Avatar: Fire and Ash

James Cameron just delivered a jaw dropping Christmas gift with AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, an IMAX 3D thrill ride that is,for me, the BEST of the series.

The ever grumpy naysayers are murmuring, "It's too long", "its repetitive" "it's boring". NOPE, NOPE and HELL NO.

For the entire middle of the film, it feels more like Mel Gibson's killer adventure "Apocalypto" than Avatar, and the final hour..... buckle up.

For me, it's Cameron's best film since "Aliens", with strong echoes of that film and "The Abyss" that will make any Cameron fan smile throughout.

As a matter of fact, I think by the end of this one, I felt like I need to go back and watch "The Abyss" again, as there is a pleasing duality with this stunner.

Cameron starts this third film off with just a taste of what's to come, soaring through the skies of Pandora.

What sets this epic chapter apart is the sense of family that covers every spectacular frame. Behind the action scenes, which are of an impossible scale and some of Cameron's all-time best, there are deeply felt themes of loss and grief.

Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and their children are all reeling with grief after Neteyam's death. While Jake entrenches himself in preparing for war with the sure-to-return forces led by Colonel Quaritch (the perfectly evil Stephen Lang, getting better with each chapter), Neytiri retreats into hate over the loss of her son.

When the decision is made, due to both emotions and survival, to return Spider (Jack Champion) back to his kind (as harsh as it sounds for all the right reasons), the family joins a band of floating traders, led by Peylak (David Thewlis, a welcome addition). This begins a massive journey that kicks this edition off in style, introducing new creatures, and fascinating airborne ships.

It's not long before they face off against a terrifying new Na'vi tribe, the Ash People, who are led by the beautiful & lethal Varang. Oona Chaplin, grandaughter of Charlie, is a powerhouse villain for the franchise. When she meets Quaritch, the combination of their hate for Jake torches the saga to new heights.

Think about some of the greatest action films of our lifetime. The classic face offs in "Terminator 2", the bridge chase sequence with Jamie Lee and Arnold in "True Lies", ANY part of "Aliens". Cameron's been behind them all. He's been building his available technology toward this moment.

With FIRE AND ASH, he's able to commit to screen some of the largest scale action sequences in history and they are STUNNING. You have to see this film in IMAX 3D. The visuals are thrilling.

Every fantasy/sci-fi film buff of a certain age remembers the first time they saw the huge space battles in "Return of the Jedi" with warring ships flying by in every direction, echoing WW2 dogfights. Well here we are decades later in years and generations later in special effects. There are long sequences here that take those memories you have and blow them up into something bigger,better and breathess.

The motion capture technology that Cameron and his team have perfected is so nuanced that you never feel cheated out of any actor's performance. The visuals also are now so strong that every moment is shown with brilliant clarity on the IMAX screen. There are no muddled, dark corners here. This is modern moviemaking at its zenith.

The returning cast is terrific, including Edie Falco as General Ardmore, who's having a hell of a time corraling Quaritch this time out. Falco is a rock, as is Jemaine Clement as a scientist who's unwilling to sacrifice the indigenous Nav'vi for a profit.

Britain Dalton is excellent as Lo'ak, throwing an entire subplot about a wise whale counsel on his back and running with it. It's a coming of age story mashed up with the best moments of "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" that could have been silly, but lands powerfully during that massive finale.

Cameron's been building for two films toward his EPIC conclusion here and it's thrilling.

And exhausting, in all the right ways.

As Cameron pops back and forth between several suspenseful showdowns, he cleverly weaves them together into a powerhouse visual feast that left my sold out IMAX 3D house cheering and applauding when the final credits rolled.

Cameron has said that he's created the second and third films, "Way of Water" and "Fire and Ash" as films that could conclude a trilogy perfectly, if the box office fell off.

Based on the crowd I saw it with, the opening day box office on a run that will roll for weeks over the Christmas and New Years holidays, I'm ready for the fourth and fifth films that Cameron, now 71, has promised if audiences want it.

Count me in, James.

I never count him out, but I didn't expect him to deliver the best of the series and one of my favorite films of the year underneath my Christmas tree.

AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH gets a wide-eyed, jaw-dropped, appreciative A+.

Find an IMAX 3D showing near you and get ready for the ride of the year.