I give this film 3/5. My brother-in-law and I went to see it when I was back in the Cleve...had to return to the homeland and lick my wounds with the news of Z's fleeing the northern coast, too. We're both big fans of the cartoon, and our end decision was the film looked amazing; M. Night Shyamalan is a brilliant director with special effects like whoa. Then again I like disappointment in my life; and some people hate the twists in his films. Which leads me and my brother-in-law to our area of concern: the twist. As of now, none, but Frank leans over at the end of the movie and says, "I'm going to be pissed if the third movie ends with Shyamalan reading these books to his kids." Funny man, my brother-in-law.
They cut out my favorite character who has a huge part later on, and according to interviews Shyamalan was running out of time and wanted to do her justice. This is problematic to me for another reason too: the character is a strong woman without special powers there are at least three more in the series, and some with large parts, but few have the impact on the development of the main four that Suki does. In my view Suki also transforms the way Sokka, a main character, appreciates women.
When push comes to shove all the characters in Avatar: the Last Airbender grow and transform, but Frank and I believe this cartoon was about Aang, Zuko, and Sokka. They evolve the most, but the women around them grow as well and become "great benders." This is a direct reference to the show/film, and probably makes little since if you are unfamiliar, but then again why read this far? Aang and Zuko find their destinies and save the world. Sokka overwhelming loses the most throughout the series.
Speaking of the ladies of Avatar. There is a special feature in the third box set specifically on women in the series only the benders, but still very interesting. The greatest bending masters in the series prove to be Azula, a fire bending prodigy, Toph, a Earth bending master who invents metal bending, and Katara, a water bender who learns blood bending. Unfortunately, these characters are featured more in the second and third seasons of the series, which means movies 2 and 3. We were given some hope for Katara in this first film.
In all the movie fell short for me because I like the show so much. As my love affair with the Harry Potter series, stories for kids that take on genocide, torture, racial, and gender relationships can be phenomenal tools for children. Shyalaman needs to step up his game, but I'm pretty hopeful for the series.
On that note: a lament on the film series. What happened to making one film? I love HP, but I feel like it was the first in many novel series to be turned into multi-picture film deals. Other examples: Narnia, the Last Airbender (though a cartoon), Twilight, and just about all comic book films. I guess I just want more from the film industry. And life with a few less remakes would be nice too.
Racism:
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