Trailer Reaction – Avatar: Fire and Ash

James Cameron is back. Again. Still. Forever.

The third Avatar movie has a trailer now. Fire and Ash. Because we did water in the second one and now we’re doing fire. There will presumably be an earth-themed one eventually because Cameron is going to keep making these until the heat death of the universe.

What’s in the trailer. Let me tell you.

Blue people. More blue people. Different blue people — these ones apparently live near volcanoes or something because they’re gray-ish and look vaguely menacing. Jake Sully looking worried. Neytiri looking fierce. The kids from the last movie looking older.

The visuals are — and I hate admitting this — stunning. Cameron’s team continues to push CGI beyond what anyone else is doing. There are shots in this trailer that don’t look like CGI. They look like documentary footage of a planet that doesn’t exist. Say what you will about Cameron but the man’s technical craft is undeniable.

But.

What is this ABOUT. The first movie was Dances with Wolves in space. The second was. Water. Family. Things happening in water. This one appears to be. Fire. Things happening near fire. Different tribe with different traditions. More conflict with humans who never stop trying to colonize Pandora despite having lost twice now.

The environmental message remains present and extremely unsubtle. The humans are literally called “The Sky People” and they’re ruining everything. Cameron is not interested in nuance. He’s interested in showing you beautiful things being destroyed by greedy industrialists. Over and over. For three hours. In 3D.

I’ll see it. Of course I’ll see it. Cameron’s theatrical spectacles demand theatrical viewing. Even if the story is thin and the characters are archetypes and the dialogue makes me wince, the experience of seeing what he builds is worth the ticket price.

But I’m going in expecting visual wonder and emotional emptiness. Same as the last two.

At least I know what I’m getting.