Oscar-winning director James Cameron was thrilled to hear that I cried my eyes out and was forced to check my pulse in the latest 'Avatar' film, 'Fire and Ash'. 

Sitting down to discuss the third instalment of the mammoth franchise, Cameron said he wanted to take audiences to a darker, more complex Pandora - and that he did, with a blend of heart-wrenching family dynamics, heavy themes of grief and division and a new tribe of truly terrifying 'bad guys'. 

Trying to seem nonchalant while yarning with such a legendary filmmaker, I offered that there were "lots of bad things happening all the time, at once", which seemed to be exactly what Cameron was going for. 

Watching the film in IMAX - the way it should be watched - you feel totally immersed in the world, which also means at various points you feel like you're drowning, about to catch on fire, falling from a great height and being attacked by a litany of terrifying creatures, military platoons and murderous Na'avi. 

The other handy thing is that IMAX glasses, while looking quite stupid, do act as a good "mascara dam", as Cameron called it, for any tears brought on by the film's emotional gut-punches. 

"You’re the perfect audience for this movie," he told me. "Who knew? The next time I do a film, I want you to act as a test subject. We'll put you in an fMRI machine, we'll wire you up and get all of your responses."

I wasn't the only one who had a visceral reaction - Cameron admitted there was some push back from the creative team, wondering whether they were "going too far" with some of the film's most upsetting moments.

Cameron's response was simply to ask, "are we going far enough?"

With the legendary director now an official Kiwi citizen, a small army of New Zealanders involved with the production and powerhouse actors like Cliff Curtis representing Māori culture on the big screen, there's plenty for Aotearoa to be incredibly proud of when it comes to 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'.

In fact, arguably the best one-liner in the whole movie goes to one of our own - Jemaine Clement as Dr. Ian Garvin, who Cameron says is "beloved". Trust, you'll know it when you hear it.

'Avatar: Fire and Ash' hits cinemas nationwide on December 19.