David R. Walker

Posts Tagged ‘Kevin Dorman’

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Cast: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Oona Chaplin, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Giovanni Ribisi, David Thewlis, Jack Champion, Laz Alonso, Kevin Dorman

Running Time: 3 hours and 17 minutes

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

Titanic director James Cameron has proved his worth as a cinematic world builder.

In the third instalment of the Avatar franchise, the new film entitled Avatar: Fire and Ash, Cameron reassembles his old cast in a multi-themed narrative about the air breathers or Sky People fighting the Na’vi which culminates in a lavish adventure while constantly being threatened by an evil fire tribe headed by the fiery Varang voiced by Charlie Chaplin’s granddaughter Oona Chaplin (Quantum of Solace, The Devil’s Double).

Varang heads up the fire wielding Ash creatures who makes a deal with Miles Quatrich played by Stephen Lang in exchange for much coveted arms. In this extraordinary narrative, Sully played again by Sam Worthington along with his family are out to protect Spider played by Jack Champion who has inadvertently found the ability to survive on Pandora without needing an oxygen mask.

Avatar: Fire and Ash has stunning production design by Dylan Cole and Ben Procter coupled with shimmering cinematography by Russell Carpenter. The film itself is a sight to behold, lavish, beautiful and entertaining.

As Sully and Spider avoid capture by Varang, they fall into the hands of the technologically advanced humans on Pandora particularly General Ardmore played by Edie Falco and Selfridge played by Giovanni Ribisi (Selma, Contraband, The Rum Diary) who are desperate to experiment on Spider after he is infused with a strange substance that allows him to breath on Pandora, a substance which if harnessed properly could allow the humans to colonize and exist on Pandora and eternally threaten the Na’vi. General Ardmore views the Na vi as hostiles on the perimeter of their industrial military complex.  

As the final battle looms between the humans and the Na’vi creatures, strange alliances are forged to help protect Pandora’s ecosystem and the existence of the indigenous oceanic tribes, an allegorical nod to climate change and the horrors of ruthless colonialism.

Avatar: Fire and Ash is much better than one expects although the film is extremely long but considering how packed the cinema was when I watched it, it’s definitely a film that is attracting crowds back to the movie theatres.

Something that Hollywood needs at this critical time in which streaming services are blatantly threatening the survival of the collective cinema experience.

Congratulations to James Cameron who delivers another visually resplendent epic film yet again with Avatar: Fire and Ash which should get recognized at the 2026 Oscars for nominations for Best Picture and Visual Effects. If Titanic was the film that made James Cameron famous, Avatar will be his legacy.

Avatar: Fire and Ash is entertaining and visually beautiful with amazing special effects. This epic gets a film rating of 8 out of 10 and is highly recommended for fans of the first two films. Worth seeing on the biggest screen possible.