The Last Airbender film review
There are some bad movies that are so boisterous; so cocky despite their crapness that they're marvellous fun to shred afterwards. Then there are those bad movies so limp; so apparently disinterested in themselves that it requires mammoth effort to work up the energy to bash them. Family fantasy The Last Airbender is an unfortunate case of the latter.
Adapted for the screen and directed by M. Night Shyamalan - the man responsible for, among others, The Sixth Sense, Signs, Lady in the Water and The Happening - The Last Airbender is based on the hit Nickelodeon animated series that is arguably the most enjoyable cartoon, uniting children and adults alike, to emerge during the first decade of the 21st Century.
Mixing martial arts and magic, The Last Airbender is set in a Far Eastern-style world split according to the four elements: there is the Fire Nation, the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom and the Air Nomads. In each of the different groups there are "benders", people who can magically control the element of their people. And in the whole world there is one bender, the reincarnated Avatar, who alone can control all four elements. He or she exists to maintain balance between the nations.
The Last Airbender is set 100 years after the last Avatar vanished - just as the power-hungry Fire Nation attacked the other groups. After decades of war the world is full of suffering and bitterness, and it's during this troubled time that teenage waterbender Katara (Nicola Peltz), and her warrior brother Sokka (Jackson Rathbone) stumble upon the long-lost Avatar trapped in an iceberg. The thing is, Avatar Aang (Noah Ringer), apart from being the last airbender, is still just a child. And if he is to restore peace he first has to learn to bend the other four elements - starting with water, which he can only learn at the Northern Water Tribe. Aang is joined on his quest by optimistic Katara, cynical Sokka, Appa, a massive flying bison, and Momo, a winged lemur. Hot on Aang's trail, meanwhile, are two prominent Fire Nation figures: disgraced Prince Zuko (Dev Patel), and ruthless Commander Zhao (Aasif Mandvi), both of whom have something to gain from capturing the Avatar first.
In all fairness, a live-action film adaptation of the TV series was always going to be challenging. The Last Airbender is only based on the first of the show's three seasons, but that still means attempting to cram 10 hours of plot and character development into one neat 90 minute package. The result is disastrous.
I won't resort to endless comparisons to the animated series, but the most obvious thing to be sacrificed in translating The Last Airbender to the big screen is the show's appealing sense of humour and child-like glee. Without the goofy, lighthearted moments, the movie is just another generic, tonally dour action-adventure - and evidently Shyamalan is just as uncomfortable tackling that genre as he is comedy.
The Last Airbender feels like a stiff, and frequently jarring, highlights package. The average scene length is apparently 30 seconds long, and as a result the viewer experiences narrative whiplash as they are flung back and forth between the many plot points, character motivations and fan-favourite scenes (from the cartoon) - all of which are over-explained to the point of irritation.
Then, in addition to all this story stuffing, Shyamalan still seems intent on introducing some of his own favourite issues into the film - such as the danger of disregarding spirituality in favour of an over-reliance on Man's scientific advances. Whereas the firebenders in the cartoon can create flame from thin air, in the film all but the most powerful need to be supplied with the element to manipulate it (much like Pyro in the X-Men sequels). The movie firebenders may use the most advanced weaponry and military hardware of all the nations, but they also have the weakest magic as a result.
Also, for some inexplicable reason, both Aang and Zuko both seem to have serious "Daddy/mentor issues."
Speaking of the characters and the actors playing them, the trio of young stars embodying the film's heroes certainly look like their animated equivalents. However, they are all poor actors. Peltz is the best of the bunch - but that is probably because Katara is the most emotive character to begin with. Long gone are the days of Shyamalan finding amazing young talent and coaxing award-worthy performances from them (think Haley Joel Osment and Abigail Breslin). Then again, given the wince-worthy nature of The Last Airbender's dialogue, and the complete lack of character development in the script, and it's debatable how much blame can be placed on Ringer and co.
Still though, the performances feel rigid on the whole, and this lack of emotional force translates most disappointingly of all into the fight scenes. As in the animated series, elemental magic, or bending, is accompanied by the performance of martial arts katas. However, in the Last Airbender movie that is all the bending feels like: choreography, with actors going through the physical motions. There is no sense of the force behind the actions. It's just people twirling their arms around. There are one or two battles - already glimpsed in the trailer - where the action is rousing, but otherwise it completely lacks impact.
There are plenty of criticisms to be made about The Last Airbender. At the same time though, the film's few positives should also be identified. Chiefly these are the special effects. Beloved animal characters from the TV show, Appa and Momo are given the CGI treatment, and although their parts are disappointingly tiny, they have been very well realised visually. The elemental magic effects also look impressive, and if we're still talking about good impressions, the best - and most exciting - of the film's action scenes is Aang's mysterious assisted prison escape.
