It’s been almost two decades since James Cameron first led viewers to Pandora, and with Avatar: Fire and Ash, he comes roaring back with a set of expectations that very few franchises can rival. This latest offering is, of course, just another entry into this already popular series, but it’s also so much more—it’s a statement of Cameron’s vision to immerse, and it’s something that this whole series of Avatar has sought to do from the very onset, and not something that can be effectively rivaled or followed.
However, there is no escaping the technological challenge. Cameron is still promoting performance capture and visual effects as evidence that this is a universe crafted by human skill and not artificial intelligence. Pandora is still glowing, respiring, and overwhelming. However, the freshness and originality that characterized “Avatar” are now in the past, replaced by another question: what draws us back into this universe?
Pandora takes a darker turn
With The Way of Water, James Cameron keeps delving into the oceanic motifs, but with Fire and Ash, he shifts focus to conflict and division within a culture. The narrative introduces a new, more violent clan of Na’vi, known as Ash People, and they’re brought to life with a level of terrifying intensity by Oona Chaplin. She teams up with Stephen Lang’s Colonel Miles Quaritch and human colonists, which further amplifies tension in this already tense tale. Quaritch is always an intriguing presence in James Cameron’s universe, a man who is at once repellent and fascinating, particularly as Quaritch grows more confident in his Na’vi flesh.
Running over three hours, this is the longest time Cameron has spent exploring Pandora, and whilst the level of commitment to characters and world-building here is in keeping with Cameron’s passion, there are points where the narrative energy dips significantly. While the scope here may be epic in scale, there is an almost unswerving conviction to this that can, in some way, put an audience at a remove.
Between two worlds
Ultimately, Fire and Ash is all about coexistence. The divide between humans and Na’vi is further obscured, especially by characters caught between the two worlds. Spider, Sully’s human son, is also put into the limelight due to his unexpected physiological compatibility with the Pandora ecosystem. The ménage à trois between Jake Sully and Neytiri is also threatened by the looming presence of human danger.
Most interestingly, there is a sense in which Quaritch himself symbolizes the conflict at the heart of Avatar. He is a conqueror, and yet he seems to come alive on Pandora, as if a reversal may also be possible there. While Cameron may be unable to avoid some of the usual criticisms leveled at Avatar, there does seem to be a sense in which his commitment to this vision is genuinely felt.
While Avatar: Fire and Ash may not have the same cultural staying power after the closing credits roll, it does represent the next colossal and carefully constructed installment in Cameron’s visionary dream for a better world, albeit a passionately argued and highly debatable world.
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