Commentary: ‘Avatar: Fire And Ash’ Is Not About Plot Or Characters

There are many different building blocks to a story. It’s not just about characters and the plot they must undertake. There’s also tone as well as theme and setting. If one story is lacking in a certain area, it’s probably because it is attempting to be strong in another one. A lot of the criticism leveled at Avatar: Fire and Ash focused on the generic plot and one-dimensional characters. But those things were never meant to be groundbreaking. Instead, the Avatar films are all about theme and setting, which is exactly where the film excels.

Picking up where Avatar: The Way Of Water left off, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is considered a terrorist and public enemy #1 by the humans. With the Na’vi on the brink of war with humanity, he tries to convince the blue aliens that they have to use modern weapons against the humans’ superior technology. As this takes place, Spider (Jack Champion), a human who lives amongst the Na’vi, continues to struggle with his chosen lifestyle given that he can’t breathe the air. Jake’s adopted daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) saves Spider when he’s on the brink of death by utilizing the moon’s mycelium and reconfiguring his body chemistry to breathe their air.

Many of the film’s plot elements pitting the Na’vi and humans against each other are recycled from the previous movies. However, the plot is probably the least interesting part of the film. It goes deeper into the universe’s lore as it explores the different Na’vi cultures existing on Pandora and the extraordinarily unique ecology that unites them. Watching Spider evolve from a standard human into something completely different is awe-inspiring. The Na’vi culture and their connection to Pandora is the driving force. So the characters and the plot do not generate the fascination with Avatar. It’s the incredible setting of Pandora and the themes around cultures clashing that make it a favorite among many.

Avatar: Fire and Ash is now streaming on Disney+.