The Reel Rejects - Extended Version: Well... We Just Watched AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH (Out Of Theater Reaction & Review)

Episode Date: December 17, 2025

Avatar 3: Fire and Ash Movie Review (Non-Spoiler) - the next chapter in James Cameron’s Epic Sci-Fi Fantasy saga is finally here as Greg & John return to discuss how Avatar 3 film expands Pandora both thematically and visually. Following Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water, this installment pushes the franchise into darker, more volatile territory, introducing new regions of Pandora and escalating the long-running conflict between the Na’vi and humanity. Save & Invest In Your Future Today, visit: ⁠https://www.acorns.com/rejects⁠ AVATAR (2009) Reaction Commentary: ⁠   • AVATAR (2009) IS AN EYE-POPPING SCI-FI EPI...  ⁠ AVATAR: The Way of Water (2022) Reaction Commentary: ⁠   • AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER (2022) IS BREATHT...  ⁠ Gift Someone (Or Yourself) A Stranger Things RR Tee! ⁠https://shorturl.at/hekk2⁠ Sam Worthington (Terminator: Salvation, Hacksaw Ridge) returns as Jake Sully, now a seasoned leader, protector, & father along with Zoe Saldaña (Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek) reprises Neytiri, bringing fierce emotional weight and warrior intensity, & Sigourney Weaver (Alien, Ghostbusters) once again stands out as Kiri, whose mysterious connection to Eywa and Pandora deepens the mythology of the series in fascinating ways. Stephen Lang (Don’t Breathe, Tombstone) also returns as Colonel Miles Quaritch, whose ongoing transformation continues to challenge the moral boundaries of the saga as he forms an unlikely alliance with Oona Chaplin's (Game of Thrones, Taboo) Varang, leader of the fierce and morally ambiguous Na’vi clan known as the Ash People. Varang’s role signals a bold shift in the Avatar mythos, emphasizing internal conflict among the Na’vi themselves — not just resistance against human invaders. The Sully family story also expands further through Britain Dalton (Avatar: The Way of Water) as Lo’ak, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss (Avatar: The Way of Water) as Tuk, and Jack Champion (Scream VI) as Spider, whose divided identity remains one of the franchise’s most emotionally complex threads. We also see appearances from Kate Winslet (Titanic) as Ronal, Cliff Curtis (Training Day, The Meg) as Tonowari, & MORE! Our discussion explores Fire and Ash’s core themes — legacy, colonization, moral absolutism, and environmental destruction — while examining James Cameron’s continued push for groundbreaking visual effects, immersive 3D spectacle, and large-scale action. Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...⁠ Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! ⁠https://www.rejectnationshop.com/⁠ Follow Us On Socials:  Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/⁠  Tik-Tok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/reelrejects⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/⁠ Music Used In Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...⁠ POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit⁠ https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo⁠ and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en⁠ Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.⁠ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO:⁠ https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects⁠ Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB:  ⁠https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/⁠ INSTAGRAM: ⁠ https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/⁠ TWITTER:  ⁠https://twitter.com/thereelrejects⁠ Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:  ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/⁠ TWITTER:  ⁠https://twitter.com/thegregalba⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It started with a scream inside a quiet Maryland home, a mother trying to protect the family dog and her son in the grip of a violent hallucinogenic rage. By the time it was over, she was dead, and he claimed LSD made him do it. His name, David Minor the 4th, and we talk to him. Listen to Invisible Choir every other week as we uncover the most haunting true crimes you've never heard of, available wherever you get. your podcasts hey guys at that theater right there at the disney lot we just got out of watching avatar fire and ed ash and if you are here we ask that you do the kindest thing in the world and leave a like on this video john yes what do you remember from the trailer of what

this movie is about that's how we will communicate communicate the plot via the memory of what we remember from the trailer one trailer yeah jake and the fam they're back they're still living amongst the water people corridge he's still out there but what ah there's another tribe and they live in a decimated fireplace where they're big mad because awas abandoned them so corage teams up with those guys and then goes after jake again is that all in the trailer think so are you sure not combining the actual plot of the movie that we just watched or you actually because i'm like i don't remember all that in the trailer. The trailer, we're back on Pandora and there's fire people now. That sounds more like

