Avatar: Fire And Ash is visually stunning and emotionally engaging, offering strong performances and thrilling action, notes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
The phrase ‘Dr Livingstone, I presume?’ has long symbolised the successful discovery of the unknown after a long and difficult search.
In 1871, journalist Henry Morton Stanley was sent by The New York Herald and The London Daily Telegraph to find famed explorer Dr David Livingstone, who had been silent for years while seeking the source of the Nile in Africa.
After 234 days, beginning his journey from Zanzibar, Stanley finally found Dr Livingstone at Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika.
Dr Livingstone is remembered for his ‘3 Cs’ philosophy: Christianity, Commerce and Civilisation.
He believed moral and religious guidance should come first, followed by legitimate trade to replace the slave trade, and finally education, medicine, and social reform.
By contrast, James Cameron’s world of Avatar: Fire And Ash presents a much narrower vision.
The humans or ‘sky people’ are driven solely by greed.
Commerce is their only goal; moral or ethical considerations are entirely absent.
This makes the storyline of Avatar 3 repetitive, echoing the themes of the first two films, rather than offering anything truly new.
Cameron’s humans are motivated purely by self-interest, exploiting Pandora’s resources without regard for the lives, culture, or environment of its indigenous inhabitants.
Unlike Dr Livingstone, whose mission combined ethical, economic, and social aims, the humans’ objectives are narrow, ruthless, and destructive.
The familiar characters return: Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), his wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), and the relentless Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang).
The Na’vi continue to be depicted as a richly imagined indigenous culture, deeply connected to their deity Eywa and the living world of Pandora.
Their customs, neural connections, and spiritual awareness highlight Cameron’s ongoing environmental message: All life is interconnected, and imbalance or exploitation carries profound consequences.
The Mangkwan clan, also called the Ash People, led by the formidable Queen Varang (Oona Chaplin), introduces a fresh dynamic.
Her presence adds tension and unpredictability, creating a villain whose motives and ferocity stand apart as an antagonist.
Avatar: Fire and Ash begins with the Sully family mourning the death of their eldest son Neteyam, killed by Colonel Quaritch’s soldiers in Part 2.
Through the narration of Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), the film explores how each family member deals with grief in their own way.
This focus on personal loss brings emotional depth to the narrative, showing how tragedy affects not only the individuals but everyone in the family and community.
Cameron’s attempt to combine large-scale spectacle with intimate storytelling succeeds in moments, though it also underscores a limitation: The film assumes the audience has seen the previous instalments.
For newcomers, much of the emotional and narrative weight may be lost, making the story difficult to follow and less impactful.
The central conflict is familiar.
Humans continue to seek control over Pandora’s resources, this time pursuing Amrita, an anti-aging liquid harvested from the brains of the whale-like Tulkun.
This echoes the first film, where human sought unobtanium, and the second, which focused on colonisation and the hunt for Amrita.
While the specifics differ, the underlying theme of human greed and exploitation remains unchanged.
Once again, the sky people are willing to destroy, manipulate, and kill to achieve their goals, while the Na’vi unite to defend their land, their culture, and the natural world they are part of.
A long and intense battle follows, with all Na’vi tribes united against the humans and their allies, the Ash People.
Cameron’s script stands out for weaving this epic conflict with a deeply human story of family and loss.
The narrative emphasises that every living being on Pandora is connected.
Animals, sea creatures, ikran, and toruk form a part of this interconnected web, reinforcing the environmental message that survival and harmony require respect for all forms of life.
This is one of the film’s strongest points, reminding viewers of the consequences of greed and the importance of stewardship.
Beyond the environmental allegory, Avatar 3 also touches on political themes.
The humans efforts to ally with certain Na’vi clans to manipulate others reflect colonial strategies and historical patterns of divide and rule like the British did in India.
The film indirectly comments on the dangers of exploiting natural and human resources without understanding or respecting local cultures.
These political undertones give the film a layer of relevance, suggesting parallels between Pandora’s struggle and real-world issues such as environmental destruction, corporate greed, and the exploitation of indigenous populations.
The performances elevate the film.
Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana convey the weight of parental grief convincingly, balancing heroism with vulnerability.
Stephen Lang maintains his menacing presence as Quaritch, while Oona Chaplin as Varang is a standout with her villainous portrayal and fight sequences.
The action sequences are visually stunning with skill, further immersing the audience in the world of Pandora.
Even if the storyline feels repetitive, the visual spectacle is unmatched, combining 3D technology and motion capture to create a living, breathing world.
Avatar 3 is visually stunning and emotionally engaging, offering strong performances and thrilling action. Still, it is predictable.
For fans of the franchise, it is a rewarding continuation that deepens the family drama and expands the world of Pandora.
For those who have not seen the previous films, much of the plot may be confusing.
Will Avatar 4 break new ground and offer a fresh narrative?
Or will it continue the same story of human greed, resource exploitation, and resistance?
Let’s wait and watch.
