Avatar: Fire and Ash review: Disappointing rehash of parts 1 and 2 stretched to three hours, grand visuals can't save boring screenplay

Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar continues to perform strongly at the box office and is set to enter the Rs 500 crore club soon. The film was released on December 5, 2025. Meanwhile, Kapil Sharma's Kis Kis Ko Pyaar Karoon 2, which hit theatres last week, failed to make an impact at the box office.

On December 19, 2025, Avatar: Fire and Ash—James Cameron's third instalment in his blockbuster sci-fi franchise, was released. The film has received a mixed response, with some critics labelling it boring and lacking substance. However, reactions on social media have been more divided, with many praising the film's visuals and VFX, describing the cinematic experience as emotionally stirring.

Netizens have mixed reactions to Avatar: Fire and Ash

A user wrote, "PEAK CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE. MINDBLOWING storytelling and visuals, BEST movie in the Avatar franchise. Only downside: some scenes are repetitive and slightly predictable. A MUST WATCH on the big screen, once in a lifetime experience.."

Another post read, "I really want Avatar 3 to be successful because I NEED more villain romances #AvatarFireAndAsh #Avatar3FireAndAsh #quaritch #Varang."

One noted, "JAMES CAMERON, YOU MADE ME CRY... THIS MOVIE IS MY FAV.."

The next one said, "Watched #AvatarFireAndAsh. Basically the same things i liked from the second one is there too. Visually amazing and very entertaining, those 3 plus hours doesn't feel and never got boring watching it. Varang and Quaritch are great tbh."

Another social media user shared, "Like the other movies, the HFR 3D is SUPERB. Please watch this in 3D and Dolby. You will thank me. These movies are an experience meant to be seen in a large format. If you don't do that, you're only getting half the fun. Also Jake Sully is FINALLY a great character here. He gets to shine much more, as a father, a warrior, and a dad. Liked him in the other movies. LOVED him in this. There are some fantastic action set pieces as well. The first big one about 45 minutes is jaw dropping, and highly benefits from the sound design."

"#AvatarFireAndAsh is great and caught me off guard a few times This is Jim Cameron getting trippy and esoteric 8/10... Just take me back to Pandora," one shared.

A fan on X, "Avatar Fire And Ash is technically much more sophisticated and has some brilliant visuals! I only wish it could have a better emotional connection with the characters like it's previous installments! Fully Enjoyed watching it in Imax as the whole film is presented in PLF!"

A review on X read, "Every moment between Quaritch and Varang is filled with tension and seduction, and I was here for it. Cameron still doesn't know how teenagers talk at all, and I was starting to lose it if I had to hear any of them say "bro" one more time. I think one of the film's biggest weak spots is when it tries to just repeat what we've seen in the last two films, which you see a lot unfortunately in that final hour. I never loved the Tulkun stuff in the last film, and that's back here in full force (including a whale trial), but it did have more payoff here. Also, depending on if we get an Avatar 4, I felt the ending was really abrupt and some of the plot threads could've gotten more closure.

The next one mentioned, "Saw #AvatarFireAndAsh tonight and I'm deeply disappointed. Despite being a huge fan, James Cameron completely missed the mark. It's a recycle of the last film's weaknesses, with a muddled story & poorly written characters (️ ) dragging it down. I'm shocked by how much a particular character was front and center this time around and how badly they were written and the performance was just as bad. The stunning visuals couldn't save this weak narrative this time around. Pretty bad all around..."

Filmmaker James Cameron on Avatar: Fire and Ash

Filmmaker James Cameron earlier shared his thoughts on the idea of Artificial Intelligence replacing humans in films and said it's nothing but horrifying. Cameron, known for acclaimed films such as Titanic and the Avatar franchise, said he loves working with the actors and doesn't want generative AI to take over it. Cameron noted that today's AI-driven tools pose a different challenge altogether. "Now, go to the other end of the spectrum, and you've got generative AI, where they can make up a character. They can make up an actor. They can make up a performance from scratch with a text prompt. It's like, no. That's horrifying to me. That's the opposite. That's exactly what we're not doing," he said in an interview with ANI.

About Avatar Fire and Ash

Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third instalment in the franchise following Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). The film premiered at the Dolby Theatre on December 1 and will be released in theatres on December 19. James Cameron's two previous epics, 2009's Avatar and 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water, each grossed well over $2 billion globally and stand as two of the biggest movies in history.

After registering a record-breaking collection,  Avatar: Fire And Ash saw a low collection at the box office in India on the opening day. As per Sacnilk, at the time of publishing, the science fiction movie amassed a total of Rs 18.07 Cr on the first day. The collection is likely to witness a little growth from the late-night shows. The Avatar: Fire And Ash collection is expected to record an uptick in the coming weekend and further during the Christmas holiday.