what I remember. Sounds more like you. Well, you just rewatched Avatar 1 and 2 and I saw Avatar 2 twice in the theaters because I love that one so much. Didn't rewatch any of them, but I remember them pretty well. What did you, I want to hear your first thoughts on this. Do you immediately, is it one of the things where you have to think about it first or do you immediately know where you would place this amongst the three? It's weird. I think I definitely need to do more thinking to come up with like a solid thing I would say about the movie, but I do know exactly, it would fall at second for me. Like, Way of Water is number one still because Way of Water has so much tangibility and so much beauty and it lets you bask in that. This is a way plotier movie than that. So, you know,

there's a little less of that sort of like, let's bask in the spirituality and more of like, we got some stuff to get done. Well, what did you feel like this movie did differently than Avatar 1 and 2 and that you really felt this provided something unique? I could have said that a lot more cohesively, but I watch this entire movie with a migraine prior, and this movie, in 3D, only made the migraine better. Oh, I can imagine. Especially for three hours and 20 minutes. Yeah, this movie takes a lot of the gorgeous, you know, spatial innovations in terms of depicting the underwater biome, depicting stuff in the air, stuff in the forest. It encapsulates all of that innovation that really made the second movie sing and it applies it to something that has a little

bit more of the first films like plot sensibilities yeah you know about largely military operations and colonialism and terraforming and yada yada yada so uh yeah it's kind of like split the difference between the two movies and you have this yeah i thought that even though what james cameron has said he feels like he can do like four or five of these movies this is the kind of film that does feel like it could actually end here and with what you just said about how it does feel like it sort of splits the difference in certain plot points and even some characters who weren't in part two but are here, actually

here or have more screen time than they did have in part one, part two, that's what I'm trying to say. Yeah, some of them were barely in part two, and now they're here more out of background. So it does feel like it kind of has that book and trilogy effect where it does leave the door open for more, of course,

but it can definitely end here. What I thought that this movie provided that was different or at least was aiming for is it seems to want to be more emotionally centered. You can make the argument that part two already did that stronger than the first one, which I completely do think it did. However, with this one, there are scenes in here that do emotionally challenge the characters. And there are scenes where I heard audience members around me crying their eyes out at certain scenes. It wasn't like the sweeping spectacle CGI scenes. It was just character scenes. Or gasping in shock

or, you know, applauding when certain people get their desserts. Yeah, exactly. And so that was part of the cool experience that I thought James Cameron was aiming for here was to go more at the heart, to go more at the drama. At times, does it feel a bit manufactured? Like, okay, I definitely saw this plot fitting like an hour ago happening right now. Plassing tropes in there. And yeah, so like, because the dialogue itself is like, you know, these movies are not known

for great dialogue. He played some blockbusters. Yeah, this one in particular, like, Like some of the, I feel like he, he cared even less about writing good dialogue this time around. Or at least lofty dialogue, yeah. Yeah, there was even no attempt. But at times that lent itself to a sense of self-awareness. It lent itself to something that had humor that whether it was intentional or unintentional,

it was at times actually kind of funny, you know? Yeah, it's like we're more used to this world and the humor is also more used to being here, I feel like. Yeah. And in the trailers, the new character, I don't remember her name, but Ashgirl, the main Ashgirl that you're Champlain, I think, is the actor. What did you think of her? She was great. I mean, her presence alone is really terrific.

And just the vibes that the ash people bring are really striking and dramatic. It is an aspect of the movie that actually the advertising, that first trailer, especially, a lot of posters made me believe would be a stronger element. You're really going into the fire world so much as you just have these people now also to deal with. But a lot of presence and a lot of really fierce, vicious development on a people that we've to know it was relatively peaceful and communal with the land. Yes, I agree with you, especially on a missed opportunity there, because a lot of this movie, all of my biggest complaints with it was,

even though it does leave the door open for a four and five, and while I do find it strong, I would agree with you on where I would place it, is that there are like scenes in here that I think totally outdo part two, but an overall film, I think way of water is a much stronger, more cohesive film, whereas this is a little bit more bumpy yet it has scenes in here that I'm like man I'm really glad we got that stuff and a lot of that comes down to main ash girl because she is a scene stealer she provides a very unique type of presence and she is given a good amount of scenes actually with Stephen Lang's courage that for myself and for many others walking out of this film were the highlight of this that really was like you're not getting this in any of the other movies like this right here is some truly different stuff and they're having fun with the the bad guys in a way that I actually found quite delicious to chew up on screen. And she was like scary and kind of sensual at the same time, you know. We got the bloodlust.

