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The movie “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (Avatar 3) will be released in theaters from December 19th. This is the third work in the series that depicts the battle between the indigenous Na’vi who live on the mysterious planet Pandora and the humans who aim to invade.
James Cameron, the creator of the Avatar series, is also the director, producer, and scriptwriter of this film. In addition to the filming technology that records the actors’ body movements and facial movements and reflects them on the CG characters, 3D, as well as high frame rate (HFR) and high dynamic range (HDR), which were fully introduced in the second film, continue to be used.
Exactly three years ago, when the second film was released, I was so impressed by its visual quality that I played the Dolby Cinema version and the IMAX version eight times and was looked at with curiosity by those around me, but the visual quality of the latest film is also simply amazing.
Aside from the story, it can be said that director Cameron has reached a new level in creating realistic and natural 3D images, which he has been focusing on for many years.
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” Japanese version preview | An unprecedented fiery battle begins – Simultaneous release in Japan and the United States on Friday, December 19th!
Chaplin’s grandson plays the Ashe tribe “Valan”
The story of this third film begins immediately after the conclusion of the previous film, “Avatar: Way of Water.”
The main character, Jake Sully, and his family escaped disaster last time by joining forces with the sea tribe “Metkaina” and fighting off the humans (RDA, which is targeting Pandora’s rich resources), but in the third film, the humans are ready to attack again.
Trukmakt
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Spider and Sally’s children
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Key person Kiri whose secret of birth is revealed in this work
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Furthermore, a new character, the Ash Tribe, who lives in the volcanic zone, appears. Having lost their homeland to a volcanic eruption, they hate not only the spirit of Pandora, Eiwa, but all Na’vi who believe in Eiwa, and they repeatedly attack and kill in order to inflict the suffering that the tribe experienced.
The Sally family is surrounded by humans led by Colonel Quaritch and the Ash Tribe, and becomes embroiled in a major battle.
New character “Valan”
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Varan loves destruction
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The cast includes members of the previous film, including Sam Worthington (Jake Sully), Zoe Saldana (Neytiri), Sigourney Weaver (Kiri), Cliff Curtis (Tonowari), Kate Winslet (Ronal), and Stephen Lang (Quaritch), as well as Oona Chaplin (Charlie Chaplin’s granddaughter!) who plays Valan, the leader of the Ashe tribe.
“Avatar 3” is currently the highest quality 3D x HFR movie
As I mentioned at the beginning, the images are truly eye-opening. The beauty of Pandora’s scenery and creature design, which is the best part of the series, overwhelmed me in this work as well.
Facial capture, which converts facial movements into data, has also been refined, and the characters’ expressions have become even more vivid (rather, their faces show signs of fatigue, suffering, and the gradual deterioration of their hearts from repeated battles), and even the drama parts are moving.
Angry mother Neytiri. My emotions are up and down again this time.
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Despite being the longest main story in the series, you won’t feel any eye strain from the 3D images. There are no artificial scenes that jump out to the front, or scenes where the characters and the background are separated, allowing you to experience the majestic world of Pandora as it expands into the depths, just like the real world.
The high frame rate (HFR) switching is also clever. Like the previous work, when you dive into the water, the frame changes from 24 frames to 48 frames, giving you the feeling of swimming in a highly transparent deep blue ocean.
Turkun
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I don’t have any technical support for this, and it may just be my imagination, but in the latest work, 48 frames are used extensively not only in underwater scenes but also in “land scenes” (for example, scenes with low overall brightness, night scenes, etc.), and it seemed to me that judder was less noticeable than in the previous work.
Will “Avatar 4” and “Avatar 5” be produced? I don’t know, but there is no doubt that “Avatar: Fire and Ash” is currently the highest quality 3D x HFR movie (although it may be the last 3D x HFR movie…).
Neytiri and Sally
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The point of this work is not only the visuals but also the rich sound. In this work, in addition to the settings that appeared in the first and second works, such as the sky, sea, and forest, even the RDA base becomes a battlefield. In the battle scenes, the sounds of guns, missiles, RDA machines, arrows shot by indigenous people, and Pandora’s creatures move around left, right, on the ceiling, and behind you, creating an irresistibly immersive experience.
Unfortunately, the score by composer Simon Frangren was lacking in excitement. I really wanted to hear the blood-boiling shakuhachi kan tsun doko-bushi by the late James Horner, like in the first work.
AV enthusiasts who are highly interested in video and audio should shut up and go to Dulcine.
As I mentioned in my review of “Avatar: Way of Water,” if you are an AV lover, you should watch it at the “Dolby Cinema” theater, which is equipped with all the latest video and sound technology: 4K x 3D x HFR x HDR x 3D sound.
I compared the previous work in various formats, but the Dolby Cinema experience was by far the best. The overwhelming contrast and vivid colors of an organic EL display cannot currently be experienced with other large formats.
I think the details that the creators put their heart and soul into creating, such as the fine luminescent objects visible on Navi and Ikran’s bodies, the sparkles and ripples on the water surface, the flickering of the flames, and the sparkle and tears in their eyes, can only be seen in a format that includes all of them.
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Unfortunately, however, there are still only 10 Dolby Cinemas nationwide.
If there is not one nearby, I would like to see it at an IMAX Laser GT theater with 4K x 3D x HFR x 3D sound, or if that is difficult, a 3D x HFR x 3D sound theater, or at worst a 3D x HFR theater.
The main story is extremely long at 197 minutes (no intermission). Before and during the viewing, please avoid drinking highly diuretic drinks such as coffee and beer.
