I’m sorry for having to do this. I only had time to watch one new movie over spring break, and I’m so sorry it had to be this one. To anyone who believes that this movie doesn’t exist, please spare yourself now. M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender”…let’s discuss.
Right off the bat, Dev Patel was my only reason to see this film. I was already well aware of the white washing of the Holy Trinity: Aang, Katara and Sokka. It gets more controversial when you realize that Zuko and the rest of the Fire Nation (mostly Indian or Asian actors) are the bad guys. There are a lot of things that could have saved the film, and I think accurately casting the characters loved by many teens is one of them.
Anyway, what happens in this awful film? Seeing as it encompasses the plot of the first season of “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” they were trying to set up a trilogy or one of those awful sagas where the third part is split in two. What do you even call those? Nonetheless, the plot! Our movie begins with Katara narrating, like the opening credits of the show: “Long ago, the four nations of Water, Earth, Fire and Air used to live in harmony. Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, the generational master of all four elements, could defeat them. Yet he vanished when the world needed him most.”
One hundred years later, two siblings—Katara and Sokka from the Southern Water tribe—are looking for food. Instead, they find a boy and bison encased in a sphere of ice. The boy’s name is Aang and he is the last Air nomad left in the world. He also happens to be the Avatar. Not far off is Zuko and his uncle Iroh’s crew. Zuko, having been disowned, must return home with the Avatar to regain his father’s respect. Aang escapes with Katara and Sokka, who are now able to begin their journey.
Normally, I only write so much of the plot to encourage you to see the movie and form your own opinions. This time, I’m doing it because I don’t want to have to think about this movie any more than I must. Go watch the series; it’s a beautiful testament to growing up and choosing your own destiny. That being said, here’s everything wrong with “The Last Airbender” (I am not affiliated with Cinema Sins).
The first problem is the script. The dialogue falls flat for a majority of the film. This was especially true for any time the main three characters—Aang, Katara and Sokka—were talking. There were a couple times when Zuko was yelling that I thought I didn’t hate it, but it might have been my bias towards the character and the actor. Since none of the characters interact in a believable way, all their relationships fail to develop. I’ve never been less supportive of Sokka and Yue.
The acting was poor. It’s a big risk to hire young actors. For Katara and Aang, I think the vision failed. Katara isn’t the strong-willed female we get in the series; she’s boring. Any time I remember her talking, she was just talking about how she needed to help Aang. The original character wanted to help Aang, yes, but she also could find herself along the way. I felt Aang was whiny, and any time he came on screen I was annoyed. He’s not the well-meaning, sometimes ignorant kid I relate to. This kid doesn’t know anything and makes no attempt to solve his own problems.
The actual filmmaking of the movie isn’t deplorable. Some shots were cut at weird moments, and I didn’t like the CGI with Avatar Roku. Also, why was Roku’s character adapted into just being a dragon? I’m so confused. Other than that, the cinematography of this movie is okay.
All in all, “The Last Airbender” does nothing to reflect or add upon its source material. Just don’t even try with this one (but do watch the series).
