Title: The Last Airbender
Studio/Distributor: Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies/Blinding Edge Pictures
Genre(s): Action/Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Cast: Noah Ringer, Jackson Rathbone, Nicola Peltz, Dev Patel, Cliff Curtis, Shaun Taub, Aasif Mandvi, Saychelle Gabriel
Writer: M. Night Shyamalan
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Synopsis: With the help of a brother and sister, a young successor to a long line of legendary warriors must put aside his childhood ways and shape his destiny by tipping the balance between the forces of good & evil.
Bottom Line: When it was announced that a live-action movie version of the Emmy-winning Nickelodeon animated series “Avatar: The Last Airbender” would be made, fans of the series (young and old) were ecstatic to hear the news, in spite of the fact that the news of M. Night Shyamalan serving as writer & director of the film was met with mixed reactions. However, after a spectacular teaser was released in the summer of 2009, the skepticism of how Shyamalan would take the adaptation and add his own style to it cooled down. Then, last July, the movie arrived in theaters (in 3D & 2D versions) and that cooled-down skepticism heated back up as those skeptics were right. At the start of it, the movie opens with a live-action variation of the show’s opening sequences about the different tribes of element benders (Earth, Water, Fire & Air) and much like the premiere episode of the series, we are introduced to waterbenders Katara and her older brother Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe (Peltz & Rathbone) as they discover a giant ball of ice that contains the hero of our story, Aang (Ringer) and his animal guide Appa the flying six-legged bison. Katara & Sokka free Aang & Appa from the ice and Aang explains his situation to them, telling them after he was revealed to be the Avatar, he had to put an end to his childhood activities and he ran away, encasing himself in the ball of ice in suspended animation. The trio travel to the Northern Water Tribe so Aang & Katara can learn waterbending but during their travel, Aang discovers that Fire Lord Ozai (Curtis) has wiped out all Air Nomads, therefore making Aang the last of his kind. Ozai’s exlied son Prince Zuko (Patel) has Aang, Katara & Sokka in hot pursuit, just so he can reclaim his honor & throne if he captures Aang but Zuko is competing in capturing him with the Fire Nation’s Admiral Zhao (Mandvi) who leads the attack on the Northern Water Tribe. The movie faithfully follows the series’ first season (Book One: Water) to a T but the execution of it ends up being mangled with an imbalanced balance of great action scenes & dazzling visual effects by Industrial Light & Magic but shallow and boring acting. Shyamalan tried his best with how he brought it all on film because he did watch the complete series prior to making the movie and shouldn’t be faulted for writing & directing the film because he made a series of commercial failures. It just wasn’t executed properly but should they ever decide to give it another shot, they will give it to proper people who can make a better story. The long and short of it: “The Last Airbender” is not a very bad movie but it’s not a good movie either. However, if you’re a fan of the TV series and can forgive the movie for its faults, watch it and take it what its worth.