I’ll start with what worked, move to what didn’t, and then wrap with the ending and final thoughts.

Will start off and tell you that this movie is a direct sequel to Avatar 2 while also simultaneously feeling like a capstone to a trilogy.

Looking back Avatar 1 now feels like a prequel, which I have to conclude was by design by Cameron.

You 💯 have to see Avatar 2 to see Avatar 3, but don’t necessarily need to see Avatar 1 to see part 2 and 3.

Also worth noting this movie is pretty dark, which caught me by surprise early on. I would even go as far as to say not suitable for young kids.

Lastly I have stayed away from trailers for this movie on purpose, and haven’t read anything about future Avatar movies prior to watching this.

The villains steal the show. Like I said before the movie is pretty dark would even go as far as to say it has some good vs evil undertones that guides the story arc. This is very much a women driven story arc in a great way the two leading women really do steal the show. Varang played by Oona Chaplin brings a different kind of energy to this series that was desperately needed.

Meanwhile Neytiri played by Zoe Saldaña is on another level as far as where her range as an actor takes this role, pretty impressive as you can see her through this character while lending to the believability of this world and these characters. Obviously she will not get an Oscar for this role but if by some small possibility it happens I would not be surprised.

There are some really heartfelt moments that Jake played by Sam Worthington is put through and it really does at times make you question his decisions. But by the end of the movie I was left more than satisfied with his arc, he really is the heart of this movie.

The Colonel played by Stephen Lang is also spectacular as well, his character goes through some major changes that he lives up to as a villain with the same comedic banter. The action scenes are still for me the best part about Avatar, Cameron really knows how to direct these battles while keeping it fresh and inventive with every fight.

Also worth mentioning that Avatar 3 is just on another level in regards to how immersive this world is. Some really jaw dropping scenes occur and really made me wish I saw this in 3D IMAX (will likely watch again for that very reason.)

It gets dark pretty fast early on and doesn’t let up until just before the third act. I only bring this up because I was genuinely surprised because it’s Avatar and I just wasn’t expecting it. Especially with how lighthearted and family oriented Avatar 2 was.

The other major let down was the third act, and particularly how it ended. I think why I dislike the ending so much was mainly around how this felt exactly like a repeat of the Avatar 2 ending minus no one important dying. Avatar 3 sets this whole premise around darkness with the hostiles headed up by The Colonel and his military, leaving the audience to conclude that he is relentless and will stop at nothing but keep coming for the Sully family.

The ending fell flat because no one of significance dies while dangling that carrot to the audience several times throughout the movie and again in Act 3. Makes me question Cameron and crew are doing this because he has more Avatars to make. It just reminds me of so many things I have seen over the years without a payoff/consequences for characters (The Walking Dead did this in spectacular fashion.) Similarly these movies will start to lose audiences if it just continues to be The Sully Family adventures.

The other thing worth mentioning is James Cameron always nails the ending to all his movies, in my opinion this would be the first time he didn’t.

Other small things, is the editing to a certain degree feels a bit rushed, all the characters outside of the main cast feel a bit slotted in for continuity sake.

Lastly the story feels a bit all over the place almost like a Mission Impossible movie meaning we have to build the script around these “epic battle scenes.” Even the foreshadowing also starts to feel a bit on the nose at times and redundant when you notice it.

Overall it is a great movie and I will likely see it again in 3D IMAX before it leaves theaters. I still enjoy Avatar 3 more than Avatar 2 but neither come close to Avatar 1 storytelling. I do believe if you’ve never seen Avatar, you would very much enjoy watching 2 & 3 back to back, as like Dune it just goes perfectly seeing part 1 and 2 like that. Also imagine Cameron was definitely up against time on this one as the story did not feel as polished and lived in as part 1 & 2.