Came in with high hopes, but I’m starting to worry that this franchise is slipping into cruise control. There’s nothing particularly novel here. This film coasts on many of the same conflicts, relationships, and action beats we’ve already seen.
Once again, the humans are the looming evil, determined to return unless they’re stopped now. Once again, this is the battle, this is where the stand must be taken. Once again, Sully gives his unifying speeches to rally the clans, which are tellingly glossed over, perhaps because actually showing them would reveal just how repetitive they’ve become. Once again, the kids misbehave. And once again, Eywa intervenes, with whales crashing ships, new creatures rising from the deep, and salvation arriving on cue. Too much of it feels recycled. I never count James Cameron out, but the challenge ahead is real. How will Cameron keep it new and interesting? If this story continues, I wonder whether it will remain within the Na’vi world or finally move beyond Pandora, perhaps to Polyphemus or even Earth.
Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña deliver more of what we expect. Stephen Lang, as Quaritch, remains gloriously conniving, somehow even more dastardly this time around. Oona Chaplin is a welcome addition as Varang, a real bitch. Spider, unfortunately, ends up as the story’s hero without really earning it dramatically, especially given that he had saved Quaritch’s life and never truly reckoned with that choice. Jack Champion’s lackluster performance doesn’t help.
The most interesting moments come when Sully and Quaritch share flashes of mutual respect, even cooperating briefly. That’s a tricky dynamic to pull off, taking clever writing and careful structuring of the story. The implied, drug-fueled sexual relationship between Quaritch and Varang is also intriguing. In her, Quaritch may have finally met his equal.
Varang survives the film, so we’ll almost certainly see more of her. But is Quaritch actually dead? We’re denied the kind of definitive, brutal death that would have felt dramatically satisfying. Instead, we’re left with ambiguity, and the lingering cheat of endlessly resurrecting him via conveniently stored memories implanted into new avatar bodies. If that’s the plan, Quaritch risks becoming a tired villain on permanent repeat.
Action and effects are, as always, stunning. But after the novelty and technical breakthroughs of the earlier films, there’s less here to inspire awe. Cameron has spoiled us. I think it’s funny/cool/interesting that the effects in this one are no more impressive than the effects in the first Avatar (2009).
Cameron has hinted that he’s grown tired of devoting decades of his life to this saga and wants to move on to other projects. I don’t blame him. At this point, I suspect many of us might agree that it’s time. It would be a shame to limit the creative genius at this point in his career if he’s got more stories to tell.
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