With visuals so stunning they feel almost tangible, "Avatar: Fire and Ash" delivers yet another mesmerizing journey to Pandora, pushing the boundaries of 3D technology. But will the franchise’s repetitive storytelling and wooden dialogue leave audiences emotionally adrift? Los Angeles (tca/dpa) – It happens early on, the first time “Avatar: Fire and Ash” took my breath away with its visual effects. It was something simple — waves gently lapping in the foreground as characters spoke — but the cerulean water was so vivid, so seemingly tangible that I shifted backward in my seat to avoid getting wet. The latest “Avatar” entry, like its predecessors, is full of stunningly beautiful imagery like this, all brought to life with the most impressive 3D technology I’ve ever experienced in a movie theater. But also like 2009’s “Avatar” and 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water,” that’s almost all that “Fire and Ash” has going for it, with a blandly generic plot and insipid dialogue that includes this winner: “When you ride the beast, you become the beast.” “Fire and Ash,” once again directed by James Cameron , with a script from Cameron, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver , takes place shortly after the events of “The Way of Water,” with Jake Sully ( Sam Worthington , somehow even less charming this time around) and Neytiri (a criminally underutilized Zoe Saldaña) still grieving over the death of their son Neteyam. Lo’ak ( Britain Dalton ) blames himself for his older brother’s death; Neytiri is questioning her faith in Eywa, the Na’vi deity that governs the global consciousness of Pandora, the moon on which they live. It’s rather dour, but understandably so. And then there’s the matter of the Sky People (aka humans), who are still set on colonizing Pandora after ruining Earth for humanity, even if the indigenous population keeps halting their advances. (Most humans on Pandora continue to lack any depth or subtlety, single-mindedly focused on taking over the moon without any regard to the morality of the situation — including being OK with killing sapient whalelike creatures to harvest them so humans can stop aging.) The plot, in essence, is a direct continuation of “The Way of Water,” with Stephen Lang reprising his role as Col. Miles Quartich, who leads the charge against Jake and his family both to help colonize the moon and because he hates Jake and Neytiri for killing his former human self. (His consciousness was implanted into an Avatar body — a hybrid between human and Na’vi — in the second movie.) This time around, though, Quartich pairs up with the Mangkwan clan, aka the Ash People, a group of Na’vi that reject Eywa after losing their village in a volcanic eruption, and are basically pirates. Their leader, Varang ( Oona Chaplin ), who at one point claims “I am the fire!”, wants to cover the world in flame. In that, Quartich sees a means to an end. Not that it matters much, because at this point, I’m not sure anyone sees an “Avatar” movie for the story. It’s a good thing, then, that “Fire and Ash” is such a technical knockout, from its visuals to costume and sound design. The world of Pandora is vibrancy incarnate, brimming with eye-popping gorgeousness: a flying creature’s gossamer wings, painted in cotton candy hues; glittering bioluminescence wherever you look; a cultlike celebration cast in shadow and fire. Every visual element is masterful, from the smallest detail (a Na’vi’s ear twitching) to the largest (an enormous fireball descending from the sky). And the action is fierce, kinetic and basically nonstop in “Fire and Ash.” The ending sequence goes on a bit too long (as does the movie in general, at 195 minutes), but it’s all generally entertaining, if you forgive the fact that the spectacle replaces the story for the most part. For a franchise that roots its characters’ traditions in song, it’s a shame each new entry feels so one note, and a repetitive one at that. But it’s par for the course for “Avatar” at this point. If you liked the first two movies (which jointly made $5.2 billion at the box office, so it’s fair to say many did), you’ll enjoy “Fire and Ash,” which should be seen in 3D on the biggest screen possible. Just don’t be surprised if the only thing that sticks with you is that water, gently lapping at the screen. The following information is not intended for publication tca dpa coh
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