- Joined
- Nov 15, 2001
- Messages
- 5,322
- Real Name
- Neil Middlemiss
The Last Airbender
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Year: 2010
US Rating: Rated PG for Fantasy Action Violence
Film Length: 103 Mins
Video: 1080P High Definition 16X9 - 2.35:1
Audio: English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, French, Spanish, and Brazillian Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, and Brazillian Portuguese
Release Date: November 16, 2010
Review Date: November 21, 2010
“There are reasons each of us are born. We have to find those reasons.”
Introduction
Great expectations can yield such great disappointment – and although M. Night Shyamalan has been unfairly maligned since 2004’s The Village, the earliest glimpses of what Shyamalan might be able to accomplish transitioning Nickelodeon’s popular animated series to the big screen seemed to hold some promise. Alas, the results fail to latch onto the promise and deliver the disappointment that was such a risk.
M. Night Shyamalan needed this film to be a hit. Directing a film for the first time that was not of his own original screenplay, many had hoped that what had disappointed them most about his recent offerings – predictability, a failure to connect, and worse, indulgence, would be abated in favor of the prospects held within the original material born of the first ‘book’ of the cartoon series.
The Film: 2.5 out of 5
In the world of the The Last Airbender exists four nations; Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. Each nation contains within its people those who are able to control – or bend – the namesake element of their people. While Earth, Air, and Water are peaceable people, the Fire nation favors domination. Balance between the nations was afforded by the Avatar, a rare individual with the ability to bend all of the elements. 100 years ago, the Avatar disappeared, and in his absence, the Fire Nation sought to dominate, waging war, suppressing the bending skills, and conquering almost all of the tribal enclaves of the other nations.
As the film begins, we are in the Southern Water Tribe and we see a young brother and sister, Sokka and Katara hunting for food unsuccessfully. They come across something buried beneath the ice – a young boy and a large creature – trapped in the ice for what we later discover is 100 years; it is the Avatar, still a young boy, and not yet in full control of his bending skills. The Fire Nation learns of his return and seeks to capture him so that they may continue their pursuit of forceful domination over the other elements.
There are passing similarities to Star Wars and mixed with the relatively simple framework of four nations, with one being evil, and a single entity that can restore peace to the galaxy – I mean to the nations – is an intriguing but poorly executed sub-storyline involving the cast-off son of the Fire Nation’s Lord Orzi (played by Cliff Curtis) who must find and capture the Avatar in order to regain honor among his people and take his rightful place by his father’s side again. The Avatar’s ability to speak to the Spirit World – which does not mean ghosts, by the way, is another reason the Fire Nation is so fearful of his return.
The major flaws in The Last Airbender begin with the genuinely lackluster performances by Noah Ringer who plays Aang – the Avatar, Nicola Peltz portraying the water bender Katara, Jackson Rathbone playing Sokka, and sadly even Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) playing the outcast Fire Nation Prince Zuko. Part of their failure comes from the awkward script, which addles between light drama and stiff exposition, though that hardly accounts for the surfeit of cringe worthy – and at times melodramatic – line delivery. Even the sneaky and sinister performance by Aasif Manzi – frequent and hilarious contributor to Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with John Stewart – can muster enough joy in the nefarious nemesis role to win over the character failings.
I would be remiss if I did not comment on the casting. I do not subscribe to the accusations of westernization of the cast. The cartoon is remarkably ethnicity neutral, and that appears to transfer to the film, though I can see that the larger Asian cast in the Fire Nation could raise some flags. I am a long-time proponent of diversity in film, television, and media in general, but I cannot buy in to the notion that Shyamalan or the studio purposefully placed villains to reflect a certain ethnicity. It makes much more sense that once the leaders of the Nations were cast, that the subordinates within that nation would have a similar ethnicity – as is the explanation by Shyamalan and the studio.
The disjointed telling of the story, which fails to adequately present the construct and meaning of the mythology in a cogent manner sufficient for audiences new to this world, and the poor performances and script keep The Last Airbender firmly in the grips of failure. Even Industrial Light & Magic’s superb visual effects, rendering the bending power of water, fire, earth, and air realistic and exciting, can’t overcome the distractingly cartoonish creature effects and overall film flaws.
