The Last Airbender

After being frozen in an iceberg for a hundred years, Avatar Aang awakes to find a world engulfed in destruction and turmoil as the Fire Nation seeks to conquer the Air Nomads, Earth Kingdom, and Water Tribes. With the help of his new friends Katara and Sokka, Aang attempts to cope with this radically different reality, evade the banished Fire Nation Prince Zuko, travel to the North Pole to master waterbending, and bring justice, peace, and balance to all.

Shyamalan's questionable directorial choices severely decrease the film's quality. The Last Airbender suffers from sloppy and rushed pacing, the product of condensing twenty episodes into an hour and forty-three-minute runtime on the big screen. While many plot points try to elicit emotional responses from the viewer, such as Fire Lord Ozai burning his son and Aang discovering the genocide of the Air Nomads, the movie's tendency to quickly transition to another scene lessens the gravity of these moments that intend to be incredibly impactful. Additionally, lifeless dialogue and unconvincing acting exacerbate this issue, as numerous characters appear to react apathetically and stoically to heartbreaking and tragic events.

One scene that encapsulates many of these aforementioned criticisms transpires during the 28:20 mark of the movie. During the start of this scene, Aang attempts to incite an Earth Kingdom rebellion, yet he delivers a speech that neither entertains nor motivates. Approximately thirty seconds into the attached clip, Katara clumsily sprints to and awkwardly shoves a Fire Nation Soldier. She tries to intensify the scene's tension, but miserably fails, illustrating the cast's incompetency in heightened moments. Afterwards, the action portion of this scene underwhelms, as the benders' uncoordinated and often unnecessary movements result in a minimal amount of actual bending and no sense of urgency. Furthermore, the first scene randomly cuts to the next scene without a satisfying conclusion or apparent explanation, rendering the first scene insufficient in context and substance. Finally, the scene demonstrates how whitewashing characters, particular central ones, can generate harmful implications and interpretations, as the Earth Kingdom is shown as powerless on their own and only willing to rebel with the assistance of white protagonists.

Though the film has countless flaws and missteps, it does possess some redeeming qualities that salvage it from being totally unwatchable. The "Avatar" franchise appeals to various demographics for multiple reasons, but one aspect of its intrigue stems from its capacity to effectively communicate and explore difficult subjects in a manner that any age group can understand and empathize with. The Fire Nation's unrelenting pursuit of global domination conveys the dangers of imperialism. Their hunger for power devastates local communities, eradicates other cultures, and perpetuates violence. The film's main antagonist, Zuko, obsesses over capturing Aang in an effort to restore his honor and please his father, yet the mental and physical ramifications of this endeavor question the meaning and worth of respect and reputation. Moreover, it also distinguishes honor from happiness and critiques societal expectations and norms. Initially, Aang struggles to accept being the Avatar, frequently citing that the task forbids him from starting a family. However, he gradually embraces the responsibility, and through his friendships with Katara and Sokka, learns that not all families are bound by blood.

If provided the opportunity to remake the movie, M. Night Shyamalan should contemplate the following recommendations to improve The Last Airbender. Firstly, Shyamalan needs to recruit a cast that accurately reflects the cultures that inspire the franchise and create its fantastical world. Secondly, Shyamalan needs to either broaden the film's runtime or invent an entirely new story because shortening more than eight hours of content into the movie's current length proved disastrous and insufficient. Next, he must coach believable acting, coordinate bending that closely resembles the martial art it replicates, and develop a powerful and captivating script. Finally, he ought to emphasis the original film's successes, mainly its themes and cinematography, while minimizing or removing details that cannot be satisfactorily reworked.

Although it adopts the premise of a critically acclaimed television show, The Last Airbender underdelivered so severely that a planned trilogy was cancelled and a childhood favorite for many was tarnished. The film primarily suffers from a whitewashed cast, atrocious action sequences, and suspect directorial choices like extraordinarily fast pacing and weak character interactions. Though visually appealing and thematically strong, the movie's defects ultimately doom the project. When accounting for all of the components listed, it is impossible to rate the movie any higher than a 1.5/5. The Avatar can master all four elements and save the world, but he cannot stop The Last Airbender from being borderline unwatchable.