Avatar: Fire and Ash
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: December 19, 2025 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 59 Critic Reviews
Positive:
35
Mixed:
19
Negative:
5

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
SlashfilmBill BriaDec 16, 2025
Avatar: Fire and Ash is a triumph of genre filmmaking, proof that sci-fi/action can be both deliriously daring and thoroughly thrilling. At this point, I can't wait to go back to Pandora. Read full review
91
The Film StageConor O'DonnellDec 16, 2025
Cameron wrings the most from his environment and its inhabitants, not just for the sake of going-for-broke, but to deliver something thematically resonant, folding the first two films on top of each other. Read full review
90
IGNMax ScovilleDec 16, 2025
Avatar: Fire and Ash isn’t the technical leap forward that its predecessor was, which is to be expected after three years instead of thirteen. But what it lacks in novelty, it more than makes up for with refinement on every level. Read full review
89
PolygonMatt PatchesDec 16, 2025
Fire and Ash bursts with genre details and imaginative flourishes, in a way that has me worried Cameron might be cramming in every idea as he goes out in a blaze of glory (despite promises of Avatar 4 and 5). Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliDec 17, 2025
This is as good as spectacle moviemaking gets: old-fashioned in intention but fully modern in execution. It may not stand quite as high as its two predecessors, but the fall-off is neither extreme nor precipitous. Read full review
88
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiDec 16, 2025
No. 3, with a reported price tag of more than $400 million, is the most visually glorious of the trio, adding fresh and imaginative beings and environments that further flesh out one of the all-time great fantasy locales. Read full review
85
The AtlanticDavid SimsDec 19, 2025
For Avatar fans, I have great news: The latest installment of James Cameron’s magical-alien adventure saga is here, and you’re going to love it. . . The bad news for anyone not already on board: This film has no interest in you. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerDec 16, 2025
Fire And Ash is terrific entertainment that occasionally gives the impression of well-appointed vamping; it’s almost enough to wonder if all the meticulous writer’s-room blueprinting of two-to-four Avatar sequels might have done as much harm as good. Viewers who just long for more time in Pandora are in luck: Cameron may not see a way out himself. Read full review
80
Total FilmJordan FarleyDec 16, 2025
The most action-packed Avatar yet still has the capacity to dazzle, with Oona Chaplin's Varang turning up the heat. Even if a frustrating lack of resolution and some repetitive storytelling choices make this feel more like The Way of Water part 2. Read full review
80
Radio TimesJames MottramDec 16, 2025
If spending time in the bio-luminescent forests and turquoise oceans of an alien planet is your thing, then Fire and Ash does everything you’d hope. It’s a marvel of CG craftsmanship and of Cameron’s pursuit of perfection. Read full review
80
EmpireBen TravisDec 16, 2025
In a bigger, busier and burlier Avatar, James Cameron once again displays his blockbuster mastery. Despite some repetitive moments, this is truly epic cinema, more than worth plugging into for three hours. Read full review
80
VarietyOwen GleibermanDec 16, 2025
The new movie, for all its inevitable Breathless Technological Advances, doesn’t feel as visually unprecedented as the last one did. If anything, though, it’s a better film — bolder and tighter, with a more dramatically focused story — and it certainly has its share of amazements. Read full review
80
Screen DailyTim GriersonDec 16, 2025
It is as visually extraordinary as its predecessors and, while the film contains some of those earlier pictures’ weaknesses, the deficiencies are starting to feel like charming quirks in an otherwise transporting series. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriDec 16, 2025
Fire and Ash is in some ways the messiest of the three Avatar movies, but it’s also the richest, the one in which we most lose ourselves, the one that makes us wonder about these characters and constantly peer into those rapturous backgrounds, trying to see forever. Read full review
80
ScreenCrushMatt SingerDec 16, 2025
Every time one of these Avatar movies comes out, everyone jokes about how they’re gussied-up cartoons and people online joke about how no one cares about them. Then the film actually arrives in theaters and it’s epic and exciting and gorgeous and heartbreaking. Would I be interested in a James Cameron motion picture not set on Pandora? Absolutely. But after Fire and Ash, which really might be my favorite of the Avatar films to date, I’m also okay if he just stays on Pandora forever. Read full review
80
Little White LiesKambole CampbellDec 16, 2025
Some will find the earnest silliness which ties a lot of Fire and Ash​’s beats together tiresome, but – along with the work of some very gifted digital artists – it’s what keeps them feeling real and not just empty capitalisation on a billion dollar box office.
