James Cameron finally made a threequel, and now we know why he usually doesn’t. Despite stepping in to write and direct one of the greatest sequels ever made with Aliens, and later delivering true event sequels to his own films with Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Avatar: The Way of Water, last year’s Fire and Ash feels oddly familiar. The man is the undisputed champ of boundary-pushing cinematic spectacle, so it’s an impressive achievement for sure, but somewhere along the way he forgot to give audiences something new.
The title is a metaphor for hatred and grief, both weighing heavily on Na’vi warrior Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), who lost a son in the last chapter. Her husband Jake (Sam Worthington) is still being hunted by his former-human nemesis, Quaritch (Stephen Lang), as an alleged terrorist and traitor to his race, while their sort-of-foster-son Spider (Jack Champion) has problems of his own. The family decides that the best place for this “pink-skin” is with his own kind, so they’re off on a new journey, one cut short by the marauding Ash People, a clan of infidels who have turned their back on Pandora’s divine Eywa. Led by the ruthless, seductive Varang (Oona Chaplin), they target anyone who clings to their spiritual connection to Pandora, and an unholy alliance soon makes them a serious threat to all who would oppose them.
This of course leads to jungle skirmishes, aerial battles, whalefights and plenty of other action set pieces…all of which we’ve seen before. Honestly, Fire and Ash feels a lot like a redux of The Way of Water. So if you’re a fan of more-of-the-same sequels, and I do mean more, this one runs three hours and 17 minutes, the longest Avatar film yet, this one’s for you.
Fire and Ash was captured in native 4K and native 3D, so there is no upscaling or 3D conversion in the chain. The studio also states that no AI was used here, despite Cameron’s comments that those tools could factor into the fourth and fifth installments. The Oscar-winning special effects are mind-blowingly realistic: We believe that the skin, hair and other elements are genuine, right down to the tiny bumps and cracks in the warpaint. I haven’t seen this many shades of blue since… The Way of Water, and there’s even some unspoken sunburn on one character who stays out too long without his SPF. The lush, glowing forest is as beautiful as we remember, its supernatural energy all around us, and the bright daytime scenes are very bright, some might say too bright in places, but I wasn’t bothered by it.
Credit where it’s due, Cameron doesn’t just compose for 3D, he conceives for 3D, and his storytelling benefits tremendously from the technology. (I keep a first-gen curved LG OLED hooked up for such occasions.) The HD 3D movie is split across two discs to reduce compression and the detail is extraordinary, surprisingly good in the darker areas of the 1.85:1 image. The layers of action are convincingly separated with an appreciable depth that serves to enhance the sense of scale on any size TV. Some of the more dramatic shots had me clutching the armrest, but there was no recurrence of the fleeting vertigo I experienced when watching The Way of Water in IMAX 3D four years ago. In fact, beyond the expected step down in brightness, I encountered no real issues with the 3D.
Theatrical audio for the 4K is Dolby Atmos with a TrueHD 7.1 core. If you prefer the cleaned-up, family-friendly track, you’ll be stepping down to a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1. Over on the bundled 1080p Blu-ray, the audio maxes out at DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. On the Blu-ray 3D presentation, listen for DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1. The Atmos height channels are put to good use, as we spend a lot more time in the air this go-around, with plenty of wind and lots of swooshing when we’re under the water. There’s generous LFE when the story demands it, particularly in Act III when the battles get explosive, and the frenetic combat between the airborne banshees and heavy metal gunships sends objects all around your home theater.
In all cases, there are no extras on any of the movie discs, and the bundled 1080p Blu-ray and bonus disc are identical between these two separate releases. An almost-three-hour “making of” documentary resides on the final platter, broken into a series of neat, focused topics. Other highlights include a Miley Cyrus music video and an extremely respectful tribute to the late producer Jon Landau, to whom the movie is dedicated. The same extras are accessible via the supplied Movies Anywhere digital copy. As meaty as this bonus content is, past experience leads me to wonder if there’s some super-special edition in the offing.
Nearly $1.5B at the box office proves that James Cameron’s sci-fi epic still has plenty of juice left and these Fire and Ash discs triumph in terms of 4K video, immersive 3D and ferocious surround sound. Behind the scenes, however, the creative gears are clearly grinding and the Avatar formula is showing its age.
Movie Details
- STUDIO: Fox/Disney
- THEATRICAL RELEASE YEAR: 2025
- ASPECT RATIO: 1.85:1
- LENGTH: 197 mins.
- MPAA RATING: PG-13
- DIRECTOR: James Cameron
- STARRING: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Oona Chaplin, Jack Champion, Sigourney Weaver
- 4K:
- FORMAT: Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray (May 19, 2026)
- HDR FORMATS: Dolby Vision, HDR10
- AUDIO FORMAT: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- 3D:
- FORMAT: Blu-ray 3D (May 19, 2026)
- HDR FORMATS: N/A
- AUDIO FORMAT: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Our Ratings
★★★★★★★★★★ Movie
★★★★★★★★★★ Picture (for both 4K and 3D)
★★★★★★★★★★ Sound
★★★★★★★★★★ Extras
Where to buy:
Related Reading:
- Speed Racer 4K UHD Review: Go Speed Racer Go, The Wachowskis’ Cult Classic Finally Gets Its Victory Lap
- Fight Club 4K UHD Review: Jack’s High Dynamic Range Hits Like A Soap-Wrapped Brick
- 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple 4K UHD Review: Still Infected Or Just Going Through The Motions?
- The Wizard Of Oz At Sphere Las Vegas: Dorothy Meets The Death Star
