After watching ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash,’ I felt like I was seeing a repeat of the previous film. The movie is long—over three hours—and most of the new ideas show up early on. The rest felt like I’d seen it all before.

In December 2009, director James Cameron released Avatar, his first film since Titanic, and it became a milestone in movie technology. Thanks to new 3D imaging and motion capture, audiences were transported to Pandora in a way they had never experienced before. For many, wearing 3D glasses in the theater was a new and exciting experience, and the film went on to earn about $2.8 billion worldwide. Still, while the visuals were groundbreaking, the story—similar to movies like “Dances with Wolves” and “Pocahontas”—received mixed reactions. Avatar became a symbol of the 2000s, where cutting-edge technology met familiar storytelling.