Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025)
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It makes sense that Way of Water and Fire and Ash were originally one movie. There’s a key moment in the second movie where Jake tells Lo’ak that he finally understands him and loves him for who he is, unburdened of the fear triggered by his own relationship with his parents and brother (using just three words, no less). And then in this movie, it seems like Lo’ak has to somehow earn trust back again.
The evil whale harpoon guy is back. And the ethically conflicted marine biologist is still here, being ethically conflicted. There is once again a tense council of Na’Vi with Tulkun discussing the fate of Payakan. Na’Vi Quarritch once again is getting helped out and physically saved by at least one member of the Sully clan. Here’s Norm again, reiterating that Kiri will die if she tries to commune with Ewya underwater. You thought it was cool when a whale creature slammed itself on a ship? How about a dozen warships and even more whales slamming themselves in the same fashion, with similar results? You see, it’ like poetry, it rhymes.
No, but I mean that literally. They took perfectly acceptable movie setpieces and created an echo effect that makes the world more immersive.
If you’ve ever had a human relationship in your life – with a parent, a partner, whatever – you know that life is not like the movies where you have a single story moment that allows your relationship to grow and deepen. When the relationship is rocky, it’s fits and starts. Someone can see you. And then they lose sight of you, being pulled back into their own troubles and displacing it on you. This is what happens with Jake. It was never going to be just one moment of understanding. It’s a process.
In political disagreements among factions of the same group, you often end up having the same theatrics about a decision made by people in power, as you do with the Tulkun elders here. The same opponents to the decision are involved and if they’re lucky, they’ve picked up more support. Sometimes those with power double down and impose harsher versions of their decision, such as banishing Payakan farther away forcing Lo’ak into a more removed subplot. It drives Lo’ak to despair and he almost gives up utterly. Because it’s not just painful to lose once. It’s painful to keep losing, even when you thought you’d seen a way out not long ago. And it’s in those moments when you have to tap into inner strength to take the longer journey and make a bigger stand.
You condense these moments as shorthand to entertain. You stretch them out when you’ve written full characters that won’t be contained.
It’s your prerogative to disagree. I understand if you saw the potential to go somewhere different with this entry and were let down. I get that you only have so much time on this earth and 6+ hours of “can the Sullys team up with the whales to stop the decimation of a beautiful island paradise culture” asks a lot of you. But, for me, I’ve come to deeply admire what Cameron and his team have invested in building these stories. I think we’re privileged to spend time with these characters and marvel at these waters.
And I like when the whales make things go boom. Maybe some other creature will make different things go boom next time, but I love that we built up to that in two separate movies.
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