Dominating the Silver Screen
With the release of Fire And Ash Scarlett Johansson has been dethroned as the highest paid actress of all time by Zoe Saldana. Zoe Saldana has got a stake in a few major franchises which boosts her profile.
She shares a slice of Marvel movies with Scarlett as well as Star Trek, not to mention a whole slew of films in between the big tentpoles. She stays busy and has been richly rewarded to the tune of $15.46 billion. This outdoes the highest paid man who’s apparently Samuel L. Jackson at $14.6 billion. The only year she hasn’t been in at least one film since she got her film break in 2000 was once in 2015, and even that year she narrated a documentary. She just never stops, and we’re here for it.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is in the midst of its theatrical run, and at the time of writing we’ve already seen it pass the $1 billion threshold despite haters believing it might tank after an average opening weekend. I saw it at IMAX, the native environment for Avatar films, and maintained my awe at the visuals for the entire three-hour or so hour runtime. It didn’t look real, it looked hyper-real. Only James Cameron can bring to life so much water (again) and totally immerse me in it.
The “again” is perhaps my only sticking point with the film. The emotional core of the movie, the Sully family holding it together against overwhelming odds is what makes these movies live and breathe. The nature angle everyone always harp on about is merely set dressing to the core conflict of responsibility to one’s own kin. Even one of the primary antagonists is essentially fighting for co-parenting rights at some level.
The film is perhaps a little long and could do with a trimming, although there’s only a few shots that could have been dropped without losing out on some bombastic action sequences. The final battle suffers from being some sort of an encore to the second film. You’ll feel like you’ve got déjà vu watching it. Beat for beat it’s almost exactly the same. I’m still trying to decide how intentional this decision was, but people hoping for more fire and maybe a little ash will be disappointed at the amount of time actually spent in that location. I will hand it to Cameron though, he surprised me by not making this a “we’re in a new biome isn’t that cool” sequel. Instead it drifts toward where the Sullys would naturally go in a time of crisis, for better or worse. Personally I just think Cameron wants as much of an excuse to splash around in a pool of water as he can get.
The most consequential addition to the cast in this entry is the leader of the ash tribe, Varang played by Oona Chaplin who absolutely knocks it out of the park with her confidence and predatory sensuality. If anything she didn’t get enough screentime, as later in the film her scenes would be overwhelmed by the overbearing nature of Stephen Lang’s character. If anyone should get an Oscar in this film it’s Oona Chaplin.
My last hangup with the film is the variable framerates employed throughout. This was essentially my only complaint with the second film, and I publicly called for Cameron to drop the practice. But I guess he doesn’t read M2 and if he does he’s paid way too much to care about this lowly worm of a writer’s opinion. For those that don’t know what I’m going on about, the film is 48 frames per second, while most movies are in 24. Being in 24 gives film a “film vibe” while 48 mostly looks like home video shot on your phone, because that’s where you see it most often. It’s somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy, but the benefits of a high framerate are undeniable once you get beyond “looks weird”. Panning shots are crisp instead of stuttery, and a lot of action is easier to follow. But Cameron will artificially create a 24 frame look by doubling the image of individual frames. This is usually done on still shots with real human actors, and you might not even notice it most of the time when it’s done right. But when it’s done poorly, as it is with a shot or two of Jemaine Clement running with CGI characters then the frame shift can feel jarring and sloppy.
Once again I beseech Cameron, please just stick to one framerate and let people get used to the idea of high FPS films. We’re ready.
Speaking of ready, despite some repetition in this film, I’m locked and loaded to go for the next two films. Get started!