Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The Last Airbender

The films released by Nickelodeon Movies have come a long way since Harriet the Spy and Good Burger in the 90s. Even with the lack of Kel Mitchell, the studio’s latest release, The Last Airbender, wound up getting panned by critics prior to its release. Based on a Nickelodeon cartoon, the story follows Aang (Noah Ringer) who must mature in order to fulfill his destiny of becoming the Avatar, who can control the elements in a world threatened by war.

The concept is an interesting one giving unique twists to standard fantasy plot elements and character archetypes. The large flaws come with the difficult task of adapting a season of television into a reasonable length movie. Characters are not given adequate time they need to develop. Along with Ringer, Nicola Peltz who plays Katara and Jackson Rathbone who plays Sokka make up a lead trio that lacks enough personality to gain attachment from an audience. Peltz and Ringer could also have benefited from some more acting experience before partaking in such a big budget project. Rathbone actually seems respectable next to the other two, but in reality that might just be because he is way better here than he is in the Twilight series (See below for Eclipse review).

The acting strength falls with the villain… or “anti- villain.” Dev Patel plays the outcast Prince Zuko, who winds up being one of the only characters who experiences change in the film. This can be attributed mainly to Patel’s performance, which rotates between vindictive and sympathetic.

Going into The Last Airbender, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. The trailers boast tremendous special effects presenting a neat concept. All of this proved true after screening the film. However, the biggest question was whether or not the acting could keep up. With the rare exceptions the answer is no. When seeing the movie, viewers need to be patient through a slow beginning and uncomfortable dialogue to get to the meat of the project. I hope the other two films in the series are made. Firstly, because I am intrigued to see what happens, and second because this is better than everything else M. Night Shyamalan has been making. (7.5 out of 10)

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