The Last Airbender by Danika Klyve, NMTV The Last Airbender is based on an anime Nickelodeon cartoon by the name Avatar: The Last Airbender, but not to be confused with James Cameron’s Avatar. There are no blue Navi people, and definitely no unobtainium. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, The Village), this movie follows the beginning of the story of, you guessed it, the last airbender.
A fair question to ask would be “what’s an airbender?” The answer is simple: an airbender is someone who can bend air – bend air in different speeds and shapes, and basically control the flow of air, using it to one’s benefit, or to one’s enemy’s demise. Now this might sound crazy, but there are also waterbenders, earthbenders, and the evil firebenders. Most people can’t bend anything, but those who can are very special, and highly revered in their community. The Last Airbender, a young boy named Aang, is special because in addition to be the only airbender who survived a genocide of sorts, he is also the Avatar, the one person who can control all four elements. The Avatar has been missing for 100 years, and thought by many to be dead. However, he survived in a pocket of air in the ice, in a cryogenic state. Not a lot of exposition is given at the start of the film, but it’s quickly revealed that the firebenders are trying to conquer the world, and conquering village after village, outlawing bending. It’s the Avatar’s destiny to free the people and form peace between the bending tribes. The story turns into a classic root-for-the-underdogs-to-overcome story, which in itself isn’t too bad. It’s a shame that the writing, directing, and acting ruin what could be a great story. The problems are pretty simple. It seems like Shyamalan was trying to retain the overall feeling of a cartoon, but he does so at the expense of any sort of multi-syllabic dialogue, and causes the characters to be as deep as a paper clip. The dialogue comes across as very juvenile, with the action and style coming across as more adult. The movie fails to find any real niche, and had trouble deciding what it wants to become. Had the writing showed any type of plot complexity, perhaps the actors would have been able to give more than a high school theater acting performance. In the writing, you quickly see that every character and every tribe is truly a caricature of an idea. The firebenders are truly evil, and you know it because they wear black, wear full head helmets, navigate black boats, and are quite good at polluting the air. The waterbenders are a gentler culture, and you know this because they have white beards, and wear soft, comfy, blue robes. It’s a simple plot and simple story, and if this movie was aiming for a younger audience, that would be great, but it’s aiming for an all-around audience, and fans of quality writing will find this movie grating on their nerves throughout. Even with the plot flaws, I found myself rooting for Aang, and hoping for success. 2.5 out of 5 stars.