The Video: 4 out of 5
While the film disappoints, the presentation on this blu-ray, presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 in 1080p high definition certainly does not. The level of detail is superb, film grain structure is intact, and the colors – which lean more toward the bluer hues – are gorgeously displayed. The Last Airbender achieves quality cinematography thanks to Andrew Lesnie, who does not shy away from dark corners and some brooding areas of the frame cast in shadows and the black levels in this presentation deliver on that artistic intent.
The Sound: 4.5 out of 5
The English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is brilliant. Astonishingly deep and deliberate bass and LFE, active surrounds, and delightfully pristine clarity throughout should please those in pursuit of sonic excellence. This is a clean and crisp audio; dynamic, enveloping during the rather frequent action sequences. The one downside – though not with the quality of the audio – is with something that should have been a bright spot coming through the audio. M. Night Shyamalan’s long-time composer partner, James Newton Howard sadly does not provide the scale or solid leitmotifs that a film of heroism and mythology demands – a rare miss for such an esteemed film score composer. I had purchased, listened to, and been disappointed with the score as represented on the CD, but had heard from John Ottman (a fellow composer) that much of Newton-Howard’s wonderful full-choir score pieces had been removed from the commercial release. That part is true, but overall the score lacks a coherency parallel to the film. A shame.
The Extras: 4 out of 5
Disc One:
Blu-Ray Feature Film
Discovering The Last Airbender (nine-part documentary in HD)
- Inspirations–Co-creators of the show and M. Night Shyamalan give insight into the inner journey the characters take
- Spirituality – Explore the deeper spirituality that colors The Last Airbender
- Heroes– Aang, Katara and Sokka journey together to save the world; behind-the-scenes piece provides a closer look at these characters and the actors
- Greenland– With sub-zero shoots on glaciers and frozen rivers, travel with the filmmakers to Greenland to meet the locals and experience the magnificent landscapes captured for the powerful opening of the film
- World– The sets, props, costumes and make-up that helped bring to life four unique nations in the film, each with a distinct look and style
- Action– With the film’s “bending” rooted in Martial Arts, uncover Shyamalan’s process with Noah Ringer to create complex, heart-pounding action sequences
- Effects– Closer look at the jaw-dropping cinematography and special effects that were created to blend seamlessly with ILM’s computer generated imagery
- Music– Longtime creative collaboration between M. Night Shyamalan and composer James Newton Howard is celebrated in the film’s sweeping score
- Finale– The journey culminates in one breathtaking moment on the ice wall
Siege of the North (HD) – Get transported to the frozen realm of the Northern Water Tribe and the largest indoor film set ever built on the U.S. east coast
Origins of the Avatar (HD) – Birth of the mythology from the original co-creators of the animated show, Mike DiMartino and Bryan Bryan Konietzko. Concept art from the popular series provides further perspective into how the story would eventually reincarnate into an epic feature film
Katara for a Day (HD) – Spend a day on the set with Nicola Peltz
Deleted Scenes (HD)
Outtakes (HD)
Avatar Annotations (Picture-in-picture on select scenes) – Insights with cast and crew
Disc Two
Feature Film
Digital Copy
Final Thoughts
I wanted to like The Last Airbender. I wanted to enjoy a new mythology, explored with top-notch visual effects, from what I still consider to be one of the most gifted directors working today; however, the film suffers from script and performance weaknesses, and flaws in execution. Shyamalan was able to handle the visual effects spectacle with more flair than I had anticipated, but it was apparently at the cost of all other elements of the film. Shyamalan is a director skilled at the intimacy of a scene – gaining from what we do not see. In this film, and to a large extent in his previous disappointment The Happening, he has forgotten the core of his strengths and appears to now pursue training his focus elsewhere in a film’s narrative. It does not work for him. The Last Airbender required more focus on the characters, more natural and, quite frankly, less targeted exposition, and a little less enamor with the splendors of visual effects, to have accomplished what is, at heart, a story about morals, myths, and meaning.
Standing in one of the many lines at Comic-Con this year, The Last Airbender’s failings were catalogued by a fan of the animated series standing next to me, though they did admit to deriving some entertainment – some small level of appreciation for what made it up on screen, but not enough to openly forgive the film. Perhaps that opinion is evidence that fans of the show will likely be disappointed in the film – though fans of the TV show have likely already arrived at a place to make that determination. So, fans be cautious, all others, this might be safer as a rental or a straight avoid.
Overall 3 out of 5
Neil Middlemiss
Kernersville, NC
