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Post by Pyroman on Jul 6, 2010 14:25:58 GMT -5
Well I do not think was that bad, for the most part the main plot of the story was not really lost, but some parts did not totaly match the series. although M. Night did what had to do to make a good and somewhat belivable story/movie, I guess some do not like him as director/writer, I personaly like most of movies he made are kind of weird but.... although this movie was something different from what he does, he ususaully writes and/or directs thriller/horror movies, The last Airbender is neither, although could be slight thriller but not really.
I guess in some weird way I would like to know or find a review from his daughter that imspired him to make it a live action movie in the first place, see if she thinks of how bad or good and if her dad messed up the story.
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Post by Taintedmushroom on Jul 7, 2010 1:36:58 GMT -5
I walked into the movie with an open mind. I'm not one of those fans who go ASDFGHJKL; when shows/books get turned into movies and the movie is NOT EXACTLY THE SAME.
However, I must say, I was very disappointed with the film. I didn't even have large expectations to begin with. The whole thing felt rushed and awfully lacking in character development. I couldn't care for the gaang at all. Dev Patel did well enough for such a poor production, and the special effects were rather nice, but too many moments were cringe worthy for me. The acting, the pace... ugh. Don't even get me started on Zhao. It turned out to be one of those unintentionally funny things. Not good.
Oh and Sokka, where are your jokes boii?
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Post by Pyroman on Jul 7, 2010 11:18:55 GMT -5
well I could agree with looked like was rushed a bit and some things could have been different, I went with sort of open mind to could really suck but. Although what seen was ok was missing some parts that thought should be in there though.
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Post by gigirl942 on Jul 7, 2010 12:26:45 GMT -5
I was excited about seeing this film before but I have to say that I'm very disappointed. I just didn't feel attached to any of the characters and I think the acting was the worst I've ever seen. There was no real emotion in it for me, and it felt really rushed and choppy. I also really hate how a lot of minor characters were cut out and I didn't see any character development. The pronunciation of the characters names also bugged me, but that's minor compared to the rest of it. I don't think I'll be spending any money on the next two films. The only thing I can hope is that they boot M. Night and get someone else (seriously, who's idea was it to have him do this movie?). I don't know for sure, but does anyone think they'll give up on the other two movies because this one is doing worse than expected in the box office?
The movie's budget was 150 million, and it's only made about 69 so far. With the very poor reviews it's getting, unfortunately I can see a lot of theaters dropping it. I don't know how much profit a movie has to make to be considered a financial success, but 69 is a long way away from 150 and I know that a movie is a financial failure if they fail to make more money than it cost to make it. Any thoughts?
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o8jedi
Jet
Please, call me "o8"
Posts: 364
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Post by o8jedi on Jul 7, 2010 20:48:51 GMT -5
In Which a Film School Graduate Reviews The Last Airbender
30 minutes.
I am convinced that 30 more minutes, judiciously used, would have improved the quality of the film from an average fantasy film to a fantastic launch vehicle for a series. Of course, that would not fix all the problems with Shyamalan's adaptation of my (or rather, our) beloved Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it would certainly help.
I must admit that my opinions on this film have swung to both sides of the spectrum: Thinking that it would be a thoughtfully crafted adaptation to being a horrible disappointment and the end of many a career in film. After seeing it, however, I can safely say that it is not definitively either one of these. Still, for M. Night to garner comparisons to George Lucas is not a good thing, especially given how well-received the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy was received, but the parallels are still there and they are not without some validity. Still, there is reason for M. Night to hope that Book 2 will be shot. One can only hope that he can adapt to the flaws that Book 1 presented. Let us begin with the core of the film: the script.
The Page
Typically, if one was to adapt a television series, they would take the basic characters and situations and create a new scenario that is in keeping with the series it is modeled on. A prime example would be the recent A-Team adaptation which retained the characters and their penchant for the absurd, but presented a situation that was never aired during the '80s. With TLA, we are forced to condense the story in a manner not unlike The Lord of the Rings. In this regard, M. Night did admirably, but not perfectly.
