It’s hard to believe there was a thirteen-year wait between James Cameron’s groundbreaking, box-office champion Avatar and its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water. Part of that wait was the herculean task of filming both The Way of Water and the newest third film Fire & Ash at the same time and allowing three years of post-production between the two films. As the gargantuan visual achievements they are, three years of post-production is both warranted and all over the screen. In an era where over-budgeted modern blockbusters are slapped together with visual effects teams working to the bone on crunched time to make a rushed calendar date, Cameron’s films have the luxury of time with every moment of time before its release devoted to perfection. Much like his productions, Cameron views his films as immersive experiences that feel in no rush to reach their finish. 

Titanic, his first 3-plus hour epic, was for years the most popular movie ever made. Avatar, close to three-hours is still currently the highest-grossing movie of all time. The Way of Water, despite post-pandemic release, is the third highest-grossing movie of all time. Cameron isn’t afraid to over-indulge because he knows the audience will keep coming back. All of those films, despite their length, still paced incredibly well. There is no doubt Fire & Ash will be a hit and much like its predecessors, it’s a feast for the eyes, the most exciting and thrilling 3D museum of stunning imagery you’ll ever see in a theater. 

But unlike the first two films, its pace is unwieldy, the story structure is pure madness, and its reliance on repeating beats of its previous film (this was once one story, now split in two) is underwhelming coming from a filmmaker who was the king of advancing beyond what has come before. It’s only a few minutes longer than The Way of Water and feels an hour longer, building to moments of genuine climax before veering off into a completely different direction again and again. It sounds like a disaster, those already unimpressed by the series may watch this feeling like their trapped in the maze from The Shining. But how Cameron is still able to make all of his cinematic mumbo-jumbo work as a must-see spectacle anyway is a miracle. The first viewing might be a draining, overwhelming experience, and yet, to take the trip all over again would be nothing but a guilty pleasure. 

One year after the climactic sea battle fought in defense by his family and the Metkayina clan, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) are still under threat from the RDA. Now grieving the loss of their oldest son Neteyam, they must make the difficult decision give up their care of Spider (Jack Champion) and send him to live with “the sky people”, the good humans and scientists that assisted the Na’vi against the corporate colonizers. But during their initial transport, they are attacked by the Mangkwan clan, or “the Ash people”, a fire-obsessed tribe led by the psychotic and war-mongering Varang (Oona Chaplin). With their presence, all literal hell breaks loose. 

Varang poses a both Fire & Ash’s biggest strength and one of its greatest weaknesses. Oona Chaplin is sensational as the unpredictable, deadly villain, eye-catching almost immediately and a physical and vocal performance so captivating, yet so terrifying. Cameron is no slouch in creating memorable villains and Varang is as evil as they come. The issue is that because the film is juggling so much in its 197-minute runtime, any time she’s not onscreen can feel like an eternity. Used far more in the front half than the back, her presence is sorely missed for extended amounts of time, begging to be included in many of the film’s dramatic sequences. 

The second film spent much more time than expected building the Sully children: Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), Tuk (Trinity Bliss), and adoptive daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver, whose proper parentage is finally explained in this film). Their growth was both earned and rewarding, but it did punt Jake and Neytiri to the background after their starring roles in the original film. This time, it’s the reverse. The Na’vi kids are given far less to do, with Jake in particular taking center stage again. That said, it’s not Saldaña that regains co-lead. That honor, surprisingly goes to the polarizing Spider AKA “Miles Jr.” Those unimpressed with the character’s inclusion in The Way of Water, may dread the amount of time Fire & Ash focuses on him. It’s true, both his character’s dreadlock Tarzan look and Champion’s youthful cringe can come off unintentionally laughable, but Cameron’s clear admiration of his young creation is so profusely sincere and his character growth and importance to the larger story proves admittedly essential. He is the center of Jake and Neytiri’s current marital tension, with the warrior mother still burdened with resentment of Spider’s humanity, a physical reminder of her lost son. He is the object of his father Miles Quaritch’s affection, emotionally torn by the sparing of his life, but still hoping his son will join his side. 

The return of familiar characters played Kate Winslet, Giovanni Ribisi, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, and Joel David Moore are less significant to the story, players on a massive chessboard just moving around in the battle of good versus bad. It’s actually impressive how much time Cameron singles in on Jake, Neytiri, Spider, and Quaritch for as much time as he’s given himself to tell this third story and for how many places he takes them all before wrapping everything up. It’s not a film with a simple three structure. On the contrary, prepare yourself for close to ten acts, all complete with a moment or two guaranteed to take your breath away over and over. 

This is guaranteed to the be the most divisive chapter. Not just because of where Cameron “gets weird with it” (and he does “get weird with it”, whale courtroom trials included), but where his audience may decide to finally draw the line. As someone who felt The Way of Water was not only a step-up from the original, but one of the best blockbusters of the modern era, slight disappointment in this third chapter does not pass below the barrier of enjoyment. Sometimes spectacle is good enough, as films were literally invented to be, as long as expectations are in check. Years from now, further viewings of Cameron’s “throw everything at the wall” sequel will just become three-and-a-half hours of pleasurable nonsense. A movie so thrilled to be a movie that it’s almost too much movie for one movie. But who else is doing it like Big Jim?