REVIEW: ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ advances story in repetitive fashion

There’s a spot in the filing cabinet at the Department of Redundancy Department for this film’s script.

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” once again brings audiences to the moon world of Pandora. Set not long after the events of the second film, the latest “Avatar” picks up with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family still living along the ocean with the water tribe.

While they managed to repel an offensive in the last film, there’s stress for Jake, who knows the humans are still working to not only exploit the world’s resources, but wipe out more Na’vi. Plus, Jake is being hunted by Col. Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who has partnered with an antagonistic Na’vi tribe to go after the Sully family.

That lede may seem harsh, but man, does this thing feel like familiar territory. The scenery and story are much the same, once again taking place along the ocean with the looming threat of human expansion, plus Quaritch representing a primary threat as a hunter.

Other beats, from Neytiri being prejudiced toward the human boy Spider, to the character Kiri learning about a special connection with the planet, are also back. The repetitive nature is through most of the film, too, right through the big climax in the final half hour, as a battle unfolds in a similar way to past installments.

“Way of Water” at least had the benefit of taking place several years after the first film, being set in a different location and offering a new dynamic for its main characters. “Fire and Ash” doesn’t have that luxury, and there’s not much in terms of new material built here.

The “Avatar” series has never particularly been too spectacular in its plot department. However, the first one benefitted from a nice way to develop the story via Jake’s video diary entries. Again, “Fire and Ash” doesn’t have that to rely on. It pretty much has to stand on its own from a narrative sense, and the result is nothing phenomenal.

That’s not to say there’s nothing new thrown into the mix. The introduction of an antagonistic Na’vi tribe is intriguing. However, the issue with them is they’re almost too villainous. It’d be one thing if the humans simply found a tribe with a grudge against the “good” Na’vi and exploited them via enticements of modern technology, but that’s not as much the case.

The leader Varang (Oona Chaplin) and her tribe aren’t portrayed as just another society that’s maybe more militaristic or aggressive. They’re shown basically like evil version of the Na’vi, so much so that you’d expect them to have red skin instead of blue.

On top of that, it’s rather strange that the humans have been on this world for quite a long time and they’re just now discovering a tribe they could side with to eliminate some of their Na’vi enemies. That’s not the only area where some questions arise, either. Another is in relation to what the goal of the humans is.

In the first one, the goal was clear, drill to harvest the mineral unobtanium. Now, that film never showed the humans putting that material into any machine or generator so the audience never learned just how precious it was. But, who cares. That doesn’t even matter anymore, because now the hot commodity is Pandora whale brain juice that stops aging.

Considering the massive amounts of resources humans have shipped to this planet, as well as the level of technology, the idea that the only benefit to the product is it prevents aging just doesn’t really sell the value. Also, the audience was just told about these properties in the second film, but in that one or this movie, we’re never shown it in practice to see its qualities.

The result is an ongoing lack of nuance with the opposition forces in the movie, both with the humans and the new Na’vi tribe. So, how about the other side of the spectrum? Well, it’s a mixed bag.

The water tribe featured in the sequel was never particularly that interesting, and unfortunately, that’s pretty much the same case again. The main family, though, does continue to have a nice dynamic. It’s interesting seeing some tension between Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and Jake as they navigate an uncertain future.

Surprisingly, though, it’s actually a character adjacent to the Sully family who has the most compelling journey. The path for Spider is an interesting one, both because of what he means to the human forces because of a development halfway through the picture, and his budding relationship with the Kiri (Sigourney Weaver).

The issue is that Spider’s actor, Jack Champion, is still not a heavily experienced performer, meaning some of the drama scenes he’s in are a little rough around the edges. However, he’s still interesting to follow. The rest of the cast is fine for the most part, too, with Worthington, Saldana and Lang all serviceable.

But of course, the big question is, how does it look? The answer, like the last films, is it looks great. Visually, the movie is stunning, with Pandora continuing to be a lush, mystical world brought fabulously to life by incredible special effects. There are several stunning set pieces throughout the flick.

Additionally, one can appreciate the tech on display from the humans. The sci-fi vehicles, mech suits and more have always been awesome looking in this series, and that’s true again. The only thing that wasn’t very awesome was a moment where a lot of humans at their base are recording a scene on their devices. It just seems kind of silly that these people were looking to, I guess, share something on social media in a year nearing 2,200.

Since 2009, the “Avatar” films have felt repetitive, with the first one having large similarities to existing media and its sequel rehashing some ideas. At the same time, they’ve delivered on spectacle. “Fire and Ash” continues the trend.

It  is a treat for the eyes and features some moderately interesting adventures for the protagonists. However, the story is still simplified to the point of lacking richness, there’s a shortage of nuance in the conflicts and the environmental message is thin. 3.35 out of 5.