The third of James Cameron's Avatar movies is pretty much the story of Spider (Jack Champion), the sole human member of the Sully family currently on the run on the planet of Pandora. Other characters are often in the spotlight: some, like Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Nash), reincarnated in a Pandorian body but still firmly committed to the human military and his need for revenge against Jake (Sam Worthington), even get some character development.
But it's Spider who's story is being told here. Which is a problem, because who really cares about Spider?
After their big victory at the end of the last movie, the Sully family is still grieving the loss of eldest son Neteyam (Jamie Flatters). Neytiri (Zoe Salanda) follows the old rituals; Jake is more of a "stoic silence" guy. Both agree that now Quaritch knows that Spider is his son he'll be back, and they decide to send Spider back to the rebel human base in high country (a floating rock) for his safety.
Spider, sensing this is more about them wanting to ditch an unwanted "pink skin" human, protests, and his adopted siblings - brother Lo'ak (Britain Dalton), younger sister Tuktirey (Trinity Bliss), and clone of Sigourney Weaver's character from the first film played by Sigourney Weaver Kiri - demand the family stick together. Okay then, they'll all go.
Their trip back on a living blimp boat is quickly cut short when they're attacked by Mangkwan raiders. The blimp is shot down, Neytiri is wounded, the family is scattered, and Spider - who's been slack about making sure he's got a spare mask with him, which is important because human's can't breathe Pandorian air - soon finds himself gasping for air with no supplies at hand. Kiri calls on the planet's spirit Eywa for help, then sorts it out herself with a kind of symbiotic growth that fills his lungs.
One problem solved, but now there's a bigger one. If humans find a way to breathe the air, they'll see Pandora as more than just a source of the space whale juice that makes people immortal. Now Spider is the most valuable item on the planet, and his father - that'd be Quaritch - has just teamed up with the Mangkwan raiders and their witchy leader Varang (Oona Chaplin) to get him back.
They're the only new element here, and unlike previous depictions of Na'vi they've turned their back on Eywa thanks to a volcano trashing their homeland a generation ago. They're mostly just creepy and murderous rather than a new way of living, and there's a sense that Cameron - who previously seemed obsessed with every tiny aspect of life on his fantasy planet - just needed some new bad guys to spice things up.
(which they definitely do for Quaritch: his exploration of the possibilities of a closer bond with the dominating Varang, combined with what seems to be actual concern and admiration for his human son, rapidly makes him easily the most nuanced and interesting character in the film)
There's a lot more going on here, most notably Lo'ak and his mates swimming around with the space whales trying to help whale Payakan on his mission of vengeance against the humans (his culture is a pacifist one, so his kill-crazy rampage has him on the outs). Unfortunately, this stuff largely feels like a retread of the events of the previous film; where the first stood alone, and the second built on that with Cameron's underwater obsession, this mostly circles back to revisit old territory while the characters struggle to deal with what's already happened.
All the virtues of the previous Avatar films are still present, though the originally ground breaking CGI visuals are maybe a little more mainstream these days. Cameron is still strong when it comes to action; the story might hit many of the same beats but it still moves fast, and there's plenty of lingering around to take in the wonders of Pandora (though ironically, it's mostly when the action shifts to the human's industrial plant base that things pick up).
Focusing the story on a nothing character like Spider would be more of a weak point if not for the fact that strong compelling characters aren't really this franchise's strength. As someone situated between both worlds / sides (Jake picked his side a long time ago), Spider is both macguffin to be fought over and the big hope as far as bringing the two cultures together - only the humans are almost all bad (the scientists are largely sidelined this time around), so dumping them in the bin is the popular choice.
The only serious problem, which will probably seem like less of one in hindsight when watching the films in series is the way to go, is that for the first time an Avatar movie isn't a parade of new situations and wonders. It's the kind of story that escalates rather than innovates.
For once, Pandora doesn't seem like a place where there's something new around every corner. Even the most magical getaway eventually loses its luster.
- Anthony Morris
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