There are three key events that needed to happen in TLA: "The Boy in the Iceberg/The Avatar Returns," "The Blue Spirit," and "The Siege of the North." They were all there and all executed as well as could be expected for a 90-minute film (again, 30 minutes). The trouble, from a narrative point of view, comes from trying to illustrate the Gaang's assistance among the Earth Kingdom. This came across as incredibly forced to me and the way the fight scene was staged did little to help my believability for this sequence. That said, to properly adapt an episode like "Imprisoned" or "Jet" would have been a distraction and I respect M. Night's decisions as a writer to distill the season as he did. To say that I could have done better would be hubris.
Characterization and exposition are not really strong points for M. Night, even in The Sixth Sense. Everyone exists in a very concrete frame of mind and, for all we know, they have always been that way. This is certainly true for TLA. Were 30 minutes afforded to the film, I would have recommended that a great deal of that time would be afforded to allowing the characters room to show depth. Too many times, elements of characters were presented as a given, rather than as an organic happening.
Fortunately, while fairly clunky, the dialog was not as bad as it could have been. The gold standard for bad dialog over the past ten years comes from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. The infamous line of dialog happens when Anakin addresses Sen. Amidala on Naboo:
This is followed by one of the most awkward, yet somehow successful, passes in cinematic history. Nowhere during TLA did I groan as much as I did when I heard "I don't like sand."
The Execution
Of course, only so much of the characters' presence on-screen can be attributed to the script. The rest comes from both the cast and the director. Seeing as how the writer and the director are one and the same, it doesn't help Shyamalan's cause at all.
Let us start with the bad. Katara and Sokka were easily the most flat characters in the film. Not only did their lifeless performances stick out like a sore thumb, the stuck out in the Southern Water Tribe. In that regard, I will concede a point to the racebenders. However, one should also fault M. Night for not being able to get the performance necessary from those two cast members. The excuses one could cite are numerous, ranging from poor planning to improper understanding of the material (which is unlikely) to simple incompetence. Jackson Rathbone was a bit easier to take than Nicola Peltz, but a lot was still left to be desired.
As for the good, Noah Ringer was a very convincing Aang. True, he wasn't as fun-loving as his animated counterpart was, but I would cite any criticism with this as a fanboy bugaboo along with the incorrect pronunciations of characters' names or events not happening as they did in the series. Adaptations are more akin to a painting than a photograph, but I digress. Dev Patel certainly carried the intensity that was necessary to be Zuko. While the make-up department could have done better with the scar, Dev was Zuko; the casting was spot-on for that.
The big surprise, in my opinion, was that of Daily Show correspondent Aasif Mandvi as Zhao. I have long been of the opinion that the best actors are comedians, either professionally or at heart. Much in the same way that timing and delivery often determines if a joke is funny or not, timing and delivery can invoke tears or empathy or rage. Aasif demonstrated that he can be a very sinister person. I certainly hope that he gets offered more dramatic roles in his future.
Other Details
On the visual side, The Last Airbender was not unpalatable to the eye. The cinematographer certainly knew what he was doing to photograph the film and the art department (including costumes) outdid themselves. Furthermore, having Industrial Light & Magic handling the visual effects was a great asset. If one problem could be stated, it would be that some of the wire effects (in which actors and stuntpeople would be harnessed in a contraption to allow them to fly) seemed to be on par with old kung fu movies. If ILM was behind the effects, I doubt that it would have been difficult to have them create the effects desired although the existing wire stunts were not out of the film's aesthetic. One thing that was unnecessary, though, was the hasty 3D conversion. Depth added nothing to the film.
