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In this M. Night Shyamalan’s new feature, two teens from the Air Nation rescue a tattooed, bald-headed kid named Aang (Noah Ringer), whom they believe is the “avatar.” The avatar is a semi-spiritual figure able to bridge the nations of air, water, fire and earth, ensuring cross-elemental harmony. Which is not happening now: The Lord of Fire is busy enslaving everybody, I think.
I missed a chunk of the action, having the misfortune to sit behind the Lord of the Giant Head, and also being unfamiliar with the Nickelodeon series this film is based on. (Be forewarned: This film is only part one, and doesn’t conclude so much as show the opening scene of part two.) The story comes off as poorly fleshed-out, kiddie-friendly spiritual mumbo-jumbo about various nations who seemed more defined by their groovy ethnic-inspired outfits than by any larger ethos.
The trio of young do-gooders winds up in the Northern Water Nation (read: ice), which seems to be a cross between leftover costumes from Dr. Zhivago, a Lego kit for an ancient Mongolian city and the pool of light from the Lost finale. The “action” is limited to “bending” — people move tai-chi-like and make defensive and offensive weapons with their element. These scenes were deeply uninteresting, with all the dramatic tension of rock-paper-scissors contests. (Dirt wall defeats fire, but fire beats ice ball.)
The acting is strictly TV-movie-caliber, and only the elite of the Fire Nation delivered any heat: Dev Patel as a disgraced prince and Shaun Toub as his sympathetic uncle. The Daily Show‘s Aasif Mandvi portrays the arch captain of a fire boat, but his hamminess just made me read his scenes as a lame late-night skit (“Fire Nation Evaporates Tea Party”).
One last note: This movie is being sold as a 3-D experience, but it wasn’t filmed for the format. It was converted post-production, and thus offers little in 3-D thrills. Use your hard-earned pennies instead at the Popcorn Nation.
This article appears in Jul 8-14, 2010.
when is the world premiere of this movie?
I found this movie to be “dispicable” and will be protesting it like many other minority americans. In a story based in asian culture, the only asians we see are for the “evil” fire nation and backround actors. I can’t believe that there weren’t suitable asian child actors of some kind to portray the characters in this story.
The actual casting notes for this movie are outrageous…alluding to the fact that caucasian leads were preferable…but “authentic” asians were more desirable for the extras. The only reason there were any asians in lead roles is because the first choice actors bowed out of the roles…ie. originally a blonde haired-blue eyed Zuko.