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Post by chase on Jul 1, 2010 16:18:08 GMT -5
if you've never seen the Nickelodeon series, AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER, just go out now and buy all three seasons and watch the greatest TV series ever made and its unaired pilot. If you only know AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER from this mediocre movie, don't let it put you off watching the greatest TV show ever made.
That said, this movie isn't terrible. I'd give it a 7 out of 10. The relative unknowns that play, well just about everyone especially Sokka and Ang (okay I know M Night Shemamamalalaan wanted to change the names to make them sound more Asian but was that really necessary?NO!), are just about perfect. The casting is almost perfect, the only poor choice is the man who played Uncle Iro. The actor is good but he's just not Iro, not the chubby loving lovable uncle serio comic villain / hero sad/happy man we've come to know and love. That was one of many changes that irritate and drag what is the best tv show on the air ever anywhere down to a sadder story. The tv show was spiritual, happy, funny, humorous, joyful, chilling, sad, happy, etc. Ang's joyous side is never really shown in the movie, never balanced with his sadder, darker moments. This alone brings the movie down sevreal notices.
In the first five mintues, we've skipped over about two whole episodes or more. I knew it was going to be more mundane than the series when the exciting first meeting of Ang and Zuko (in the show) was handled with...a less than exciting semi action scene. In the show ZUko fires at the flying bison and brings down the mountain on his own ship. Instead we get Zuko and Iro calmly watching Appa fly off, nothing happening. This happens a lot in the movie. Instead we get a ton of expoistion scenes of the FIre Lord and his right hand man Gen Zhau talking ALOT. The urgency, the high tension action sequences, the warm spirituality, the balance of yin and yang, good and evil, sad and happy, the boyish Ang playing joyfully, respecting nature, all of it lost as the movie rushes toward setting up the finale which covered two episodes in the series first season.
Trouble is: lots is skipped, lots is lost, not the best of which is the pirates vs Zuko vs Ang, Sokka and Kotura on a river while they all vie for the water bending scroll. Other things lost: the dragon monster in the water that versus Ang. I also felt the violence displayed by Sokka and even Ang was sort of out of place and was better handled on the tv show. I also didn't feel the end of Yue and her whole Moon spirit thing was handled as good as it was on the show. The end of Gen Zhau was also not well done.
This is not to say the movie wasn't good. It was but it wasn't the series and frankly it is just another fantasy movie of battles and semi psuedo relgiion rather than the masterpiece it was on televsion. If they wanted to go for this then mabye they should have taken five or six episodes and made a three hour film or something. As this is, the entire thing loses a great deal from what made the tv show so FANTASTIC. Even Ang's fight scenes lose something. The choregraphy is not what it was on the show. Did they use the same fight arrangers? If not, they should have. Visually the movie is stunning. The dialog, the script, the skipping of stuff (I'm told they filmed a great deal and cut a great deal, and I"m also told that the script had EVERY first season episode in it), just add up to a major dissapointment for this fan of the tv show. I can't see how any fan of the tv show won't be upset by the movie and skipping so many funny and dramatic events. One example of this rushed mess is when Sokka first arrives the the nothern air temple: a narration tells us that he and Yue get to know each other very well. No sexual tension, no tension at all, no real time to develop a characterization, a chemistry (to the actors' credits they come very close to making us believe they have chemistry and are in love). Lost is the fact that another Water Bender loves Yue or at least is trying to impress her and rivals Sokka for her love and tries to prove himself...the subplot and the interaction and thus, the story, is lost. The driving pulse pounding river chase, Ang's jealousy over the Air Temple that fights in the sky using flying machines, even Momo and Appa's rivalry/friendship, and the toad search to save a nearly frozen Sokka and Kotara are ALL lost. Add to that, if you go scene by scene of Ang's revival from the ice, guess which one is more dramatic, tense, and chilingly spiritual? By having him laying down instead of frozen standing, we miss the eye light up sequence.
Similarly, when Ang realizes the monks are all dead and gone and he goes into Avatar state, the entire dramatic chilling tension and amazing sequence (again, on tv) is cut short. Ang's power was felt on tv during that and also Kotara's immense love for him and her ability to try to control his human side. Instead of the power we should see throughout the world as Ang goes Avatar, we get to see him in the spirit world...at entirely the wrong time. It's a dissapointing movie on many fronts and I almost walked out of the movie, not that it was terrible mind you but just NOT the tv show and it doesn't even come close...
Again if you haven't seen this animated series, GO GET IT AND WATCH IT. It's just awesome. THe movie? Just a 7out of 10. THe show : a ten out of ten.
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Reka
Zhao
Also known as 1JennyFan
Posts: 841
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Post by Reka on Jul 1, 2010 22:55:11 GMT -5
I've been thinking, after talking with my friends (who think it was great!) and Avatar fans (who think it SUCKED), about how this movie turned out. Here's my opinions: the good, the bad, and the just plain ugly. Enjoy!^^ The Good: ~ Noah Ringer and Dev Patel. Noah played Aang as a kid, which is how he SHOULD be played. More casting directors should take a nod to internet casting. Dev made me LIKE Zuko for a change. ~ Music. Now, the music was no Track Team music, but it was still very good. ~ Special Effects, especially the water. It made you want to dive into a pool during the movie! ~ This movie really sucks you in. I honestly forgot some of the mispronunciations since I was so into the world! The Bad: ~ A lot of important stories cut. Such as Bumi, Jet, the KYOSHI WARRIORS. Also, what the hell happened with Yue being engaged?!? And Pakku refusing to teach Katara waterbending because she was female?!? The ONLY reason I'm letting this go is because of time restrictions. ~ Story was all mixed up. Things that were happening in the first few episodes happened later in the movie, and Aang's random Spirit World trips were just... augh my head hurts. ~ Comedy is a must. Especially for Sokka; he was REALLY stiff. Stiff works for Zuko, NOT for Sokka. ~ Zhao. I didn't know WHAT was up with him. He needed to be SO much more fierce than he was. He acting like he was playing with Aang, when the character uses brute force to get his points across. ~ 3-D was utter failure. I felt like the movie was 2-D at some points. ~ Felt like they were just trying to be another action movie at times. Weren't focused on the plot as much as they needed to be. The just plain UGLY: ~ Changes in pronunciation. This was BY FAR the most annoying part of the movie. Ong instead of Aang, Soahka instead of Sokka, Eeroh instead of Iroh, Ahvatar instead of Avatar (um... WHAT?!? Even James Cameron could get this right) ... just to name a few. Oh, and plain name CHANGES. Such as "Grandma" instead of "Gran-Gran". I kept having to correct them throughout the movie, instead of actually ENJOYING it. ~ Inconsistencies with the show. No, Princess Yue's father DID NOT die; his name is Cheif Arnook and he is still very much alive. Also, that is NOT a dragon spirit that Aang talks to; it's Koh the Face Stealer. Aang is NOT supposed to give the speech to the earthbenders; that is a Katara speech. Sokka does not knock at the ice with his boomerang to make the iceberg appear; Katara's waterbending (from rage) makes it appear. Sozin's Comet in 3 YEARS?!? NO! By the end of the summer. (Okay, this one I can understand, since it will be at least three years before all of the films are finished. But still. Totally unneeded.) These seriously made me want to punch something. ~ BOTH of these above (and some in the bad section as well) could have been easily solved if Mike & Brian were an active part of this movie's creative them. Turns out they hate the movie. Wonder why? Final Thoughts: Despite all the negatives I have about this movie, it is still a VERY good movie. It could have been a lot worse, and I was worried that it would be (emo Aang, anyone?). However, if the movie series keeps going in this direction, it will NEVER be as good as the TV series, and will be a disappointment to "Avatards" everywhere. If working on this movie taught the production team anything (ESPECIALLY you, M. Night), it's that your series will never be as good as the original if you don't get the creator's input. It's obvious that you guys were trying to go your own way with the series, but all that does is turn people that are already fans away. It says "Hey, we're better than the show. Deal with it." Talk to, listen to, and RESPECT Mike & Bryan, if you (and the movie series) knows what's good for you. We don't want to see Toph become "Tof", now do we? And if this movie brings in more fans, great! But PLEASE turn them to the ORIGINAL series as well, the one we all know and love. Where Aang is NOT "Ong". Rating: *** out of ***** stars. Very good movie, but its inconsistencies with the show made me rate it lower than it truly should be.
