Designed for the Big Screen! Our Review of Avatar 3: Fire and Ash

It's probably the biggest blockbuster of the year: "Avatar: Fire and Ash"! For the third time, we join the Sully family on their journey through the world of Pandora. Will James Cameron be able to build on the extremely successful previous films? Or have we had our fill of Pandora? We'll talk about this in our spoiler-free KinoCheck film review.

The plot

"Avatar 3" picks up relatively close to the end of the second film. After the dramatic events of "The Way of Water", the Sullys find themselves at an emotional low point. Each family member mourns the loss of Neteyam – the eldest son of Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) – in their own way. The Sullys are still among the Metkayina, the oceanic Na'vi clan.

But for adopted son Spider (Jack Champion), permanent life with an oxygen mask is difficult – and a renewed attack by the humans is to be expected. After all, Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) is also known to have survived the end of Part 2 – with the help of his son Spider. Quaritch continues to hunt down Jake and takes drastic measures. And with the Ash People, a completely new party enters the stage...

The world is getting bigger

So the Sullys set off on their travels. They receive support from the Wind Traders. With their impressive means of transportation, the people travel through the air. With the Wind Traders, we delve deeper into Pandora right at the start of the movie. But this is not the only way we are shown new facets of the Na'vi. The Ash People also expands the world of Pandora. They are very different from the Na'vi we know. The clan and their leader Varang (Oona Chaplin) have renounced Eywa. They live in a dark and gray landscape and feel a close connection to fire. In the course of the film, we also get previously unseen insights into the new human settlement. As you can see, the world of "Avatar" is getting bigger and bigger – and that's a good thing! The different clans and factions deepen the world and show the diversity of Pandora.

Visual spectacle: Avatar in top form

With its many settings, "Avatar 3" once again offers plenty of potential for visual spectacle – and that potential is fully realized. "Fire and Ash" is visually extremely impressive. Once again, James Cameron proves his flair for merging cinematic staging with state-of-the-art effects. Of course, the action sequences are particularly impressive. The scenes on the Wind Trader's means of transportation or the film's final battle, for example, stand out. In general, we remember several impressive set pieces and camera angles.

Cameron's direction and the visual spectacle are the big highlight of the film for us. Like its predecessors, "Fire and Ash" shows that "Avatar" is made for the big screen! Hardly any other blockbuster series is likely to benefit so much from the cinema experience. The film will certainly have a greater impact on the big screen than in the home theater.

A thrilling experience

Thanks to its impressive visuals and numerous action scenes, "Fire and Ash" can definitely be experienced as a cinematic thrill. This is particularly impressive considering the runtime: "Avatar 3" is almost three and a half hours long! This tops the length of the previous films. We asked ourselves in advance: Can "Fire and Ash" justify this length? We are of the opinion: Yes, the movie does, and it's quite entertaining! "Fire and Ash" rarely stands still, something is always happening, one action sequence follows the next. The visual strengths, the thrilling action and the diversity of Pandora make for an immersive experience. It's simply fun to immerse yourself in this world for three and a half hours.

There is still potential...

Compared to the previous films, "Fire and Ash" has something new to offer with the Ash People. Varang in particular is an interesting addition and an exciting character. The Ash People blur the boundaries between classic good and evil and add new shades of gray to the world. This is commendable in itself, but we would have liked to have seen more of Varang and her clan. Ultimately, however, the conflict between humans and Na'vi once again takes center stage.

Unfortunately, the movie doesn't really have anything new to say about this conflict. From our point of view, it would have been more interesting if the film had focused more intensively on the Ash People instead. We would have liked to delve deeper into this completely different Na'vi culture. That would have been a more exciting main focus for us than the third encounter between humans and Na'vi. Unfortunately, we only scratched the surface of why the Ash Clan is so fundamentally different from the other clans.

Certainly, the conflict between humans and Na'vi is a central element of the series. But "Fire and Ash" is most likely the middle part of the saga. After all, it has long been known that Cameron and co. would like to make at least two more "Avatar" films. So there is probably still enough time to tell the main conflict. And in the end, the conflict unfortunately doesn't develop significantly in part 3. In addition, some plot elements feel quite similar to Part Two. So "Fire and Ash" is by no means free of flaws.

The cast of characters

However, we were impressed by the film's cast of characters. The grief of the Sully family is conveyed credibly. It helps that viewers have grown fond of the characters through the previous films. Their grief reveals new sides of the characters. Loak and Neytiri in particular are struggling with the loss of Neteyam.

The focus is particularly on the complex situation surrounding Spider. He is still searching for his identity and place in the world, driven by the desire to belong. The plot surrounding Spider offers some of the strongest character moments in the film. His biological father Quaritch should also be highlighted. His paternal feelings add an exciting element to the movie. This also creates an interesting dynamic between Quaritch and Jake – after all, the two arch-enemies share their paternal feelings towards Spider. "Fire and Ash" uses this constellation to deepen the characters and their relationships with each other.

Quaritch has thus developed into one of the most interesting characters for us. While he was still a classic antagonist in the first film, parts 2 and 3 give him new facets. He hates the Na'vi, but is now trapped in a Na'vi body himself. He hates Jake, but they both share their feelings for Spider. His encounter with Varang is also quite exciting.

Overall, "Fire and Ash" manages to create some emotional moments between the characters – whether through the complex constellation surrounding Spider or the grief of Neytiri and Co. Jake and Neytiri in particular are also confronted with impossible decisions within the film. However, this didn't always work for us either, which we won't go into any further for spoiler reasons.

Our verdict

"Fire and Ash" shows that the world of Pandora still has a lot to offer – different clans, new characters and exciting locations. However, the central conflict between humans and Na'vi feels a bit stagnant. But the movie's strengths more than make up for the aforementioned criticisms. "Avatar 3" is an entertaining, thrilling and immersive epic with strong staging and impressive visuals. We can therefore give it a recommendation. But go to the cinema and see for yourself: "Avatar: Fire and Ash" can be seen from December 19.

Our verdict: Made for the big screen! A visually stunning spectacle!