The ideal movie is one with a stable plot and a happy ending, but Avatar: Fire and Ash isn’t the ideal movie. It has a chaotic storyline and a gut-wrenching ending, yet it is a masterpiece. Avatar: Fire and Ash is an amazing addition to the Avatar series and an exciting watch for new viewers. The movie has a crazy series of events and an engrossing new character.
Avatar, as a series, is renowned for its amazing realism, and much of it is derived from how actors perform in these movies. Actors have to wear specialized gray body suits with tracking dots to record body movements, as well as heavy camera helmets to capture facial expressions. Using technology, VFX Artists insert verisimilar designs, converting the actors into an alien species on an alien planet. Along with the harsh recording gear, in the second movie, director James Cameron had the actors actually swim in pools to simulate the motions, rather than suspend them in the air. These methods make a massive yet admirable difference in the movie. In swimming scenes, if the actors were suspended in the air, the movie wouldn’t have the small details. It may seem minuscule, but the way the water makes hair flow subconsciously makes the viewers think that it is realistic. Even if these steps seem needless, the persistent producers and the talented actors make it worth it.
Although the Avatar movies are fictional, they are made to seem real not only with the rigorous recording methods, but also with the storyline. The first movies follow the main character Jake Sully, a former Marine. He originally lands on the alien planet, Pandora, as a part of the RDA or Resources Development Association. Over the course of the first movie, Jake obtains his avatar, a cross between his DNA and native Na’vi DNA, the alien species native to Pandora, formed into a body. Eventually, he realizes how the RDA is negatively affecting the environment and turns to the Na’vi side, rallying them up and finally overpowering the RDA. The second movie starts sixteen years later, when the RDA starts to dominate the planet again. Because of this, Jake and his new Na’vi family move to Pandora’s eastern sea to join the Metkayina clan. The RDA is targeting Jake because of his past rebellion, and is slowly hunting the Tulkan, who are the peaceful whale allies of the Metkayina clan. Soon after, the RDA, led by Colonel Miles Quaritch, launches an attack on the Metkayina clan. Jake prevails, and the Na’vi win, but he loses his eldest son.
Following the events of the first two movies, Fire and Ash starts in the Metkayina village, where Jake’s wife, Neytiri, is mourning their son’s death. Because of this, she gains a hatred towards humans. Neytiri urges Jake to arrange for their adopted human son to move to another Na’vi clan, and eventually he follows through. All goes well, but Jake’s other kids decide they want to ride with him to say their final goodbyes. On the ride there, they get ambushed by the fierce ash people and their leader, Varang. The pillagers attack the group and take a few hostages, but despite the circumstances, Jake and his family escape and get separated. Although they seemed safe. The ash people track the children and take them hostage, too. After a while, Jake and Colonel Miles Quaritch come to save them. During this, the duo partially sorts out their differences. Later, Quaritch separates from the group and goes to the ash people of the Mankwan clan’s village. At the village, he teams up with Varang and her tribe by offering firearms and flamethrowers. The new alliance sneak attacks Jake to capture him and bring him back to the RDA. Soon after, Neytiri makes the decision to sneak into the RDA and free Jake. Her plan succeeds but causes the RDA to plan an attack on the Metkayina village. The movie ends with the cinematic battle, where in the end, the Na’vi overpower the RDA once again.
The movie’s main antagonist is Varang, who is the spiritual leader of the ash people, or the Mankwan clan. This clan is a group torn apart because of a volcanic eruption. After this event, they prayed to their god Eywa, but she never came – a tragedy that destroyed their village as well as their faith. Eventually, Varang learned the way of the fire and became the spiritual leader of their ritualistic tribe. Because of their wasteland home, the Mankwan people are pillagers. It is their main source of materials, and it is how they originally encounter Jake Sully. Varang may be evil, but she is refreshing to viewers. Her necessity, desire for power, and ritualistic beliefs feel like a breath of fresh air compared to the RDA, who have motives that hold little significance in the series. Later in the movie, when Varang teamed up with Quaritch, he started to wear traditional war paint, signifying his weakening bond with the RDA. The group seemed powerful, but gave a sense of internal tension within the RDA.
Since December, the movie has done fairly well, especially being the third addition to the story. Reviewers on IMDb rated it a 7.4/10, while the movie was rated a 66% on Rotten Tomatoes. Compared to the previous movies, it scored fewer points on IMDb and an average of about 15% less on Rotten Tomatoes despite the movie’s popularity. Even though it did score lower than expected, some viewers still believe that it is a great movie.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is a breathtaking movie that turns fantasy into realism. Although the plotline may not be ideal, the story keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. The addition of Varang added a new type of villain that the fans didn’t know they needed. Through all of the twists and turns of the movie and all of the actors’ hard work, the movie is an amazing third addition to the series, and a must-watch for fans. The movie may seem boring at first, but the little details make it irresistible to viewers, new or returning.