Yeah, yeah. And she brings out this other side of quarrage as well that, you know, scary and a little sexual. Yeah, yeah, he's going more native and more feral while still being the military guy. Yeah, there's a, it's a bit of humor about what they were doing with him. That being said, though, it did seem like they just decided to repeat a lot of plot points and plot beats that you got from already the first two films when there was a whole door they could have explored of what this means for a different type of Navi tribe who doesn't believe in the same type of God has completely different types of belief systems but there's still

indigenous people to this land of Pandora what else could we do with exploring that it kind of reminds me of a film that I just saw recently dances with bulls the main tribe that we're with and then there's the bad guy try you and they don't three dimensionalize the bad guy tribe And that's kind of what I thought they had the opportunity to do here considering what this movie is leading with. Even though you do get some scenes in here that I'm like, I'm so glad we got that.

It did feel like a missed opportunity on truly exploring something special. But, you know, we get repeat stuff with whales and predictable third. We love that gone, baby. Predictable, you know, what's going to happen in the finale. Like before the finale happens,

you're like, I know exactly what's going to happen in this finale. And it all exactly happened. Yeah, yeah. I mean, and you know, I mean, some of that is the charge. of a blockbuster scale production and story. But it was something that I was taken aback by in this movie

because I thought that the game we were playing partly with these, you know, installments would be that everyone takes us and really immerses us in a different place on Pandora. And this one doesn't so much do that, actually. Like, the Ash folks are very much involved with the story, but you're not actually immersing in a whole new side of Pandora. You're actually largely in places that we know already.

Exactly. So there's a less of a sense of like a, great invention or a great leap. And I think that's one thing I'm curious to see how audiences respond to, because the first movie obviously was so groundbreaking just for what it was. And the second movie took that and re-contextualized it all over again, where you got that same rush of like, oh my God, I'm seeing something completely groundbreaking. This ground has been broken and we're retreading it. It just so happens that the work is still so top-notch that it's hard not to be dazzled. But you do, I think, miss a bit of that wonder of being completely

shock and awed by some new creation. Yeah, I would have to 100% agree with you on that because the first one has the awe and wonder, like, even if you don't like the film, you're like, what the effects? And the second one, I've won a lot of people like me over to this to want to see more. And it does have that wonder and the dazzling new groundbreaking visual effects. And I'm like, I'm sure there's that here, but it just doesn't stand out. You don't do much of that nature documentary, like, let's just be in the elements. it's way more plot oriented

and yeah there's not really a fresh new element beyond the motif the look of the ash people to really set this one apart and that does make it feel like a you know direct continuation of way of water rather than a new sequel fellow reject maybe you'll identify with what I'm about to say I've

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Age and investment settings does not include ACORN's fees. Results do not predict to represent the performance of any ACOR's portfolio. Investments results will vary. Investing revolves revolves risk. Acorns. LLC and SEC registered investment advisor view importing disclosures at acorns.com slash reject. All that being said, go to acorns.com slash rejects to start growing your money smarter, not harder. Thank you again. And with it being, so yeah, with that being the case of the visual effects,

I don't feel compelled to go watch it again for the visuals or anything like that in the way how way of water made me go, I got to watch this. I just got to go immerse in that. Yeah, it's going to go sit in that. Yeah, yeah. So it didn't provide that for me. And here's the big challenging part, because the way this avatar franchise works is if you don't really, care about the characters you don't really care about the story you usually get on board with the spectacle and the action scenes right this movie's dependence of being invested for this long really does actually depend on how much you like the characters yeah especially from way of water like jake so you've had since avatar want to be evisident to natiri for sure and jake and natiri

are excellent in this movie i think jake gets better and more compelling Sam, one of his best performers. Definitely. No, for real. Like, he gets better every film. And in this film, he's got a couple of scenes. I'm like, damn, that's some, like, there's a lot of emphasis right now with Avatar that these actors are really acting guys. It started with a scream inside a quiet Maryland home. A mother trying to protect the family dog and her son in the grip of a violent hallucinogenic rage. By the time it was over, she was dead. And he claimed LSD made. him do it. His name David Minor the 4th, and we talk to him. Listen to Invisible Choir every other week as we uncover the most haunting true crimes you've never heard of.

