Airblunder

The Last Airbender was and will probably be the most anticipated movie of my life. The previews looked good, but I could tell from the acting that it wouldn't live up to the greatest cartoon ever made. It wasn't as bad as Alice but it wasn't as good as Jurassic Park either. I'll do the cons and then the pros.  

First, they tried to cram 20 episodes into an hour and a half movie, which is never a good idea. This movie should have been much longer, allowing more time for character development and comic relief. If you don't know anything about the cartoon then it will probably be hard for you to follow, as they left out many side stories & characters. Secondly, comedy & fun, so prevalent in the cartoon, were absolutely void in this movie. Aang only smiled once and Sokka didn't make one single corny joke. I never appreciated Sokka's mediocrity so much until now, haha. 

Also, all the teasing was gone... Kitara never showed her snarky side and Iroh never digressed into philosophical proverbs to calm Zuko. This movie needed a lot of that- it was way too fast paced and serious. Then I had a huge issue with the dialogue- it was very mundane, straight to the point, and too narrative. Coupled with the crappy acting by whoever played Sokka (he was just awful), the Firelord, and Aang (ok he's a young actor so I shouldn't be too hard on him), alot of the scenes inevitably gave me a freaking headache.  

But I'll be fair- this movie had some good qualities too. The fight scenes, the special effects, and the music were excellent. Surprisingly I thought the ending was better than in the cartoon, where Aang transforms into a giant water blob.  Well, I won't spoil anything, but I definitely recommend watching the cartoon before the movie.  

Overall, it seemed like an elaborate over-the-top tribute to one of the best stories ever. I wonder how much this had to do with Hollywood's boner for shock and awe and how much it had to do with the director's sad reputation. I just hope the Airbender story will not be remembered 100 years from now by these facade movies. It was painful to watch, but being a loyal fan, I'll still watch the second movie. So, go see this if you enjoy fast paced fantasy, epic battles, no sense of humor, and cheap dialogue.