The Last Airbender

Once touted as the next Spielberg, M. Night Shyamalan has fallen from grace and his latest attempt does little to help his street cred. The Last Airbender is a tough watch, but it's even rougher for the older fans of the show. I saw the movie with a buddy, who is a fan of the show, and despite the movie being panned, he was still excited to see the movie, and then it started.

We decided to not shill out the extra cash to see the 3D version as supposedly they were a last minute add-ons to jack up ticket prices. Some of the visual aspects were cool but it seemed like the graphics department had trouble with water and fire as the effects for these two elementals never looked realistic.

There is little left to the imagination on how this movie plays out as every thought and motive is spelled out for you. And in case you miss the emotion the first time, the characters will reiterate their feelings at three more times in the scene. The best line of the whole night actually came from a scientific study later in the evening when many patrons of the local Applebees learned "Atlantic City bathrooms are built to fuck."

The actors seem wildly out of place. It may be due to the poor direction. According to the protesters it's more likely due to the fact the leads are supposed to be of Asian descent and are instead very Caucasian. Noah Ringer does an acceptable job as Aang, the young Avatar lost for a century, who is supposed to bring balance to the world. According to the series he is supposed to be much more playful. Shyamalan does try to pass this trait along to the audience by having his lead actor tell the audience, "I like games." Send this kid to CNN they could use reporters like him. The first time actor does nail the character's feelings of being overwhelmed

The Asian community is not the only one pissed. Indians are also supposedly angry for being cast as the villainous fire nation trying to take over the world using technology. But they should be proud as the only good acting comes from the fire nation. Dev Patel plays Prince Zuko, the yin to Aang's yang. Patel's stint in Slumdog Millionaire serves him well as he is allowed to show off with various emotional traits that come with being disowned by your father. And mutual enemy Commander Zhao played by the daily show's Assif Mandvi also does solid work as a real jerk who does not hold the spirit world in high regard. Maybe not the next Steve Carrel, but as Colbert put it no one close to Carrell thought he would get this big.

The source material contains 20 episodes which Shyamalan tries to squeeze into 108 minutes, lost are some of the finer details which my friend wished Shyamalan decided to share. While I wish there was more story taken out especially the budding romance between the water princess and one of Aang's sidekicks. We are told by the crack shot narration that a bond quickly forms between the two. The romance serves no purpose except for heightened tension towards the climax of the movie which felt rushed anyway.

Nothing in this movie seemed to flow together. And while the movie sets itself up to become a trilogy the other elementals may get dumped, or at the very least find new direction. At least I learned Atlantic City bathrooms are built to fuck. D