In the end though, even these few successful aspects of The Last Airbender film really pale in comparison to the animated series. Take your time and money and rather invest it in seeking out the show on DVD. Shyamalan's film adaptation is a dud that will leave you cold.
Adapted for the screen and directed by M. Night Shyamalan - the man responsible for, among others, The Sixth Sense, Signs, Lady in the Water and The Happening - The Last Airbender is based on the hit Nickelodeon animated series that is arguably the most enjoyable cartoon, uniting children and adults alike, to emerge during the first decade of the 21st Century.
Mixing martial arts and magic, The Last Airbender is set in a Far Eastern-style world split according to the four elements: there is the Fire Nation, the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom and the Air Nomads. In each of the different groups there are "benders", people who can magically control the element of their people. And in the whole world there is one bender, the reincarnated Avatar, who alone can control all four elements. He or she exists to maintain balance between the nations.
The Last Airbender is set 100 years after the last Avatar vanished - just as the power-hungry Fire Nation attacked the other groups. After decades of war the world is full of suffering and bitterness, and it's during this troubled time that teenage waterbender Katara (Nicola Peltz), and her warrior brother Sokka (Jackson Rathbone) stumble upon the long-lost Avatar trapped in an iceberg. The thing is, Avatar Aang (Noah Ringer), apart from being the last airbender, is still just a child. And if he is to restore peace he first has to learn to bend the other four elements - starting with water, which he can only learn at the Northern Water Tribe. Aang is joined on his quest by optimistic Katara, cynical Sokka, Appa, a massive flying bison, and Momo, a winged lemur. Hot on Aang's trail, meanwhile, are two prominent Fire Nation figures: disgraced Prince Zuko (Dev Patel), and ruthless Commander Zhao (Aasif Mandvi), both of whom have something to gain from capturing the Avatar first.
In all fairness, a live-action film adaptation of the TV series was always going to be challenging. The Last Airbender is only based on the first of the show's three seasons, but that still means attempting to cram 10 hours of plot and character development into one neat 90 minute package. The result is disastrous.
I won't resort to endless comparisons to the animated series, but the most obvious thing to be sacrificed in translating The Last Airbender to the big screen is the show's appealing sense of humour and child-like glee. Without the goofy, lighthearted moments, the movie is just another generic, tonally dour action-adventure - and evidently Shyamalan is just as uncomfortable tackling that genre as he is comedy.
The Last Airbender feels like a stiff, and frequently jarring, highlights package. The average scene length is apparently 30 seconds long, and as a result the viewer experiences narrative whiplash as they are flung back and forth between the many plot points, character motivations and fan-favourite scenes (from the cartoon) - all of which are over-explained to the point of irritation.
Then, in addition to all this story stuffing, Shyamalan still seems intent on introducing some of his own favourite issues into the film - such as the danger of disregarding spirituality in favour of an over-reliance on Man's scientific advances. Whereas the firebenders in the cartoon can create flame from thin air, in the film all but the most powerful need to be supplied with the element to manipulate it (much like Pyro in the X-Men sequels). The movie firebenders may use the most advanced weaponry and military hardware of all the nations, but they also have the weakest magic as a result.
Also, for some inexplicable reason, both Aang and Zuko both seem to have serious "Daddy/mentor issues."
Speaking of the characters and the actors playing them, the trio of young stars embodying the film's heroes certainly look like their animated equivalents. However, they are all poor actors. Peltz is the best of the bunch - but that is probably because Katara is the most emotive character to begin with. Long gone are the days of Shyamalan finding amazing young talent and coaxing award-worthy performances from them (think Haley Joel Osment and Abigail Breslin). Then again, given the wince-worthy nature of The Last Airbender's dialogue, and the complete lack of character development in the script, and it's debatable how much blame can be placed on Ringer and co.
Still though, the performances feel rigid on the whole, and this lack of emotional force translates most disappointingly of all into the fight scenes. As in the animated series, elemental magic, or bending, is accompanied by the performance of martial arts katas. However, in the Last Airbender movie that is all the bending feels like: choreography, with actors going through the physical motions. There is no sense of the force behind the actions. It's just people twirling their arms around. There are one or two battles - already glimpsed in the trailer - where the action is rousing, but otherwise it completely lacks impact.
There are plenty of criticisms to be made about The Last Airbender. At the same time though, the film's few positives should also be identified. Chiefly these are the special effects. Beloved animal characters from the TV show, Appa and Momo are given the CGI treatment, and although their parts are disappointingly tiny, they have been very well realised visually. The elemental magic effects also look impressive, and if we're still talking about good impressions, the best - and most exciting - of the film's action scenes is Aang's mysterious assisted prison escape.
In the end though, even these few successful aspects of The Last Airbender film really pale in comparison to the animated series. Take your time and money and rather invest it in seeking out the show on DVD. Shyamalan's film adaptation is a dud that will leave you cold.
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