By Susan Granger
In the cinematic art of world-building, James Cameron has no peer: “Avatar: Fire and Ash” continues his mythic exploration with motion-capture and digital effects.
In “Avatar” and its “Way of Water” sci-fi sequel, by the mid-22nd century, humanity has depleted Earth’s natural resources – so the Resources Development Administration (RDA) dispatched former U.S. Marines-turned-mercenaries to a distant lushly bio-diverse moon called Pandora in the Alpha Centauri system.
While humans – known as ‘Sky People’ – cannot breathe Pandora’s air, it’s home to a race of blue-skinned, 10-foot tall felines – the Na’vi – who live in harmony with nature and the Great Mother they call Eywa. The indigenous Na’vi have tendrils to attach not only to trees/plants but also dragon-like creatures that fly them around.
To enable the exploration of Pandora, Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) created Na’vi hybrids – ‘avatars,’ led by Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who defied rapacious Security Forces boss Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) by falling in love with Na’vi warrior princess Neytiri (Zoe Saldana).
“Fire and Ash” begins shortly after Jake, Neytiri and their children have settled in with the sea-dwelling Metkayina clan, headed by Chief Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and his pregnant wife Ronal (Kate Winslet).
Mourning the death of their first-born Neteyam, they raise Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss) and their adopted ‘human’ Spider (Jack Champion), who needs an oxygen mask to survive. So when the nomadic Wind Traders’ airships land, Jake decides to send Spider back to live with other humans
Suddenly, they’re attacked by Ash People, a hostile Na’vi tribe led by villainous Varang (Oona Chaplin), an ally of avatar-resurrected Col. Quaritch. That marks the onset of epic battles amid iridescent flora and exotic fauna – and significantly – Spider’s body is invaded by mycelium, enabling him to breathe without a mask.
So if Earth’s scientists can reverse-engineer what happened to Spider, they can colonize Pandora…as James Cameron’s adventurous franchise continues.
Problem is: three hours, 17 minutes is overly long – with often-inane dialogue – calling each other ‘bro’ – credited to Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffe & Amanda Silver.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” is a spectacularly awesome 8, best enjoyed in the 3-D Dolby format in theaters.
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Susan Granger
Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in Journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has appeared on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie critic for many years. Read all her reviews at susangranger.com.
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