misora | TLA Review.

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TLA Review.

So, I saw The Last Airbender tonight. (Unexpected, as we thought we were going to see it Sunday night.)

Okay, I'm probably one of like three people in the entire country that's going to say this, but..

I liked it.

It was not the best movie I've ever seen, nor was it really that true to the entire first season of Book 1: Water. But then again, Shyamalan condensed twenty half-hour episodes (10 hours total) into something just under two hours. And while several things were cut that I wish hadn't been, overall I understood the need to cut to the important showdown at the Northern Water Tribe.

First, the not-so-hot.

- Exposition. There was really too much of it, and it made the transitions from scenes a little too choppy. I think it could have been cleaned up and streamlined a little better in that regard; not only that, but the narration felt rushed.
- Some of the dialogue was very stunted.
- There was definitely some consequences to the miscasting. I felt Sokka was too wooden, and Katara too punchy. (She literally just goes up and punches some Fire Nation guy at one point, and John and I burst out laughing.) I'm not sure how much of it was the dialogue they were given, but at least by the end of the movie I found both of them slightly less annoying.
- Sooo many things cut out: the Kyoshi warriors - who might be in the DVD version - and Jet, to name a couple. I'm actually wondering if we might get introduced to Suki in book 2, but I'm not holding my breath.
- While Sokka and Katara's different ethnicity from the rest of the Southern Water Tribe was explained by the fact that the Northern Tribe (whom Kanna originated from) was all white, it still nevertheless was weird to see all caucasians in the NWT, and no Inuits. I thought their outfits were kind of goofy and for some reason made me think of 16th century England. :/

But, there were also so many things that really touched me about this movie.

Firstly, the musical score (James Newton Howard) was incredible. It was so well done, I'm actually listening to it right now, still. It's an epic score, befitting an epic series.

Aang (or "Ong", although I found that as the movie went on, the different pronunciation bugged me less and less) was very different in the movie than he was in the series. This is a more serious Aang, and while he does have his lighthearted moments early on, once he finds out what the Fire Nation has done, and discovers the loss of his people (and Gyatso...every time he had a flashback of Gyatso, and the other Air Nomad monks and children, I wanted to cry), he's suddenly very srs bsns. Which is ...honestly? what we'd expect from someone, even if he's a kid, who now realizes he's faced with the task of saving the world. It's a heavy burden, and this Book 1 Aang is actually more like Season 3 Aang from the original series.

The thing is, I actually like the change.

There were so many instances in the animated series where I just couldn't...take Aang seriously, because he was behaving like a 12 year old kid. (And also shirking his duties and not taking this Avatar thing seriously enough.) One can argue the show was aimed at kids, and therefore they related to Aang; but the thing I like about movie!Aang is that he seems to grow up a little bit, already in this first book.

And someone who reviewed the movie was complaining about the fact that movie!Aang has problems with his waterbending initially, when in the series he picks it up faster than Katara. This too is explained in the movie, by the dragon-spirit's point that he's angry at the Fire Nation for what they've done to his people, and he must learn to let go of his hatred. So in that respect, it's still in tune with the show; already we're seeing flashes of Guru Pahtik's wisdom in book 1.

Then there's the dragon-spirit that he talks to. (Roku's substitute, since Aang doesn't communicate with the previous Avatars in this universe.) And I find the things the dragon portended to him to be quite interesting; one, that Aang couldn't hurt anyone, being the Avatar, and two, that as the Avatar Aang isn't allowed a family. A subconscious part of me wonders if this is the way that Shyamalan will take it to the end - that instead of the Fortuneteller not being able to see romance in his future (and believe me, there is no evidence in the movie of Aang/Katara, whatsoever - they're unusually emotionally distanced from one another, here), we have the dragon pushing that envelope. It'll of course be interesting to see if Aang really is allowed no romantic attachment to Katara, and how that'll play out in the next two movies.