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Post by Blind Bandit on Jul 2, 2010 0:04:35 GMT -5
Ya now that I've actually seen the how the movie doesn't stick to the plot(like at all even a little bit). As I said a long time go. M Night screw you and thank you for hurting the AVATAR fandom. Nice work. And Mike and Bryan I'm sorry your masterpiece was raped and then beat to a pulp. We don't blame you and we all know the great work you did.
This movie currently has an 8% rating on rotten tomatoes thats awful. Thanks to everyone who tried to tell us everything would be fine and the move would be good and true the source materiel.
And in retrospect maybe its good they couldn't' call it avatar. Maybe we can pass that off as copyright infringement and steer people twoard the actually show instead.
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Leaf
Gran Gran
Posts: 585
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Post by Leaf on Jul 2, 2010 0:38:50 GMT -5
The movie was a striptease at the beginning because I actually thought it couldn't be that bad until the Earth Kingdom rebellion scenes. Why did the characters have to narrator their actions during the scene of action? The lines were really cheap and for once the cast isn't the most horrid thing about the movie.
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Post by kolibri [thread killer] on Jul 2, 2010 0:56:29 GMT -5
I mean visually, It was BEAUTIFUL! Beautiful scenery, effects, music!
Acting wise, the only ones who could act were the more experienced actors cast in the Fire Nation. Iroh and Zuko in particular. I really liked the scene where Zuko called the boy over and demanded what he knew of the banished Prince. You could see how bad it affected his character mentally and the obsession with winning his honor back in that scene alone.
The rest seemed wooden and forced. 'I believe in you. No really. -splish- I waterbendeded.'
Although the three things I liked were "It Hurt!", the whole blue spirit thing since it was one of the few things that held almost exactly true to the original and Zhao in the bubble....
Needed MOAR: -OBSESSIVE AVATAR HUNTING -DEPTH -PLOT -PAKKU -CABBAGE
Less -FLASHBACKS. Sorry, but this isn't Naruto. -SUCKY ACTING -REFERENCING
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Post by That Kid Neo on Jul 2, 2010 8:14:41 GMT -5
I'm surprised at some of the positive response to this movie. The cartoon series is famous for character development, the movie had NONE. The cartoon Sokka was sarcastic, protective, and brave. The movie Sokka was a cardboard-stiff, surprisingly good at combat. The story was rushed. The names were flubbed. Uncle Iroh's character (while an interesting take) wasn't dynamic enough. Dev Patel didn't give 100%, and if he did, I think it's time he rethought how much he likes to act. Zuko is arguably the most complex character. Now did movie Zuko measure up to even a third of cartoon Zuko?
Some say they liked the villian. What Villain. Zhao? Ozai? *shakes head* How evil can you be if you let yourself be taken out the way Zhao did!? No Spoilers because we've all seen the show! UGH
Aang and Katara were solid C+/B- especially for Ringer's first movie. I would've been fine with an average performance from him if Dev Patel stepped up, but there just wasn't enough acting in this film.
Biggest disappointment of the Summer. We can blame M. Night ShyaFAIL but Mike and Bryan have to take some of the blame too. I'm sure they had some push for who could've directed and produced this.
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Post by Pyroman on Jul 3, 2010 11:06:34 GMT -5
I did not think the movie was all that bad but is true certain parts were skiped that made the series what is, or even parts where Poco did not let Katara learn waterbending because was forbiden for girls to learn it. Then after figured out who she was then let her. there are other things kind of wonder did General Joue (sp) accutally die in the Northern water Kindom?
I belive that certain parts in movie needed to changed for time aspect and to make little more believalbe as live action movie.
