"Avatar: The Last Airbender" was my favourite cartoon as a kid. Unfortunately, despite the skill of M. Night Shyamalan the film falls short of the mark. The story of the film is the plot from the first series of the cartoon and is set to be made into a trilogy. There are definitely touches of the directors' genius particularly in the filming of the martial arts, and the visual effects which are impressive and not over used. The sets were beautiful and once the adventure started it was engrossing and enjoyable.
However, the use of the 'Star wars' style word scroll at the beginning was not good, particularly as it was also read aloud by one of the characters who occasionally narrates. This really worked for the cartoon but I found it annoying, as if I was being spoon-fed the story instead of shown. Lines lifted directly from the cartoon also did not work in the hands of actors and the comedic moments were often passed over with barely any emphasis. The scriptwriter seemed to forget those who had originally watched the cartoon would now be 16/17/18 years old and the excessive use of the word 'bender' on its own was bound to cause ridicule.
Ironically it was the exiled Prince Zuko, played by the brilliant Dev Patel, and his Uncle Iroh (Shaun Toub), who captured my compassion and interest. I warmed to the other characters over the course of the film but would suggest that unless you were a fan of the cartoon or are around 10 years old this film is probably not for you.
Although I was not blown away, the original story is unique and holds a special place in my heart so to say that i didn't enjoy it would be a lie but I will not be adding it into my top ten.
However, the use of the 'Star wars' style word scroll at the beginning was not good, particularly as it was also read aloud by one of the characters who occasionally narrates. This really worked for the cartoon but I found it annoying, as if I was being spoon-fed the story instead of shown. Lines lifted directly from the cartoon also did not work in the hands of actors and the comedic moments were often passed over with barely any emphasis. The scriptwriter seemed to forget those who had originally watched the cartoon would now be 16/17/18 years old and the excessive use of the word 'bender' on its own was bound to cause ridicule.
Ironically it was the exiled Prince Zuko, played by the brilliant Dev Patel, and his Uncle Iroh (Shaun Toub), who captured my compassion and interest. I warmed to the other characters over the course of the film but would suggest that unless you were a fan of the cartoon or are around 10 years old this film is probably not for you.
Although I was not blown away, the original story is unique and holds a special place in my heart so to say that i didn't enjoy it would be a lie but I will not be adding it into my top ten.
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