80
Next Best PictureDan BayerDec 16, 2025
“Fire and Ash“reaffirms Cameron as one of our greatest storytellers and the Avatar series as the pinnacle of Hollywood blockbuster entertainment. Read full review
80
Screen RantTodd GilchristDec 16, 2025
Thrilling and sumptuous, James Cameron’s latest chapter in this ongoing saga is probably the best one to date, with painstaking world-building, sweeping action and stunning imagery. It also feels too often like a remake of its predecessor, with characters, conflicts and plot developments that even the most devoted fans may find repetitive. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerDec 16, 2025
If future films deliver similar spectacle and true, epic filmmaking, then this lengthy sequel can afford to be a prelude. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenJan 6, 2026
Pandora—the stunningly imagined planet of James Cameron’s Avatar enterprise—has been populated by something unexpected and extraordinary: compelling characters. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshDec 18, 2025
[Cameron's] anti-colonialist, pro-Indigenous cri de coeur is inspiring, if a bit on the nose, but we can forgive that, because the visual spectacle is just so breathtakingly beautiful, the emotional stakes palpable, and the intention is so earnest. It’s good to be back on Pandora. Read full review
75
Original-CinJim SlotekDec 16, 2025
It’s a decent, eye-catching, stay-the-course addition for Cameron, who has pretty much turned his entire career to this franchise, a la George Lucas with Star Wars. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzDec 16, 2025
The bulk of Fire and Ash feels distressingly derivative of what came before, down to ultra-specific plot beats Read full review
75
ConsequenceLiz Shannon MillerDec 16, 2025
Everything is always loud, from the music to the visual design to the emotions. It's an approach ensuring that Cameron's message will be heard by even the most distracted viewer. Read full review
70
The RevealKeith PhippsDec 23, 2025
The film’s fundamental earnestness and Cameron’s gift for astounding visuals and kinetic action scenes usually offset most of the flaws and a nagging sense of déjà vu. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesAmy NicholsonDec 16, 2025
Cameron’s affection for the place is still a convincing reason to hang out in outer space until the popcorn visionary finally returns to our planet. But plot-wise, the story is the same as ever. Read full review
70
ColliderRoss BonaimeDec 16, 2025
This third Avatar film might not have the groundbreaking impact of the first film, or the vast improvement that The Way of Water had over what came before it, but Fire and Ash is still an exceptional moviegoing experience that proves there’s still plenty of gas in this tank. Read full review
68
The Film VerdictAlonso DuraldeDec 16, 2025
Director and co-writer James Cameron has a lot to say about colonization and guns and the environment and, while that messaging is noble and right-minded, it’s delivered with blunt force. The 3D here is stunning, but the metaphors come at your face with the same propulsion as the images. Read full review
67
IndieWireDavid EhrlichDec 16, 2025
I know that Cameron has committed himself to another two sequels, and now I know why he’s starting to hedge about whether or not he wants to direct them himself; even the most orgiastic moments in “Fire and Ash” left me feeling like he’s ready to come back down to Earth. Read full review
65
Film ThreatAlan NgDec 18, 2025
Ultimately, it’s fine. Yet, considering its cinematic history, fine is never good enough. Read full review
63
Washington PostSonia RaoDec 17, 2025
The plot simply doesn’t have enough juice. Read full review
63
The Seattle TimesDominic BaezDec 16, 2025
The action is fierce, kinetic and basically nonstop in “Fire and Ash.” The ending sequence goes on a bit too long (as does the movie in general, at 195 minutes), but it’s all generally entertaining, if you forgive the fact that the spectacle replaces the story for the most part. Read full review
63
USA TodayBrian TruittDec 16, 2025
James Cameron’s third adventure in his blockbuster sci-fi franchise, is just as cool a watch as the previous films, yet also as narratively frustrating. Endless subplots, scattershot character development and borrowed story beats backfire on “Fire and Ash,” although it does benefit from an unhinged but relatable villain whose presence keeps it interesting. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoDec 16, 2025
Great sequels don’t just repeat, they build. This one treads beautifully-rendered water. Read full review
63
The Associated PressJake CoyleDec 16, 2025
For those whose trips to Pandora have made less of an impact, “Fire and Ash” is a bit like returning to a half-remembered vacation spot, only one where the local ponytail style is a little strange and everyone seems to have the waist of a supermodel. Read full review
More From This Movie

61 Critic Reviews

tbd User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 72 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL