The Banal Spectacle of 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'

James Cameron’s latest Avatar movie opens with a scene of innocent wonder. Two young brothers soar through the air on winged beasts, taking in the vertiginous views of their majestic home world. Both are Na’Vi, lithe bipedal inhabitants of the verdant moon Pandora introduced back in 2009 in the series’ first entry. The boys experience Pandora as a playground, its psychedelic flora and fauna a boundless source of delight. The catch is that one of the brothers is dead. The shared flight is possible only because a ritual (and literal) connection to nature and their world’s shared memory allows the living one, Lo’ak (Brian Dalton), to commune with his older sibling, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters). For the Na’Vi, the environment is kindred, so much so that a special organ lets them link to the planet itself.