fun scenes, but none better than when Dr. Garvin (Jemaine Clement) crashed through and saved Jake out of protest. That was really fun, and I’m glad his character got that moment.
In the end, there were quite a few losses. Kate Winslet’s Ronal is probably the biggest name as the grief continues… maybe into part 4? But of course, we don’t see Quaritch die, so I’m sure they will bring him back again. But honestly, the whole back-and-forth thing that they did with his character, I can see him being a “good guy” next time… and that will piss me off. So, let’s just hope that doesn’t happen.
Overall, Avatar is still a very watchable and big-scale epic fun. In fact, it made it on my top ten list for last year (which you can read here). If they continue the story, there is much to work with, but also some things that they need to change. James Cameron can come and talk to me if he needs any ideas. I can’t score it too high just on principle alone, but it’s so beautiful and stunning, I hate to score it too low. I went back and forth between 7 and 8, but since 8 seems too high, this will end with a score of 7 out of 10.
Watch or wait?
Well, there really isn’t a question here, is there? This is “Avatar: Fire and Ash”, and it was made to be seen on a huge screen so you can fully immerse yourself in the visually appealing story. Personally, I don’t recommend 3D, just because that is a long time to have to wear those cheap plastic glasses. But I would definitely recommend seeing this in IMAX.
Ok, that is it for this week. That means it’s your turn. What are your thoughts on “Avatar: Fire and Ash”? Where would you rate it amongst the three Avatar films? Are you as mad as I am that they keep bringing back the same villain over and over again? Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and I will be back next week with another mindless movie review of some sort.
