Nutshell Review: Avatar: Fire and Ash

Steve Titcomb
Dec 20
2 min read

PG Score: 7.75/10

Avatar: Fire and Ash was released in theaters on 12/19/25

Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third installment in James Cameron's (Terminator) epic fantasy world, and boy is it a trip. A larger focus on Eywa (the force-like powers of the planet that connect everything together) and Kiri's (Sigourney Weaver) chosen one-like connection with it take us deeper into Pandora than ever before.

Grief and Pain

A large subplot is the grief felt from the loss of a son and the loss of a home. Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and Varang (Oona Chaplin) are two sides of the same coin, mirror images of each other in their grief. Oona Chaplin (Anchor and Hope) gives a fantastic, terrifying performance as the new antagonist, leader of the Ash people, a people who lost their home due to a volcano and have turned their back on Eywa and fellow Na'vi. Her home burned down and, as a result, she wants the rest of the world to burn too.

Fire and Ash Visuals

Visually, Fire and Ash is breathtaking. The visual effects and CGI are amazing and an award should be in their future. Keeping things fresh is hard in a sequel of a sequel, but the battles in this film were amazing and brutal and the Ash people might have borrowed some inspiration from WWII Japanese fighter pilots.

Conflicts

A much darker tone this time, we pick up with the Sullys right where we left at the end of The Way of Water. The biggest discrepancy, though, was the relationship between Jake (Sam Worthington) and his remaining son (Lo'ak). Their story in The Way of Water seemed to have come to a conclusion with a bonding moment, "I see you, son," which alluded to them having worked out their differences. That moment seems to have been erased, as Lo'ak once again has to keep proving himself to his father throughout the film. He continues to make bad decisions that aversely affect the rest of their family and people.

All of this and we don't even mention the RDA (the human corporation that has been exploiting Pandora's resources) and their intention to inhabit the planet themselves after having destroyed most of Earth's resources. Their and the Ash people's willingness to work with one another puts a large target on Spider (Jack Champion), the human member of the Sully family, as the RDA wants him for their selfish gains, while Quaritch (Stephen Lang) still wants to connect with his son.

Must-See in Theaters

Brilliant and dark, full of hope and despair, Avatar: Fire and Ash has pried Pandora's box wide open. I, for one, am looking forward to what they do next. This one is must-see on the biggest screen you can find.