Noah Ringer was a very interesting choice for casting as Aang, but I have to say...I think he was great. His voice is actually very light, still - there were certain trailers that made it sound like he was going through puberty or that his voice was cracking. There was none of that in the movie. His martial art postures were very elegant and graceful. For a first-time actor as the main character in a film, I think he did a great job.

The best played characters, though, by far, were two: Yue - who was such a one-trick pony in the animated series, with her measly two episodes of appearance, but she shines brilliantly in the movie. Her sacrifice scene was beautiful. And she was so human about it - when Sokka begs her not to step into the pool, she turns to him with this look of pain and abject anguish in her eyes, and confides to him how frightened she is, and they're both sobbing by this point. It moved me to tears. It's heartbreaking. But of course she does it, and the way her energy is re-transformed into the Moon spirit again is poignant and perfect, in my opinion.

The other best character was Iroh. And oh god, if Iroh hadn't been so awesome, I don't know if I would have enjoyed it so much. The way he and Devko played off one another, as well as how he interacted with the rest of the cast, was a treat to see. He had just the right dose of humility and wisdom. Interestingly Iroh doesn't wait until Ba Sing Se to make the suggestion that Zuko settle down with a pretty girl; this opens the door for Zuko (cloaked in a hood, to disguise his scar) to ask a passing random young Fire Nation boy if he knows about the Prince of the Fire Nation, the Firelord's son, and why he was banished, prompting the youth to retell the humiliating tale, and reminding Iroh that Zuko has no interest in girls at this point in his one-track crusade.

And then there's the Zutara scene. It's brief, as is Zuko and Katara's Oasis fight (but it had to be, for time constraints, I believe). But it's there, and it's very tender. He picks Katara up after he's knocked her out against the tree, and adjusts her before smoothing her hair out of her face. It's easy to say this was just fanservice, but it made me start to wonder a bit about Shyamalan's intentions with pairings, if there will even be any. Aang and Katara's interactions were more of the "he's our responsibility, we have to look out for him" variety, and the moment Devko and Katara meet in the Oasis cave (where he interrupts her musings with that slight sneer that he had in Siege of the North - always nice to hear, even if it wasn't "aren't you a big girl, now" :p), he makes it a point to ask her name. ....hmmm.

I'm very glad I didn't listen to the negative reviews of this movie. I went into it expecting something wildly different from the series I'd grown to love. And it was that, and then some. I'm actually, if you can believe it, looking forward to the sequel.

Edit: Here's a Youtube feature highlighting the soundtrack, along with scenes from the movie. Yeah, maybe there's a couple little spoilerish things in there - not too much more than what was in the trailers - but if you've already read this post, you apparently don't mind spoilers. ;)

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No, it certainly wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen. Honestly, the more I think about it the more I would like to see it again. I feel that because everything kind of sped by that there were parts I missed (plus the mid-movie potty break for the kiddo). I know that some movies are better the second and third times around because there's so much you miss the first time and I feel this is one of those. And for some reason when I see a movie in the theater it doesn't move me the way it does at home. I'm totally weird like that.

My biggest peeve was the lack of bending itself and the dialogue. For the bending, yes they went through the stances but I would have liked to have seen the elements (water) bend as well as what seemed to me a bunch of unnecessary moves before any element actually moved

I did enjoy the Zutara scene. It felt more sincere than when he was yelling at Iroh about the same thing. Don't shoot me for this, but I liked the conflict on Zhao's face of "do I, don't I kill the fishy?". that was something that was lacking in the cartoon and I really appreciated his moment of humanity there. Other than that, I could have done without him altogether. I gasped in disgust when Sokka grabbed Katara's arm when she soaked him at the beginning. That is not something Sokka would do and I was appalled that MKS would have him do that. I did like his little dialogue when hunting the seal of "I did just like dad said and still I failed" and the way his smile disappeared as Yue was telling him why her hair was white. Very much Sokka-isms. Katara, all in all, I think she was just a failure all around. It was like she was just there with no real purpose other than to randomly... do something, heck I can't even remember what she did. She shoved a soldier, kept asking if he was okay or what his name was or some other nonsensical question.