Available wherever you get your podcasts. Just paint over that with the digital makeup. It's the real emotion. Real, you know, and there's... The thing that I still get caught up in, as much as they sell And I know they're really acting their asses off is that when you do the quote unquote digital makeup over them, it kind of washes away a lot of the things that actors provide for human emotion. Like when you're digitalizing eyes and shaping eyes, eyes are usually the connection to the soul. So when you're painting over that, I feel like you still lose some of that human connection.

And I'm saying that because Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana managed to surpass that big quam that I have with that. And I was surprised how still effective Nateri is, how much stronger Jake Sully is. But then you have characters that were introduced in way of water. And, oh, no, Corridge is always the best. I'm just going to say that right. I fucking love Gorridge is amazing. He's so fun to one. It's so fun.

But there's two characters here, Spider and Kitty. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, three characters. Spider, Kitty, and the son of the bro. Loak. Lowok. Yeah, yeah. Now, these three characters, two out of three, Loak and Spider, in particular,

If you didn't really care for them in the last one, you're going to have to learn to care about the bee. But yeah, especially Spider. For real, for real. Like so much of the emotional plot points when you're seeing people. And I'll say, I like Spider here way more than I did in the last one. I like, what's up for guys there? Lowak.

Lowok, I actually liked him in the last one. I liked them more here. And what they did with, you know, 14-year-old Sigourney Weaver liked her just as much, I would say. Again, I was, I was watching it going, like, I'm not quite as moved with the rest of the audience. I don't know if it's just because I have a, you know, a pounding migraine at this moment. Or do I, am I just not as invested in these characters as I found myself really compelled when like Jake and the Tiri were on screen, but not as emotionally thralled when it was the other three that I just mentioned. I think it's just the jam-packedness because the thing about way of water, as much as people

argue about the length, I feel like the breathing room actually really compliments the moments where you are doing like a bunch of plot and battle and stuff like that, you know we have to get through. Whereas this movie feels like it's short on breathing room and it feels like it's trying to cram a lot in two, three and change hours. Yeah. So I think it's mostly that because this is a type of movie where you'll get to act three or you could get to act three and start to find your brain sort of turning into mush. Just because there's so much and there's lots of places, lots of characters,

lots of stuff that's kind of visually familiar from the previous movie. And so, yeah, especially if you've just done a marathon, it might all start to blend together because you don't have quite as much room to just sit and attenuate to the elements, you know? I mean, I did in Marathon recently. I was like, this is pretty repetitive. You're from Loss. It is.

Well, I mean, you break in Ag 3, and a lot of the elements are similar elements that are being used in a slightly different way, but yeah. Yeah, so it does miss some of that lush for me. And, yeah, I know, like, the common thing to say is, of course, like the visual effects dazzling, and they are. But for some reason, this one in particular, it took me, like, more than an hour to just get lost into it.

it. I kept getting like, this looks fake to, oh, that looks real. But I'm aware that this looks real compared to how fake it looked in the last shot. Like, I couldn't quite get past it and it wasn't until maybe the last half of the movie where I was finally able to surrender to what I was watching. And I didn't quite have that issue with the first two Avatar movies, but this one really stood out to me. And I don't know why that was the case. I can't quite. I'm trying to put my finger on it, too. The 3D is good. You know, the thing I was saying to, few people, and I posed this question in a sincere way, is that

when PS5 games look so cinematic, is it an insult or a compliment to say, this movie looks like a PS5 game? Yeah, one of those games were the cutscenes and the gameplay are the same graphics. Yeah, but it like, it doesn't quite look like film to me. It doesn't look like I'm watching

a movie, though, because everything is so bright and clear like there's, I don't know how to speak camera language that well, but the idea of like focus and shadows are not really there. You know what I mean? It's all just a big bright thing on every shot, pretty much.

