We are taking up the story after The Way of Water this time. Jake and Neytiri are living among the ocean tribes, grieving the loss of their eldest son. That sadness is constantly present with the family, particularly Lo’ak, who feels unable to escape either the guilt or the demand. These private, chaotic feelings are what give the film its emotional backbone. They creep in around the enormous attractions and provide something genuine.
However, Fire and Ash are unable to avoid returning to their old ways. Humans, once again, charge in, eager to annihilate. The scientists, as before, are pleading for Pandora’s safety. The old enmities have returned. Quaritch continues to pursue Jake and is still caught up with Spider, and even though he is conflicted between his orders and a weird attraction to Eywa, it all reflects what we have witnessed. It is true that new characters like Varang, the leader of the Ash people, become visible, suggesting new stories, but they are never really given their due.
The movie contains many colossal and grand ideas. Honestly, sometimes there are even too many. Jake has to make a choice of such significance that it could have been the film’s central theme. Neytiri tries to cope with her loathing of the human race, but that narrative ultimately does not deliver. Kiri’s mystical bond with Eywa suggests something huge, nearly like a redeemer, but her journey appears more like a bypass than a real character development.
One of the biggest surprises of the film is how it handles the concept of immortality. The very nature of Pandora makes dying not an end but rather a gentle, warm, and cosy coming back to life. This is a happy event, and it places Avatar among the very few that are not only the most extensive franchises but also the most thematically diverse in terms of death and rebirth.
Therefore, Fire and Ash do not bring any major changes. But the feelings remain very heavy. The environment is still exciting. And in some way, it is still the case that Pandora continues to attract us. The desire to visit again? Yes, it is still there, and perhaps that is all we require.
