James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash Struggles With Critics

James Cameron’s latest trip to Pandora hasn’t exactly set the world on fire with the critics. Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third entry in the blockbuster franchise, has landed the lowest critical score of any film in Cameron’s career—if you don’t count the little-seen Piranha II, which he’s long since disowned. With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 69% from over 200 reviews, it’s a fair way behind the earlier Avatar films, which both scored well into the 70s and 80s.

Critical Reception and Comparisons

Fire and Ash’s reception has been a mixed bag. The consensus seems to be that while the film is a visual spectacle, it treads familiar ground and doesn’t bring much new to the table. The Rotten Tomatoes summary puts it bluntly:

“Remaining on the cutting edge of visual effects, Fire and Ash repeats the narrative beats of its predecessors to frustrating effect, but its grand spectacle continues to stoke one-of-a-kind thrills.”

For comparison, the original Avatar scored 81%, and The Way of Water managed 76%. Cameron’s highest-rated effort remains Aliens, which sits at a whopping 94%.

Here’s how Cameron’s films stack up by Rotten Tomatoes score: Aliens (94%), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (91%), The Terminator (90%), Titanic (88%), Aliens of the Deep (84%), Avatar (81%), Ghost of the Abyss (80%), True Lies (77%), The Abyss (76%), Avatar: The Way of Water (76%), and now Avatar: Fire and Ash (69%).

What the Critics Are Saying

Despite the film’s massive $400 million-plus budget, the response has been lukewarm. On Metacritic, it’s sitting at 62 out of 100 from 50 critics. Reviewers have praised the visuals, action, and some of the performances—especially Oona Chaplin as Varang—but many reckon the story is a bit thin and lacking in heart.

Some critics haven’t held back. Nicholas Barber from the BBC called it the

“longest and worst”

of the Avatar films, saying it looked

“unrealistic and un-immersive as an old arcade game.”

Peter Bradshaw at The Guardian described it as

“a gigantically dull hunk of nonsense.”

David Ehrlich from IndieWire said watching it felt like seeing

“one of cinema’s greatest explorers walk in circles for three hours.”

Others were a bit more generous. Ross Bonaime at Collider thought it didn’t match the impact of the first film or improve on the second, but still called it

“an exceptional moviegoing experience that proves there’s still plenty of gas in this tank.”

FandomWire’s Matt Hambidge went so far as to call it

“the best, most emotional Avatar yet.”

Plot and New Directions

This time around, Cameron shifts focus from the familiar Na’vi versus human conflict to explore new cultures and darker themes on Pandora. Fire and Ash introduces two new Na’vi clans: the Tlalim, or Wind Traders, and the Mangkwan, known as the Ash People. The story delves into the more shadowy side of Pandora, with Cameron explaining that the title refers to a cycle of violence and grief:

“If you think of fire as hatred, anger, violence, that sort of thing, and ash is the aftermath. So what’s the aftermath? Grief, loss, right? And then what does that cause in the future? More violence, more anger, more hatred. It’s a vicious cycle. So that’s the thinking.”

Familiar faces return, with Zoe Saldaña and Sam Worthington reprising their roles as Neytiri and Jake Sully. Oona Chaplin leads the Ash People as Varang, joined by a cast including Sigourney Weaver, Britain Dalton, Jack Champion, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Matt Gerald, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Bailey Bass, Jemaine Clement, and David Thewlis.

Box Office and Franchise Future

The first Avatar remains the highest-grossing film ever, pulling in $2.9 billion, while the second sits at $2.3 billion. Cameron isn’t done yet—he’s got two more Avatar films in the pipeline, with the next instalments slated for release in 2029 and 2031.

Avatar: Fire & Ash is screening in cinemas from 19 December 2025. What do you make of the critical response? Let us know your thoughts below.