'Avatar: The Fire and the Ashes' is once again ready to shake theaters with unprecedented visuals.
Avatar: The Fire and the Ashes is the third installment of the 'Avatar' series, which follows the global box-office success of 'Avatar' that drew 13.62 million viewers domestically, and tells a larger crisis unfolding on a Pandora covered in fire and ash as the tribe of ash led by 'Varang' appears before the Sully family—who have been plunged into sorrow after the death of Jake and Neytiri's first son, Neteyam.
In particular, as the third work following Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) that continues the lineage of revolutionary visuals, expectations are high, and this time the focus has shifted beyond massive CG technology to how realistically the world called 'Pandora' can be rendered and how much the audience can experience "living" inside that world.
In fact, at a domestic video press conference on the 12th, director James Cameron confidently said, "I painstakingly crafted every scene of 'Avatar: The Fire and the Ashes.'" That confidence is clearly evident in the film. The completed landscapes and the synchronization with reality are so convincing that they further prove Cameron is a master of world building.
Also, newly appearing in this film are the ash tribe 'Mangkwan,' the sky-soaring "wind merchants," and the lifeform they ride called the "medusoid," each given persuasive designs that reflect distinct cultures, climates and histories. In each series installment, 'Avatar' has visualized tribal characteristics, and this film shows how original an image it can present through the fire tribe.
Costume visuals are also an element that proves the expanded world. Costume designer Deborah L. Scott rebuilt the tribes' costumes of 'Pandora,' producing more than 8,000 illustrations and thousands of samples. The striking colors and ornaments of the nomadic sky-dwelling 'Tilarim' and the bold red-and-black centered design of the 'Mangkwan,' who have survived in an ash-covered, desolate environment, clearly show why this work is called the series' pinnacle.
After The Way of Water overwhelmed audiences with the scale of the sea, Avatar: The Fire and the Ashes promises a new sensory experience by adding the texture of fire and ash, smoke and the spectacle of disasters. In fact, on the 17th, its opening day, it ranked first in the overall box office and has been praised for the series' best visuals and action.
It remains to be seen how far Avatar's signature ability to create a CG world that feels more real than reality will expand this time, and what box-office records it will write this time.
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