It’s hard to believe James Cameron has released a new film just three years after his last given it took 12 years between Titanic and Avatar, and then another 13 between that and Avatar: The Way of Water.

That context is important when watching Avatar: Fire and Ash, the latest entry in Cameron’s epic sci-fi series.

Whereas Way of Water was a big reset following a cavernous gap after the original Avatar, Fire and Ash picks up right where we left off.

This makes complete sense given they were largely filmed together and initially envisaged as one film during the writing stage.

The two films tell one big story and, in that respect, it’s a success; they both stand alone as complete narratives while complementing one another.

Fire and Ash expands on a lot of what is introduced and set up in Way of Water on a character level, story level, visually, and from a world-building perspective.

We spend much more time with the beautiful Tulkuns and come to understand more of their world and culture. To me, they are the heart and soul of Way of Water and Fire and Ash.

We learn more about the origin of Sigourney Weaver’s Kiri and her spiritual journey, which culminates in perhaps the most jaw-dropping visual in the series to date.

Sam Worthington’s Jake Sully remains the protagonist, but his adopted human son Spider (Jack Champion) is at the centre of the film’s dramatic tension, acting as the connective tissue between Sully and his biological father, series antagonist Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang).

I have loved Quaritch’s evolution as a reborn Na’vi since his fate in the first film, and Fire and Ash takes it in a fascinating direction. Coming to terms with his Na’vi body and better understanding their culture, he strategically befriends the newly introduced Ash people and forms an interesting relationship with their leader Varang (Oona Chaplin).

The Ash people, godless and culturally very different to other Na’vi, are more self-interested and open to working alongside the human colonial forces on Pandora.

Fire and Ash is also more experimental than the first two Avatars from both a story perspective and visually, with interspecies romance between the humans and Na’vi, subtle drug references, visions of gods, and sacrificial killings.

The lack of visual innovation has been raised as a criticism of Fire and Ash, but what’s put on the screen is still industry leading.

Not since 1994’s True Lies has Cameron made a film that wasn’t technologically groundbreaking (no shade on True Lies by the way, it was the most expensive film ever made at the time and that sequence of Arnie on horseback is remarkable).

Titanic involved successfully staging the sinking with a level of waterwork that had never been done before, Avatar revolutionised what could be done with motion capture and computer-generated filmmaking, and Way of Water invented underwater mo-cap.

The criticisms of the dialogue are valid, but Cameron has always used dialogue as a necessary function to create the extraordinary visuals he’s always excelled at.

Remarkable set pieces include the stunning Windtrader airships, while later in the film, a confined ‘jailbreak’ sequence within the man-made city on Pandora is thrilling. The final act involves so many moving pieces that it is a marvel and a testament to Cameron’s skill in directing action that it remains remotely coherent.

His ability to coherently direct remarkably complex action sequences and keep the audience completely aware of what’s going on is second-to-none.

Despite that, my main criticism of Fire and Ash is the third act, which, while magnificently directed and built throughout the film, is more of what we’ve seen in previous entries.

I understand narratively why it had to be that way, but I would have liked to have seen the mould broken.

I left the film satisfied but wanting more. The scripts for the fourth and fifth films are written, and a third of Avatar 4 has been shot since 2019, but Cameron has been talking about leaving it here should the film’s box office reception not demand more.

He says he’s tired and wants to explore other stories, which, having dedicated the last 25 years of his life to Avatar, is understandable. I wouldn’t blame the great man for stepping back, but I would be bitterly disappointed if the franchise is left here permanently.

Verdict: Continuation rather than innovation, Fire and Ash builds on what Way of Water established, fleshing out key characters and the world of Pandora in a way that will satisfy fans of the franchise. I do hope the story continues. 4 stars.