Reviews Film / The Last Airbender

So many poor decisions.

I've been pretty hard on Shyamalan since Lady In The Water and The Happening but even after those two bombs, I am baffled at how many poor decisions he made.

• I disliked the Mighty Whitey Race Lift but was willing to look past it if the actors could bring some of my favorite characters to life. Even so, putting white leads in a world that is almost entirely Asian is distracting. One has to wonder why Sokka and Katara are the only white people in their village. Are they adopted? There is no explanation and it kept me from losing myself in the world of the film. It reminded me of the fakeness of it all. Shyamalan argues that anime is based off "ambiguous" features but the fact is that the movie wasn't an anime.

• Like many other fans, I can't understand why Shyamalan decided to alter the pronunciations of the characters' names. I can't understand why Shyamalan chose to Asian-ize the names but de-Asian-ize the cast. Also, it is another thing that is just plain distracting for the fans. It's like a little pebble in your shoe that keeps you from enjoying a nice walk.

• I could put up with the Race Lift if the actors were qualified. They weren't. Aang was flat and spoke like he was reading a script (though this might be a result of Shyamalan's writing). I've seen better performances from other children. My biggest problem is Katara. Shyamalan cast her even though she couldn't do martial arts, an integral part of Katara's character.

• I have a problem with nearly all the characters but will stick to the leads. Aang lost his positive personality. Katara was a victim of Chickification whose best moments were either cut or given to Aang. Sokka lost all the fun parts of his personality. This is the fault not of the actors but of the writers. Their dialogue lacks flow and realism. The result is an angsty, joyless film. The cartoon expertly balanced light-heartedness with the more serious elements. The film shows no such balance.

• Shyamalan obviously had no idea how to direct a fantasy epic. The infamous Earthbending scene is the best example. The slow moving rock was probably a result of Shyamalan not knowing how to properly time the actions of his actors so that he could animate the rock later. He couldn't handle the special effects necessary to make this kind of movie work.