NEWS

The latest installment in the Avatar franchise, Avatar 3 further expands upon the world of Pandora with stunning visuals and incredible advances in movie making technology. Though considered the third movie in the franchise, Avatar 3 functions more as a second half of the story set up in the second film. Side characters like Spider and Kiri are now major focal points in the new film. One notable addition to the franchise is new villain Varang, played by Oona Chaplin.

As a delightfully sadistic character, Varang easily becomes one of the most entertaining parts of the film. Unfortunately, while she was advertised as the main villain, she is quickly sidelined and the title of main villain is returned to Miles Quaritch. It is well known that the main focus of the Avatar franchise has always been the visuals, and Avatar 3 is certainly no exception. Where the first film focused on forests, and the second film focused on underwater scenery, Avatar 3 now puts focus on flight and pyrotechnics.

This results in almost every scene feeling like a work of art. However, the focus on visuals makes story an afterthought. The theme of protecting plants and animals has been done ad nauseam, and James Cameron is well aware of this, so he doesn’t seem to feel the need to put as much effort into the writing. Therefore, rather than using visuals to tell a story, he uses the story to show off visuals. This makes not only Avatar 3, but the entire franchise live or die based on the quality of your screen. Without the biggest and most advanced screen, this film has little to no life outside of theaters.

Overall, Avatar 3 isn't a film so much as it is a tech demo. This film is more of an excuse for James Cameron to experiment with new media technology. While it is phenomenal in theaters, its popularity will most likely diminish significantly once it no longer has access to a big screen.

6/10