Avatar: Fire and Ash premieres to rave first reactions that call the new James Cameron movie "pure blockbuster filmmaking at its finest" and "the best one yet"

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Avatar: Fire and Ash had its world premiere at Hollywood's Dolby Theater last night (December 1), and it's earning rave first reactions on social media.

The follow-up to 2022's The Way of Water sees Jake and Neytiri's family face a new threat in the form of the Ash People, a mysterious Na'vi tribe led by the fearsome Varang – who's allied with Jake's enemy Colonel Miles Quaritch.

Some critics had their reservations, but still landed on an overall positive take, like Puck News' Scott Mendelson. "There’s too much 'been there done that' in terms of plot beats and set pieces, but AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH is still an awe-inspiring technical and visceral achievement," he said. "It doesn’t skimp on the melodrama or intensity, as James Cameron delivers a towering spectacle of such all-in splendor that it plays like it’s the last movie that's ever going to get made. Yeah, this third #Avatar rocks."

"AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH delivers the most emotional moments of the franchise and is, by far, the most epic in both scope and runtime, yet it also mines the least amount of new material from covering so much ground," Next Best Picture's Matt Neglia wrote. "Still, the breathtaking visual effects, world-building, and evolving lore of Pandora continue to astound. When James Cameron is cooking, he's cooking with tremendous, scorching hot fire!"

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related. I help bring you all the latest news, features, and reviews, as well as helming our Big Screen Spotlight column. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.

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