Avatar: the last Airbender (Book 1: Water)July 21, 2010 @ Ayala cinema 1
Im a fan of the famous Nickelodeon series but I admit, I wasn’t exactly the type that would go gaga if I had missed a part. My brother had a copy of the 3 books on DVD. I would usually sit with him when he was on a marathon of the series last summer (2009). So, it was pretty much amusing. I got the hang of it. In a week, I would be reading a synopsis of an episode I missed. It was last year that I had read about a live action adaptation of the series in IMDB. So, naturally, I had placed the movie as our NUMBER 1 priority for our 2010 movie list (next was Clash of the Titans). Later part of last year, the same website announced the director of the movie. I have to be honest, I am not a very big fan of M.Night. All his movies, perhaps except for the 6th Sense and The Signs, were "blockbuster flops" ("The Happening" was more like "what the eff is happening to M. night?!", "The Village" and "Lady in the water"). So you tell me, how can he make this epic series, with at least a billion fans from all ages, skyrocket as a blockbuster hit?! It was epic alright! Epic Fail!!!
So before I spoil things up, here’s a little overview of the whole series.
Technicalities
So the movie’s opening scene was the same as the series. All in all, the visual effects were good. The fact that the movie stresses out that bending was associated with the Asian martial arts of kung fu and tai chi was a relief. The effects of fire, water, air, and earth bending were also good. The fact that most of the scenes in movie were set in a studio wasn’t such a big issue for me. Appa and Momo were impressive, technical-wise. So were the many machineries of the fire nation.
But!
Who the heck is Eeeroh?! Sowkah?! Oong?!
It was relief hearing how they pronounced Ba Sing Se right!haha
The iceberg scene when Katara and Sokka first found Aang was the ONLY highlight of the movie for me. But the next scenes totally lost it!
Actors
This was, indeed, the major issue of the whole film. Dude! I admired Dev Patel’s performance as Jamal Malik. But in this flick, he was just, in plain words, TRYING SO HARD to play the part. LOUSY! Perhaps except for Uncle Iroh (though not depicted visually the same as in the series), who in a way, had the same wisdom as the one in the series. A lot of reviews always had something to say about the actors, and perhaps in that aspect, I agree to most. The water tribe were Caucasians?! Fire nation, Hindu?! Was M. Night even given the chance to watch the series?! Sure the term AVATAR is ,etymologically, Hindu in nature, but M. Night could’ve at least stuck with the aspects of the series. That way, his movie won’t turn out as much as a disappointment than it already is!
Character-wise, I don’t think any of the other actors were depicting the ones in the series. Sokka was supposed to be a lot humorous as I remembered. Aang, in the series, was, in plain words, just a kid. Both characters were monotonous in the live action version. Blunt. Lousy!
Story Adaptation
The Script writer must be receiving numerous death threats from 12 year olds by now. haha.
The fact that it was an adaptation, a lot of the viewers might’ve known what was going to happen. But for a film based on the 20 episodes of Book 1, events indeed happened so fast. But then again I understand, 20 episodes cannot be summarized in a 2-hour flick.
Spoilers
*Ok so I was wrong, I was hoping M. Night would present Toph even in a cameo role.
*Hello Azula. She was supposed to be one of the prettiest in the series, but in the movie, she was, well, totally not who she actually looked like in the series. Actually, EVERYONE IN THE MOVIE DID NOT LOOK LIKE THE ONES ON THE SERIES!!! Well, except for Appa, Momo, and surprisingly PRINCESS YUE!
All in all
Last airbender was bearable. At least M. Night’s version was. I hope Paramount pictures would pick another director for books Earth and Fire!!!!
I would have to rate the movie a bitter 3.
Consolation for the depiction of Appa and Momo.
Dev Patel could do a lot better.
And someone please replace Sokka’s actor. I can’t help imagining him as Jasper from the Twilight Saga.
Aang was bearable. Though not the type who would goof around like the one on the series but he seems promising.
Katara was ok.
I can’t wait for Toph!!!
And may I suggest, Paramount pictures?
Hire Ang Leen or John Woo.
Let’s make Book 2 the actual ASIAN version!
The fact that it was an adaptation, a lot of the viewers might’ve known what was going to happen. But for a film based on the 20 episodes of Book 1, events indeed happened so fast. But then again I understand, 20 episodes cannot be summarized in a 2-hour flick.
Spoilers
*Ok so I was wrong, I was hoping M. Night would present Toph even in a cameo role.
*Hello Azula. She was supposed to be one of the prettiest in the series, but in the movie, she was, well, totally not who she actually looked like in the series. Actually, EVERYONE IN THE MOVIE DID NOT LOOK LIKE THE ONES ON THE SERIES!!! Well, except for Appa, Momo, and surprisingly PRINCESS YUE!
All in all
Last airbender was bearable. At least M. Night’s version was. I hope Paramount pictures would pick another director for books Earth and Fire!!!!
I would have to rate the movie a bitter 3.
Consolation for the depiction of Appa and Momo.
Dev Patel could do a lot better.
And someone please replace Sokka’s actor. I can’t help imagining him as Jasper from the Twilight Saga.
Aang was bearable. Though not the type who would goof around like the one on the series but he seems promising.
Katara was ok.
I can’t wait for Toph!!!
And may I suggest, Paramount pictures?
Hire Ang Leen or John Woo.
Let’s make Book 2 the actual ASIAN version!
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