And so we come to the final assessment. As a fan, I am fairly disappointed that this adaptation ended up like it did. Still, this was nowhere near as bad as some films over the past few years, especially the Transformers franchise. If Book 2 was to be green-lit, I would probably see it just the same, simply out of an enjoyment for the series. The story works best as a television serial and I have no intention of getting this film on DVD or Blu-Ray. If you do not see this in cinemas, an eventual rental wouldn't kill you. I can only pray, though, that the proper length of time be given to any sequels, not only in creation but presentation. Say, 30 more minutes.
Star rating: ** of four stars
DH rating: 7/10
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Post by fcupcakes on Jul 7, 2010 22:58:49 GMT -5
Where do i begin ... this movie is incomplete . the potential this movie had was great , but man it was not worth my money . if you never seen the series , you'd probably think it was good or okay , but if you are a avatar fan , you will strongly be upset .. The good -action : it was decent , i liked the bending a little , and the fight scenes were okay . -oppa and momo : looked very good to me , they should have been focused on a little more because the importance of oppa in book two ( when stolen from the sand benders ).
the BAD -the writing : who ever wrote the storyline and the characteristics of the characters , they CLEARLY did not watch the show . sokka is NOT AT ALL funny in the movie . in the show he is a smart mouth , funny , stupid but extremely smart , and a warrior . the movie makes him out to be way to serious , which was disappointing because many fans were looking forward to seeing sokka ( the funny one ) . aang is also way too serious in the movie. he was joyful and playful in the show. he loved having fun and they showed that he was a kid. i know he complained alot about being the avatar , but not the whole season one . katara was so weak in the movie , i mean really weak . in the show she was a strong bender , and the reason i say she was shown weak in the movie was when she fought zuko , he whooped her Equus asinus in less than 5 min. and in the show it shows she beast zuko twice in the north pole . i can continue on with other characters such as iroh and zuko but i will be typing forever . -fire nation Indian ? : why was zuko , azula , ozia , and zhao Indian ? -short movie ? ; to me the movie felt short , i guess it was because the many things they left OUT !
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Post by ZutaraSukkaTaang on Jul 10, 2010 6:24:46 GMT -5
When I heard this movie was getting horrible, down right bad, reviews, I lowered my hopes. A lot. I wasn't even sure if I was going to see this movie anymore. Between the character looks/name changes, and the awful reviews, the film was iffy in my eyes already.
I tried viewing this movie once on my own, and only got thirty minutes into it. My first impression was, "Omg. Wow. This is terrible." The writing was cringe worthy. The acting wasn't all that good. And the jumpy editing was a bit confusing at parts.
I decided to stop were I was, and leave. All I could think about was the bad, and even worse parts. One thing that really bothered me: It moved way too fast. Aang willingly leaves the Southern Tribe with Zuko instantly. I didn't buy it. Katara and Sokka are just so worried about Aang, and leaving to travel around the world with him... But really, they don't take the time to give any solid reasons. Sure, "He's our responsibility!" is something, but not enough, IMO. The plot jumped around too much too. My guess is that whoever hadn't seen the TV show was awfully confused, as much wasn't explained.
So, that was my impression, and I was sticking to it... But. Then my younger, six year old brother wanted to see the film. He's recently converted to being an Avatard, like myself, and was excited. Ater much begging, I did end up taking him to see it. I tried to clear my head of all of the previous opinions. On the second take, it wasn't too bad. Looking over the amateur writing, the story was okay. The acting got better over time; But keep in mind: Really, who could give a solid performance with these lines?! No one.
The first half of the movie isn't too impressive. But once the Gaang arrives in the Northern Water Tribe, it got much more entertaining and enjoyable. Yue was probably one of the better actors in the movie, somehow. I actually believed everything she said, and her dialogue flowed better than most. Plus, her scenes with Sokka were so cute, even though there were so few. I really liked Iroh too. He had the biggest change in appearance, yet remained the same in persona. Yue's goodbye scene with Sokka, was pretty sad too, if I do add. Her "I'm already scared. Don't make me more scared." Line was said with much emotion, and I liked it.