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Ghiaccio
Aang
Apparently Sokka's my best muse.
Posts: 57
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Post by Ghiaccio on Jul 3, 2010 12:38:12 GMT -5
The movie broke my heart.
I dislike a lot of things, liked a very few others. Katara made me cringe, Sokka isn't the butt of the jokes he is the joker! Zuko & Aang were almost perfect in my opinion. Aang needed to be more of a child, Zuko just needed something more. Heck, what I saw of Azula was great. The bending was marvelous, it was epic and awesome.
The rest totally sucked. Plain and simple. The 3-D wasn't 3D it was 2.5D Towards the end I forgot I was watching a 3D movie because I just didn't see it anymore.
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Horyo
RP Admin
All your bending are belong to us.
Posts: 2,572
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Post by Horyo on Jul 3, 2010 15:59:49 GMT -5
Whoops, misplacedmy review:
I've invested too much hope into this movie to not give it a review. I went with one of my friends and she was already anticipating it to suck.
The introduction was acceptable, though the element-effects seemed awkward. I was pleased that they included something so similar to the original. One thing I do have to say though is that there is too much text. Whether this is an effect to inform people not from the fanbase or to keep the transitions noticeable in the rushed pace of the movie, it becomes tiresome to see. I had hoped there would be smoother ways to do this, but I don't hold it against the movie itself, considering its source was a 20-episode season.
At first I thought Nicole Peltz and Noah Ringer had some clumsy acting; I later discovered that only Ringer had the clumsy part - as he was rather new and probably not experienced with expressing a believable amount of emotion in certain scenes - and Nicole's acting gradually weakened as the movie progressed. Coincidentally Katara's importance in the movie is so heavily minimized that she could have been left out of the script altogether; I did find her actor to be convincing, at the very least, and has potential to really tap into Katara's character had she an opportunity. Dev Patel also couldn't capture Zuko, with his angry outbursts being more spontaneous than Zuko's. Still, he handled the role well enough that I can't say I absolutely hated him. Iroh was probably the best actor/role of the whole cast.
Jackson Rathbone or whatever his name is murdered the character of Sokka. Now, I am willing to admit it's not fully his fault; his role was also reduced, particularly the little instances that make Sokka unique. He could have done a better job sounding more sarcastic and exaggerative but I didn't expect much ever since he said "All I needed to do was get a tan to please some people." His acting felt seriously underwhelming and too high-strung.
Another character whose actor did a poor job was Zhao. Half the time Zhao was either confused or fearful of something; his expressions made it so. The Zhao in the series never feared and always acted out of bold arrogance. This Zhao just seemed to be obnoxious. Other casting choices I felt were poor were Master Pakku and Azula, whose final scene at the end cemented her as a soft-spoken lady, rather than the cunning tactician we've known her to be. I know it's hard to replicate Grey DeLisle's voice, but she could have at least tried.
Casting issues aside, I LOVE Monk Gyatso's portrayal. I honestly did enjoy the scenes where they had him; this was one of the few examples in the movie where a non-canon actor of a different race could effectively pull off his role.
The one scene with the first Earth Village that Aang freed didn't make any sense; in the series, the analogous scene portrayed the Earthbenders trapped on a metal rig, thus leading to their spirits being crushed by the Fire Nation Oppression - and even then they still persevered. Where were the people in the movie? In a forest-village with earth all around them. Of course, only Aang would be able to bring their hopes back. I remember knowing that the Eartbenders were strong-willed, enduring, and proud. These people were pitiful.
I was irritated most by two things in the movie: The concept of waterbending and the lack of the Ocean Spirit's rampage. The first matter is simple, water being the element of "change" and "adaptability" was distorted into the element of "acceptance" and letting one's feelings flow. That's a huge distortion that makes no sense, especially not in explaining their combat style. This was a plot device used so that Aang could get over his rage/hurt about the Air Nomads. It's a cheap cop-out. What's worse is that it leads up to Aang raising a huge wave of water only to wow the Fire Nation into retreat, whereas in the series the Ocean Spirit merged with Aang to wipe out their navy. I thought having that was pretty dang necessary because the events that transpired at the North will haunt Aang about his power and rage in the next book.
