Avatar: Fire and Ash

Apparently, is not easy being green ... or blue. Or striped. Or vaguely cat-like. Or probably a dozen other traits. That sentiment is reflected in the tone of this film, which is generally somber and much too serious. The only thing that comes close to humor in these proceedings comes from the character of the Colonel, who is inexplicably still alive and probably will remain so for another seven movies. That general heaviness is a problem, because any epic flick tends towards feeling burdensome after a while—long before you reach this piece's three hour running time—and a light touch can break up the load a bit. You don’t get that here, which is why you start to notice the length sooner rather than later. What also doesn’t help is how much this movie, especially in its early scenes, is all about, “Hey, look at that weird thing,” and “Hey, look at that other weird thing”—which can go on for quite a while, because on Pandora it’s all weird things. So the film takes a while to get going, and then it takes a while to finish (hallmarks of director James Cameron’s style). That said, there are positives, too. The performances, despite being hidden under makeup and/or CGI rendering, are effective, and the action sequences are sights to behold, if for nothing else than for their audacious scale (again, a Cameron thing). And you’ve got to have a heart of stone to not feel some impact from the defending nature storyline. And, again, even with the lengthy length, you never really feel your attention wavering too much; the movie delivers attention-holding entertainment throughout. There’s just a nagging sense that, maybe, even if it’s a well-executed movie, this is not necessarily a necessary movie. They probably could have stopped at the first flick—which had a story that wrapped up pretty tightly—rather than stretching out to three movies at least. (This one ends with the villains getting away, or at least not dying on camera—typically a sure sign that a sequel is being set up, regardless of whether or not there’s a demand for it.) So judge carefully whether or not you wish to visit this world yet again. You probably won’t regret watching it, or skipping it for that matter, and if the latter you’ll certainly have plenty of time to contemplate how it goes for those of your own color and species.