'Avatar: Fire and Ash' movie review: ‘Avatar’ sequel has spark, but fails to take off

It would be fair to say the audience has a lot of expectations from the ‘Avatar’ brand, the half-packed theatre at 6 am being a testament to this. Starting from where the previous movie ended, ‘Fire and Ash’ charts the path taken by the Sully family as they battle a common foe and an unexpected new enemy.

Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) face conflicted emotions following the loss of their son, with Neytiri’s heart filled with hate for humankind, even as Spider (Jack Champion) continues to form deeper bonds with Jake’s kids.

Jake continues to inspire his people, even as Colonel Miles (Stephen Lang) is hot on his trail to capture him and give the sky people unhindered access to “amrita”. Realising his futile efforts to defeat Jake, Miles plots to weaponise the Mangkwan clan, led by Varang (Oona Chaplin), a ruthless leader who feels she has been betrayed by Eywa.

While the makers intend to offer a depth of emotions ranging from parenthood to brotherhood to love and sacrifice, these emotions don’t do justice on screen, failing to evoke a strong reaction. There are also multiple sub plots, and the movie feels repetitive, with Eywa ultimately coming to save everyone. The theme revolves around the endless greed of the sky people and Jake’s attempt to save the original way of life of the people, which is what we have seen in the past two movies as well.

The visuals are the standout, which are mesmerising in certain parts. However, on the whole, ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ fails to ignite and merely remains a muted spark.