Avatar: Fire And Ash Has An Aliens Callback For Sigourney Weaver (But It Doesn't Work)

James Cameron has given us a whole new sci-fi world with dazzling visuals in the "Avatar" franchise. Thanks to advanced technology, some of which Cameron and his crew had to invent for themselves, the lush planet of Pandora comes to life with vibrant colors, which are even more stunning when the sun sets, letting the electric flora and fauna illuminate the darkness.

But the darkness starts to creep in with "Avatar: Fire and Ash," as the sequel introduces a new tribe known as the Mangkwan Clan, aka the Ash People. Led by the vicious Varang (Oona Chaplin), the Ash People reject Eywa and even resent her. Basically, everything they do is in direct defiance of the Na'vi's version of God. They make their rebellion clear by attacking every other clan they come into contact with, acting as pirates who take any resources for themselves.

When Varang encounters Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his children, she puts them in immediate danger, and it only gets worse when she gets help from the perpetually vengeful Quaritch (Stephen Lang), the previously deceased RDA leader who had his memories transferred into a Na'vi avatar body. Despite living only as a Na'vi now, Quaritch continues to pursue the Sully family by any means necessary. When he meets the unhinged witch-like Varang, he sees an opportunity that he can't resist, and he just might be entranced by her bad girl energy too.

The ongoing conflict eventually ends up with Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) being taken captive by Varang and Quaritch. Thankfully, some of the Sully kids aren't about to take this lying down, especially Kiri, the young Na'vi-human hybrid that spawned from Eywa when the deceased scientist Grace Augustine could not be merged with her Na'vi avatar body. In fact, during one of Kiri's heroic moments, she's given a callback that longtime Sigourney Weaver fans will immediately recognize. 

When the Sully clan is able to stop Varang from killing Neytiri during the film's final battle, it's Kiri who gets to taunt the Ash People's leader as they're outnumbered. If you haven't seen the movie, you can probably guess some variation of what Kiri says. As Kiri runs to save her mother, she shouts, "Stay away from my mother!" Then there's a short beat, before she briskly adds, "B***h!"

Yes, that's a callback to Sigourney Weaver's "Aliens" line, "Get away from her, you b***h!" when she uses the power loader to stop the Xenomorph queen from taking the little girl Newt. However, it ends up feeling more forced than satisfying. 

Not only does the beat in between make the line feel like an afterthought, but it doesn't really feel like it falls in line with Kiri as a character. It's not quite as contrived as the line was in "Alien: Romulus," but it just feels a little too on the nose. It might have actually been better if Kirk said "witch" instead of the well-known insult, because that would have put a clever spin on the line instead.

Of course, filmmakers are allowed to indulge in references to their own work every now and then, and I'm sure giving that line to Sigourney Weaver felt fun in the moment. But it's also been done several times before. It even made it into one of the "Laser Cats" sketches from "Saturday Night Live," complete with host Sigourney Weaver saying the line and a cameo from James Cameron. But I suppose it's better than giving Quaritch an "I'll be back" moment.