Avatar: Fire and Ash

This movie is the second half of the previous movie, but excised out of it and bloated with shot-for-shot recreations of scenes from the first movie to sell more tickets. 

Outside the relatively interesting plot regarding Spyder, the rest of the storylines are just Cameron rehashing his previous material, mixing it with some white/native imagery. It felt like a waste of millions of dollars and talent. 

The first Avatar film was really just the story of Dances with Wolves with a sci-fi skin, but I felt Way of Water introduced a lot of new ideas that made the Avatar movies a more unique and interesting series and not just a vehicle for cultural appropriation of native cultures (but with blue skin so that it's "ok" for white people to play them).

But Fire and Ash just goes returns to the issues of the first movie and just does the "look at at those weird creepy savage natives, but it's ok cause its sci-fi" trope again.

Naytiri was the best character of the first movie but I feel they ruined her with Avatar 2 and 3 by having her commit reverse racism and transform into a tradwife. Pairing her with Jake Sulley reeks of the "well that's what white people wanted out of natives back in the 1700s so let's do that with sci-fi" trope. Zoe Saldaña did an amazing job playing Neytiri as always, but I hated her character.

Speaking of, Jake Sulley is quite possibly the worst father figure I've seen in a fictional family that was meant to be seen as protagonists, since probably TV sitcoms 50 years ago. Absolutely cold and inaffection for his children, treating them as soldiers, with their big resolution at the end being his son talking to him like a soldier to save his family. 

I think the scene where Jake Sulley blames his son for the death of his other son was so cliche, but the acting for the son was really good in that scene. 

The idea of Sigourney Weaver's character is actually really cool and a great example of an original idea unique to Avatar that makes the universe really interesting....but she's WAY too old to be playing a 14 year old. Througout the entire movie, she sounded 80.

Steven Lang as Quaritch is easily the best part of the sequels by far. His character is interesting, the acting is pitch perfect, and his storyline is another example of a unique thing only possible in the Avatar universe. Hoping to see more of him in the future films.

The talent and artistry and spectacle on display is second to none, but it’s disappointing that Cameron, who can do anything he wants with practically a blank check, chose to tell a story that’s so rote. His sci-fi world is very imaginative and interesting at least, and his action scenes show his sheer command of his craft. 

For a good and not-racist version of this trilogy’s plot and story, try Pixar’s Hoppers!