Some other things: The special effects were decent. I liked how the waterbending looked, mostly. One thing that bothered me was how the bending didn't match up to the martial arts. In some scenes, it looked like they were dancing as fire flew in different directions. Also, there was barely any firebending. Yeah, very little. I think budget kept them from using too much other bending, somehow. The set designs were beautiful, especially the Northern Water Tribe. OH! One thing I liked that wasn't in the cartoon: Yue's hair turned from white to brown as she gave her life back to the spirit. I thought that was a nice touch there. And there was a Zutara moment. That was a nice surprise. A tweest, if you may. Here, I'll keep going on, as I remember more. Appa and Momo looked pretty decent. Appa's mouth looked a bit odd, but oh well. And Momo was only called by name once, if I remember correctly. Here's a bad thing too, the Kyoshi Warriors cut out. Yeah, that was disappointing. No Suki lovin'. Annnd there was a shout out to Hama. I think Hama will be in the third film, since she was referenced by name. Okay, to wrap this part up: It was nice seeing Azula in the ending, and in the flashback. I have a feeling she'll still be amazing, if there is a sequel.
So, I'd give the film 5.5/10. The writing was the film's weakest link. And with iffy acting, choppy editing, and 50/50 fight sequences, the movie didn't do as well as it could have. My advice is: Get a new writer. Hell, even get a new director. Like the original creators write the sequels. The film series may still have a chance if the right moves are taken.
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Post by Paraiba Ocean on Jul 14, 2010 19:09:44 GMT -5
-fire nation Indian ? : why was zuko , azula , ozia , and zhao Indian ? Shamallamadingdong had a point when saying that Indians are Asian, too. And I actually think that Dev Patel was one of the strongest actors in the film, so I suppose if he wanted to make Zuko Indian, he'd have to make Azula, Ozai and Iroh Indian since they're his relatives, so tbh, I don't have a problem with that group of people being Indian...so I don't know why that by itself is a weak point to the film. If you want to criticize his general casting, like Sokka, Katara and Gran Gran being the only white people in the whole Southern Water Tribe, or Shyamalan's tokenism with the black people in the Earth kingdom, then I would agree. I think what made me the most angry about this film was the huge plot hole with firebending. I found it incredibly stupid that Zuko had to knock down a thing of fire to fight Katara, and especially when her bending should have been stronger (which was generally the whole point of destroying the moon). Plus, it kinda defeats the purpose of the Day of the Black Sun, or at least to me, and that was a major plot twist in the second season and event in the third. Never mind the fact it makes the whole idea that the firebenders wiped out all the airbenders, and a significant percentage of their victories, questionable considering if their fires were put out, hurhur they lose.
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Aanglover
Avatar Yangchen
The Aang Guru
This isn't the end, but rather, a new beginning.
Posts: 1,537
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Post by Aanglover on Jul 15, 2010 7:35:52 GMT -5
well..ive said this many-a-time....the movie wasnt so bad that it would make my eyes bleed...because quite frankly, there were some scenes that made me happy..but others made me infuriated.... i think that if Bryke was on this thing from the beginning TO the end we wouldn't have had a problem, but i heard that the creators were less than happy with the overall production...
hopefully if we get a sequel, the creators will at least write the thing (or maybe Aaron Ehasz who was a co-producer and also Head Writer of Avatar) If one of these guys hopped on board (Bryke as MAIN producers and Aaron as writer) we can expect a great film!
all we know is the direction that Shaymalan took this movie, was not a good one! if he's going to make changes and actually TAKE a critics advice instead of pounding it into the ground he's gonna need major help! cuz we all know that he won't get kicked of as director....that's...just not gonna happen unless James Cameron wants to do the movie...lol
overall, i'd give this movie a C....not so bad that it makes me scream Bloody Murder, but not something that would make me go WOW!... the no character development and bad writing probably is the main reason i'd give this movie a C.
