Avatar: Fire and Ash review – Another marvel of CG craftsmanship from James Cameron

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A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Get ready to return to Pandora! Director James Cameron’s stunning alien world was the setting for two of the biggest films ever made, Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). It’s safe to say the new installment, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is also likely to be a massive hit.

As a total movie buff, I have to say this third Avatar film from James Cameron is a really confident, in-your-face dive back into that incredible world he built. It’s completely created using motion capture and CGI, and honestly, you just have to let the visuals wash over you – it’s that immersive!

While The Way of Water spent a lot of time introducing the Metkayina, the ocean-dwelling Na’vi clan, Fire and Ash is primarily a war film. Picking up a year after the previous movie, the story again follows Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington), the ex-Marine who permanently transferred his consciousness into his Na’vi avatar.

After leaving their original clan, he now lives with his family – including his wife, Neytiri (played by Zoe Saldaña) – among the Metkayina. This includes Ronal, a skilled free-diver who is expecting a child (played by Kate Winslet).

Cameron co-wrote the script with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, and this installment introduces the Mangkwan clan, also called the Ash People. They live near a volcano and are led by the intimidating Varang, played by Oona Chaplin. Many consider Varang to be the best villain in the Avatar series so far, and Chaplin’s performance perfectly captures her as a powerful, elemental force. She’s visually striking with her red and white markings and driven by a thirst for power.

She forms an unlikely partnership with Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), Jake’s old enemy – a former military leader who has been brought back to life as an Avatar, created from a combination of human and Na’vi DNA. As he explains, “I guess I’m harder to kill than people think.”

He’s aggressively pursuing Sully, as the human military group, RDA, tries to colonize Pandora, even though humans can’t breathe the planet’s air. Quaritch shows Varang firearms, and she’s amazed when she fires them. He enjoys her reaction, saying with a smirk, “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

With Pandora’s peace and environment at risk, the RDA begins attacking the Tulkun – the planet’s large, whale-like inhabitants. These scenes are particularly impactful, evoking the historical slaughter of Earth’s whales and powerfully illustrating humanity’s destructive impact on nature. While James Cameron’s approach isn’t always delicate, these moments undeniably carry emotional weight.

General Frances Ardmore (Edie Falco) is in charge of operations, and we see the return of Captain Mick Scoresby (Brendan Cowell, giving a great performance), now sporting a metal arm after the events of the previous film. Jermaine Clement also reprises his role as Scoresby’s marine biologist. However, the story mainly focuses on Spider (Jack Champion), the son of the late Quaritch who has been raised by the Sully family. Spider’s experiences provide the film with its emotional core, as a new avatar of Quaritch relentlessly pursues him for sinister reasons.

The movie is quite long, clocking in at over three hours, and it doesn’t entirely earn that length with a plot that feels like a continuous series of conflicts. While the film’s message – that violence leads to more violence – isn’t groundbreaking, the 3D visuals are stunning and truly pull you into the world of Pandora.

If you dream of exploring alien worlds with glowing forests and vibrant blue oceans, Fire and Ash delivers exactly that experience. It’s a visually stunning film, showcasing incredible computer-generated imagery and James Cameron’s dedication to quality.

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Avatar: Fire and Ash will debut in cinemas on Friday 19th December 2025 in the UK.

Authors

James Mottram

James Mottram is a London-based film critic, journalist, and author.

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2025-12-16 17:35