There were good things about the movie that I enjoyed. Appa and Momo were one of them. Even though their names were barely used (Momo was called only once), their designs were so realistic yet close to the original concept that I was wowed. The Komodo LIzards that the Fire Navy used were also amazing. The CGI was spectacular and so close to the show that I wish they'd kept other things close too. The sceneries, cities, places in the movie were also rendered beautifully, and I was practically gawking at the screen because of the lush environments.
Overall, it was an enjoyable movie from what I could salvage, but it was far from decent. There are many things that Shayamalan overstepped which had me fuming as I left the theater, but I was glad that there were some bits I could enjoy. I don't recommend it to those who have not seen the series, because you'll get confused, and I'll caution those who have watched the series that the changes are very drastic and can be disappointing.
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Post by thedarkone on Jul 3, 2010 21:11:49 GMT -5
Basically everything I have to say has been said. I think Jackson was fine for the Sokka they GAVE him. They TONED down the character and TOLD him to act that way, what else could he do? I will defend him. No I HATE TWILIGHT so that isn't the reason I defend him. I've seen him on Criminal Minds and s.Darko, the boy CAN act!
BUT BUT BUT!
The most important review of this movie comes through my Sister's eyes as she went with her husband:
"We walked in and there was this 10 year old boywhose face was aglow with excitement, he was so pumped to see the movie. When we walked out, he was nearly in tears. His expression was CRUSHED."
If the movie makes a child cry from crappiness, that's all there is to say.
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raiondoll
Sad Festival Mask
"formerly Mitsu"
Posts: 3,719
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Post by raiondoll on Jul 4, 2010 2:39:39 GMT -5
Wow. Out of all the movie reviews I've heard and read so far... I'd say that this is the sum of all reviews. Everyone basically said what I could ever possibly say about the TLA movie. My major concern was: - The lack of character development. - NO Kyoshi Warriors. Before I even decided to watch the movie...(Behind the scenes w/ M. Night of TLA on Nick said that he had to cut them out because he "liked them so much" it had to be cut out. WHAAT?) - Important scenes in the series that COULD HAVE BEEN a part of the movie... but wasn't. (i.e. Aang getting lost in the storm could have been a great way to open the movie...) - It was rushed, confusing... non-action packed. - Azula. Oh my god... Azula. - Taking at least 5 minutes or more for Aang to bend anything... - Only one style of martial arts throughout the whole movie? Parts that I was okay with: - Landscape, scenery, CGI effects - Appa & Momo that's it. I can't say that this movie was... well if it was bad enough to crush a 10 year old's expectations for this movie, there isn't any much to say, but, at the same time... I can't say that I did not find some parts of the movie enjoyable. I managed to keep my expectations of the movie to a minimum because, I knew that it wasn't going to be what I expected it to be since I first heard that it was being made into a live-action film... after all, I think a day prior to the release & finding out that the Kyoshi Warriors was made into deleted footage was a sign telling me that I was in for something that was not worth enjoying.
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West
Finale Katara
Posts: 8,335
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Post by West on Jul 4, 2010 18:05:11 GMT -5
This movie was HORRENDOUS! Like there was very few things that I liked in it. Actually, most of the movie I was laughing at how obscure the whole thing was. Really, they need to remake this movie and make it actually good. Because my disappointment leaving the theater was so big, that I needed to rewatch the first season!
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Post by thedarkone on Jul 4, 2010 21:48:03 GMT -5
Wow. Out of all the movie reviews I've heard and read so far... I'd say that this is the sum of all reviews. That's why I shared it here. I felt that out of all of us here and all the fans, the TRUE review would from a child. To them its either really good or really bad. ... In this case its bad enough to almost cry over.
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nandireya
Zuko's Path to Redemption Mod
...tickled pink...
Posts: 6,822
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Post by nandireya on Jul 5, 2010 5:16:01 GMT -5
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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 Jul 5, 2010 21:22:46 GMT -5
^lmao!
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