POPCORN REVIEWSS

Written by James Cameron, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, the events of Avatar Fire and Ash begins with a newfound streak of grief following the death of Neteyam, the elder son of Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). The worst affected remains their younger son Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) who reminisces his time witb his brother while quietly living a grief-stricken life, even while dustancing himself from Jake. Neytiri is dealing with a baggage of her own, quietly coping with a sense of loss in a home away from home. In a way, Neytiri is similar to Eywa, the world mother of nature that has begun to see her children being ripped off in extinction by greed-stricken humans that are known to destroy the environment. The threat of capitalism to Pandora and the Na’vi clan is still real, even with the use of familiar elements in play in the form of the deceased-but-now-revived-avatar of Quaritch (Stephen Lang).

It is interesting how one of the initial conflicts is an internal one – one between the youngsters of the Na’vi tribe pitting them against the elders. The difference in ideology is evident during a fleeting moment wherein the use of guns is being discussed. The elders have a more conventional say – guns equals to more killings and more deaths, something opposed to by the youngsters. At the center of the conflict remains Spider (Jack Champion) – a humanoid who would soon be the center of attraction between the humans and the Na’vi tribe. To give him company is Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), a Christ-like entity grown up in the vicinity of nature without being aware of the existence of her mother. It is one of the elemental forms of the drama that would go onto form a recurring theme.

The theme aligning to the title of the film Avatar: Fire and Ash is more to do with destruction – and that marks the introduction of Varang (Oona Chaplin), the visually striking leader of the cult-group Mangkwan – given how fire from a volcano had destroyed their homes, only for the clan to worship the fire and use it as a form of destruction. In a way, the Mangkwan tribe remains opposite to the water-logged Matkayina clan that stands for peace. And when the character dynamics brings Varang and Quaritch together (in a nod to Fire and ‘Hash’ 😂), the lines of morality and survival are set.

One of the core themes from a character perspective remains Spider’s internal conflict of aspiring to serve the humans featuring his biological father Quaritch, or siding with his parents who chose to adopt him. In the same breath, I wished for a little more meat to this dynamic that would go onto be the center point of the eventual war that would transpire. Likewise, I liked how the character of Varang was shaping up – a zero remorse head of the clan with eccentric tones that would potentially be the perfect nemesis for the Na’vi clan. Her introduction of her clan invading the Windtraders (based on the Silk Route Caravan), resulting in a mid-air action sequence to savour did set the ball rolling, at times even spreading in the forest area or in the deep-sea waters of the planet. But the clutch moment arrived when she joined hands with Quaritch – who trades his gun knowledge for ‘pleasure’ while serving a common goal to invade the Na’vi. Ironically from that point, Varang is less threatening and more of a side-chick to Quaritch.

I liked the use of elementals in a bid for survival – a subtext and a nod to universal brotherhood even as you witness the joining of forces between the sea creatures along with aerial support in a finale that is astounding. Even characters joining their Kulus to the elementals, gives a profound idea on an alliance that can only prosper without human intervention. As a layer beneath, it did talk about unity in a very different manner – with different clans having different views on violence and death, while uniting on the common goal of survival. It is almost symbolic to fire and ash – two elementals that go hand-in-hand, one acting as a means of cleansing, and the other the byproduct of survival. In all of it, care is taken to keep the emotional quotient in check – a dying mother seeing her newborn for the first (and the last) time, an indifferent father-son bond that finds its voice at a crucial juncture, and another father-son equation that ends in a tragedy. This, while subtly leaving gaps for a potential fourth part of Avatar. People might complain, but I am not!