I too liked more serious Aang. I think it was more appropriate. I really liked when he was in the Spirit World. It really gave the illusion that you were in the real world but not, which it how it's portrayed in the show.

Overall, I do hope there is another movie or two or three. I think that if they allow a longer run time and perhaps a different script writer, that it will be much better. I think directing wise, MKS did fine, just his writing skills were lacking.

No, you're correct - Zhao's moment of indecision is great. Of course he acts like a smug bastard afterwards, when Zuko tries to fight him - but Iroh is there to save the day, and it's awesome because that scene is Siege of the North/Southern Air Temple mixed into one. Iroh stopping Zhao's flames is badass.

♥♥♥Iroooooohhhh.

Iroh was just awesome all around. It was like he was all nonchalant throughout the movie much as cartoon Iroh is. Loved the foot massage and telling Zuko to hook up with one of the pretty girls. Perfection!!!!

honestly when you're working with chi it's not a turn on/turn off kind of thing for beginners. I may not be remembering this correctly but it seemed the more experienced benders had a more immediate response by their element while the kids took a little time to gather.

I also frowny faced at Sokka grabbing Katara's arm. what was the intent there? I wish they had him do some sort of brother revenge type thing where he picks her up to helicopter her until she threatens to barf on him or something. I liked Sokka a lot more as the movie went on which fits how I felt about him in the cartoon. He was kind of a dick for many of the first episodes.

And I was kind of floored by all the wank about Zhao killing the moon spirit. . The test screening review says he punched it and everyone went bananas, but is it truly possible that all of that was because they didn't see that Zhao had a knife? Does this seem any worse than what Zhao actually did in the cartoon? Kind of defines the problems that the fandom would latch on to that were second or third person accounts of things they wouldn't like and just feed the frenzy

Oh god, I hear you on that. The fandom is mob-crazy with like every little thing that appeared in the trailers. Blew my shit. How can you assume something without seeing the whole goddamn scene?

Does this seem any worse than what Zhao actually did in the cartoon?
it seems lamer, to me. i liked the way the series had zhao put the fish back, appearing to admit defeat, then exploding with rage and firebending the fish to death. it created a moment where you believed everything was gonna be okay, that the fight had been won and the bad guy gave up and no one was hurt, and then it turned around and created the worst possible scenario. plus i think that when it comes to killing a DEITY, people want to see a FIREBENDER use FIREBENDING to do it, not just suckerpunch it or shank it.

The thing is, Zhao couldn't firebend the fish in the Oasis - it's explained that because the FN has turned away from the Spirit World and its mandate that all of the nations live in peace, that the Firebenders have lost some of the ability that their chi gives, and now they have to use an external source of firebending. (Except for Iroh, because he's badass, and clearly Shyamalan understands his character better than any of us have given him credit for.)

If you'd seen the movie, you would have understood that at that point it was physically impossible to have a "Zhao cooks the fish" moment.

which is one of the changes i don't agree with. i don't understand how a nation that has to use an external source of bending was able to conquer the world. take the zutara fight in the oasis, for example. zuko's got this big pit of fire in front of him, how it got there i don't know. but why didn't katara just use her waterbending to put out that fire? if the fire nation has to launch fireballs ahead of them to have a source of bending wherever they invade, why didn't ANY of the waterbenders just douse the flaming cannonballs as soon as they arrived?

it just seems like m. night was less interested in making a live-action adaptation of the series and more interested in making "a movie in which people can manipulate elements and hey i may as well grab some convenient elements from this series which has a really strong and dedicated fanbase already. automatic asses in seats!"

You're forgetting that in addition to fire being a more destructive (and offensive) element, they also have their war machines, which are plentiful in the film. The series was pretty straightforward about that, too.