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Post by Paraiba Ocean on Jul 15, 2010 17:33:29 GMT -5
I don't think Bryke or any of their staff necessarily *have* to be part of the crew for a future (though unlikely) movie production, but someone who has at least seen the series and has a good sense of what to cut out would be good. I think, with the exception of the episode involving Haru, all the episodes Shyamalan chose to portray in the movie were good choices. It was just a matter of poor characterization/script writing.
I think it should follow something along the lines of what seems to go on with the Harry Potter films. Those movies aren't always perfect, but most of the time, they do a good job at taking the meat from the story and adding just enough character development. And sure, they take a few artistic liberties here or there, but I listened to an interview with the director for one of the films (I think it was in regards to the third movie), and he said if he ever wanted to add something to a movie he would ask JK Rowling for her opinion and she would either say, "Yes, that would exist in Harry Potter's world," or, "No, there are no ____ in Harry Potter's world."
Perhaps if Shyamalan had asked Bryke's opinion about the firebending, he could have seen what a stupid plot hole that was.
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Post by night on Jul 15, 2010 21:00:22 GMT -5
I don't think Bryke or any of their staff necessarily *have* to be part of the crew for a future (though unlikely) movie production, but someone who has at least seen the series and has a good sense of what to cut out would be good. I think, with the exception of the episode involving Haru, all the episodes Shyamalan chose to portray in the movie were good choices. It was just a matter of poor characterization/script writing. I think it should follow something along the lines of what seems to go on with the Harry Potter films. Those movies aren't always perfect, but most of the time, they do a good job at taking the meat from the story and adding just enough character development. And sure, they take a few artistic liberties here or there, but I listened to an interview with the director for one of the films (I think it was in regards to the third movie), and he said if he ever wanted to add something to a movie he would ask JK Rowling for her opinion and she would either say, "Yes, that would exist in Harry Potter's world," or, "No, there are no ____ in Harry Potter's world." Perhaps if Shyamalan had asked Bryke's opinion about the firebending, he could have seen what a stupid plot hole that was. Rofllll the firebending. I loved how in the Siege of the North portion, only fat!Pakku thought of dousing the fires. Derp. Katara's character annoyed me the most. Shyamalan cut out all scenes where here character was actually enjoyable (i.e., her fight with Pakku) and made her some whiny beginning waterbender. Wow great.
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Post by Paraiba Ocean on Jul 15, 2010 22:45:58 GMT -5
Hey sexy lady. Long time no see. (;
But no kidding. It's like he stumped every character to the depth of a troll or something. ._. It was rather disappointing.
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Post by teknomage on Jul 22, 2010 2:00:17 GMT -5
my review, if anyone cares enough to click a link. Um... things I don't say in my review: It occurred to me a couple weeks after seeing the movie, that if you say the nickname of the core group, the "gAang" pronounced with Aang's name's pronunciation in the movie, it sounds like "gong," which is what the movie deserves. (You kids may not remember "The Gong Show," and frankly, it's even before my time, but... whatever.) Also: If by some chance a sequel gets made, I'd love to see them cast Chloe Moretz as Toph. (If you've seen her play Hit Girl, you should know how awesome that would be.)
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asian malaysian
Avatar Kyoshi
Let me hear you say this ship is bananas! B-A-NA-N-A-S!
Posts: 1,308
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Post by asian malaysian on Aug 6, 2010 2:32:19 GMT -5
The movie has finally arrived to Malaysia. I was already at peace with not watching but then saw this review: www.youtube.com/watch?v=42Slv0JneUENow Im conflicted. Do I watch a movie I know Ill hate? Worse yet, do I inflict this tragedy on my family? This is killing me. I wish I had past lives to consult on this predicament.
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Post by MasterEcabob on Aug 8, 2010 2:59:20 GMT -5
Go see it. For an Avatar fan, this catastrophe is definitely one of those "so bad its funny" movies.
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