Avatar: The Last Airbender (season 1) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Few media opinions are universally agreed upon, and that includes The Last Airbender, the M. Night Shyamalan adaptation of Nickelodeon’s popular Avatar: The Last Airbender. However, most of the audible voices agree that it was a terrible adaptation if not a terrible film. The story follows the adventures of Aang, the last of the airbender tribe, in a world where some people are able to “bend” one of the four elements, the Avatar able to bend all four. It is the mission of the Avatar to maintain peace between the four bender groups and the regular citizens. Aang is the youngest, with a tough mission ahead of him. It really is a great show and you should check it out. I haven’t had the chance to see The Legend Of Korra, the sequel that follows the next Avatar, but I hear good things about it, although it may drag in the first season as it finds its own identity.
The movie (which I admit for full disclosure I haven’t seen but I’ve seen so many deep examinations I felt like I have) does not get the praise. According to reviews the heart is missing, while the effects are overdone in some areas and underdone in others. It doesn’t help that Shyamalan is trying to compress a full season into a movie, something that never goes well when Japan does it to their anime. However, I don’t think this should be extended to the cast; at least not Aang, played by martial arts enthusiast Noah Ringer, who got the role after his instructor saw both the show and a casting call. At the time, Ringer was shaving his head thanks to a mistake at the hair cutter, but he also had the right personality.
Not that you’d know if you saw the movie. Shyamalan’s take was more serious and lacked the lighthearted moments that balanced the dark ones, making for a more realistic and interesting show. When I saw Ringer interviewed on set for Entertainment Tonight he had the right personality, which made me think the movie would work. In the final product, however, Aang is all serious rather than the fun-loving boy who got serious when he needed to, trying to deal with the desire to be a kid, and the pressure of being the savior of the world. But Ringer was perfect for the part. I can’t find that interview, but this behind-the-scenes video with Ringer shows that he is perfect for the role…if it was written and directed right.
Frankly it makes things worse because they cast the perfect kid for the role, and then screwed up the character in the writing and directing. And if they screwed up Aang, how badly did they mess up everyone else? Well, I did find a similar video with Nicola Peltz, who plays Katara. She may still be the wrong skin color (unless there are a lot of white Eskimos we don’t know about) but does she have the right personality?
Dang shame. But the actors aren’t to blame for this. Maybe the casting director should have directed the film, too? Who knows?
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