Yeah, it's... Sorry, so when there are shadows, I'm like, oh, that looks very like believable and real. It looks like... Yeah, when they do very dramatic lighting, it really starts to stand out. And I think everybody knows at this point, like, oh, the way to get by

with CGI as you put as much shadow on as possible so you can hide stuff. And so, like, it's really the most striking when they are in the broadest daylight, and you can sit there, go, damn! Like, you couldn't hide anything here. So you had to put your most expensive effects on screen. But yeah, it is a movie that has, I mean, an effect in every frame

and you have less normal human characters to help sell that to your brain without having your brain go, this looks so real and I'm aware it's not. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, I think your immersion will vary, certainly. And I wonder, too, we didn't see this in IMAX today. We didn't see it in 3D. It is, as much as I'm not as compelled as I was with way of water, like go back and just be in the world. I'm, like, curious if an IMAX scope would add any additional immersion.

I mean, probably, but I remember when we saw a way of water the first time it wasn't an IMAX. And I was like, I was still blown away. I swear. I was like, I just want to go back at me with Pyacod. Just take me back to the water. Yeah, you know, so a lot of familiarity, a lot of, you know, like what James Cameron did Terminator 2 to Terminator 1, Terminator 2 was a lot of similar explored things, but now amplified and added on and refined, I would say. And I thought he did that with a way of water. And here I found myself going,

it's more of the same with some new stuff. This I think would be the real test as to whether the Avatar franchise can walk on its own legs just based off character and story versus that wow factor of seeing completely new movie magic that we had to make all this brand new tech for. Like this doesn't have the same level of just like dazzling innovation that the previous one does. Not to slight it. And I do feel bad because it's that Jurassic world thing of like the people always need more dazzling. Yeah. But yeah, there's just less of a thing

to bowl you over. So now the movies has got to survive on its own merit. And hey, you know, for a lot, at the end of days, movies make a shit ton of money because I'm sure a lot, a lot, a lot of people, maybe not on like the cinefile or film community world is this franchise, the thing that is highly praised. But

I imagine amongst audiences that I don't give a shit about anything. Hey, you know, like, he's James Cameron knows how to make a freaking crowd-pleasing movie. Yeah, yeah, there are people that love this movie, these franchise, and I love the last one. So I kind of like the first one. I love the second, and I liked this one. Yeah, I appreciate number one.

I love number two, and I think this is really cool still. Yeah, but we'll see what number four provides us. Yeah, we'll see if there if it is a number four. Because I don't know if this one will quite hit as strong, you know. But if you wonder. But if people are so in love. with the characters and they're so in love with the emotion if like it's a testament that I've never

been to an avatar screen to where I hurt people crying so that must mean it's moving for enough people but yeah you know good themes about fatherhood forgiveness identity the next generation leading the way generational strongology and and again you know what these movies talk about

strip mining and freaking colonialism all that good stuff I give it a 6.85 out of 10 yeah that's that's obscure rating I was bad. He said that. Just like, three and a half out of five is... Yeah, sure. It was a half, seven out of ten.

Yeah, it was pretty good. Yeah, it's pretty alright. But what do you think for people who haven't seen it yet? Leave your thoughts down below. Do you wish this franchise would die? Do you want him to make the next Terminator movie and tell me why AI is a good thing now? Even though he's doing commercials saying generative AI... That's a different type of... People did this. I thought I heard some news report saying you said something else,

but this is the first time I'm hearing it out of your mouth so I'm taking it for... I'm sure James Cameron likes a certain percentage of AI. It's just not the part that takes away his authorial stamp. I'm sure. Next avatar, and he's like, looking, yeah, it could really help me out. I wrote so many prompts on this movie.

All right, see you guys. Thanks for being here. at a quiet Maryland home, a mother trying to protect the family dog and her son in the grip of a violent hallucinogenic rage. By the time it was over, she was dead, and he claimed LSD made him do it. His name, David Minor the 4th, and we talk to him. Listen to Invisible Choir every other week as we uncover the most haunting true crimes you've never heard of. Available wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you.