It's your opinion, and I'm not gonna tell you you should feel one way or the other about it. But the way Shyamalan portrayed it does make sense, despite the naysayers, and it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the movie one bit.

...and...

if the fire nation has to launch fireballs ahead of them to have a source of bending wherever they invade, why didn't ANY of the waterbenders just douse the flaming cannonballs as soon as they arrived?

A better question is - why didn't the NWT do that in the original series? With this universe, both animated and live-action, there is always a bit of suspension of disbelief. It didn't feel any more disbelievable in the movie than it did in the series.

You should see it for yourself before you make a judgment on it or not.

A better question is - why didn't the NWT do that in the original series?
because in the original series those fireballs were used to inflict structural damage, not as the firebender's sole means of generating fire. once the fireballs hit, they had done their damage, but the firebenders themselves were still walking around shooting fire out of their freaking hands.

You should see it for yourself before you make a judgment on it or not.
i've heard plenty enough to know that i would not enjoy this, both because of the technical problems (a good musical score doesn't make up for bad acting, mediocre special effects and a story driven by excessive amounts of exposition) and because of the changes made. i'd rather just rewatch the animated series, kthx.

*shrug* ...Suit yourself.

sorry I'm bad at the quotey thing but were the conquering earthbenders that needed to be stopped by Kyoshi unbelievable? They required their element to be present yet required the Avatar to stop them. The way this whole mythos plays out is that any of the elements could overwhelm the others without the Avatar to keep them in balance. I understand you disagree with the creative decision to equalize the bending ( so that all bending requires a source of their bending and firebenders no longer have a massive tactical advantage) but I'm not sure why it seems illogical to those that disagree with it. It makes more sense to me from my understanding of the concepts of elements whether it's Greek, Chinese or any other ancient cultural beliefs.

Firebenders can make their own fire because they learned from dragons. Dragons are the only "teachers" to make their own element, so of course firebenders are going to be the only benders to make their own element. It really does make sense, most people just don't look deep enough to find out why they can use their chi to create their element.

Thanks to misora for unscreening this comment since this anon approached me in another thread. I'll repeat my response from there to keep the conversation relevant.

Two things:

First: Assuming that dragons make fire is a very Western/modern bias. We see this in the cartoon but that doesn't mean that is what happens in Asian mythos. Depictions of dragons in ancient chinese mythology have them chasing the sun or a flaming pearl and they are not producing fire of their own if fire is present at all, since dragons are actually more associated with water spirits. So in the discussion that you are referring to that is not present in this thread, I mention that it does make sense that firebenders should not produce their own fire from a perception more rooted in those mythologies since even the cartoon's canon doesn't make sense in this regard.

Second: In the movie, we see that firebenders do indeed have the ability to create fire as we see Iroh do this. When he does it is seen in awe by the other firebenders, so clearly in movie canon the firebenders over time have lost something of their technique. This agrees with cartoon canon since in the Firebending Masters Zuko's technique of bending is shown as being from a different place than that of the masters. He has to be taught the correct way by them for Zuko to bend properly once he's lost his ability. The movie merely makes this problem more pervasive and I believe that movie Iroh is shown to create fire because he has already been to see the masters.

gah I'm having technical issues. The thing is these are spirits, not deities. Zhao even laments how they make themselves so susceptible to attack to which Iroh responds it is to teach humanity humility which Zhao obviously fails to learn. Why would flambe be any more dignified a death than skewering?

I also frowny faced at Sokka grabbing Katara's arm. what was the intent there? I wish they had him do some sort of brother revenge type thing where he picks her up to helicopter her until she threatens to barf on him or something.

Yeah, that part really reminded me of awkward times, as an older sibling when you finally catch your younger one for being annoying and you want to hit them, but can't bring yourself to it. So there's that weird sorta shove sorta shake. ... Not really want I wanted to see between Sokka and Katara. I like your helicopter idea much better. It would have been a more human moment for sure, and shown the strong bond between the two.

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