On Screen: “Avatar: Fire and Ash”
Avatar: Fire and Ash
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 biodiverse 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 and 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’re raising Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss) and 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: 3 hours, 17 minutes is overly long, with often-inane dialogue — calling each other ‘bro’ — credited to Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffe and Amanda Silver.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” is a spectacularly awesome 8, best enjoyed in the Dolby 3D format in theaters.
Susan Granger is a product of Hollywood. Her natural father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a director and producer at M.G.M. and Columbia Pictures. Her adoptive father, Armand Deutsch, produced movies at M.G.M.
As a child, Susan appeared in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O’Brien, and Lassie. She attended Mills College in California, studying journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism.