The Last Airbender: Hit or miss?

M. Night Shayamalan brings Nickelodeon’s animated series Avatar to the big screen with an explosive live-action feature, The Last Airbender. Armed to the teeth with special effects, the film revolves around the story of Aang, the lone Avatar and the Last Airbender. Together with Katara, the Waterbender, they fight the forces of the Fire Nation, led by Commander Zhao and his nemesis, Prince Zuko, the Fire Prince, to restore balance to the world.

The story begins in the midst of a war led by Fire Lord Ozai after Aang, the Airbender destined to become the Avatar, disappeared. In the Fire Lord's quest to prove the Fire Nation’s dominance, he sets off to cripple the other nations by binding their bending prowess. Only the return of the Avatar, bestowed with the rare gift of being able to manipulate and bend all four elements of nature, will restore peace to the war-torn lands.

The whereabouts of the legendary Avatar is a mystery for a hundred years. Then a young boy trapped deep in ice is discovered by Katara and her brother Sokka. They soon realize that he is the Avatar and they swear to protect him and help him fulfill his destiny. However, the Fire Nation will stop at nothing to keep the Avatar from ending their domination.

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The Benders

The movie is the first film feature for Hollywood newbie Noah Ringer, who plays Aang, the Last Airbender. And what an exciting first job it must be for Ringer, what with the genius director, M. Night Shyamalan, helming Ringer's first movie. He said, "[Shyamalan] was incredible to work with and I learned so much from him. I can’t wait to work with him again!”

What propelled Ringer to land the coveted role is his mastery of taekwondo, as he holds a first-degree black belt. He is also said to be highly skilled in a variety of Eastern weapons. His audition piece for the film is a home video of him practicing the sport, which he uploaded to Shayamalan’s website after the writer-director called for an open audition.

Ringer is set to star in another film adaptation, Cowboys and Aliens, which is set for release in 2011.

Also making her mark in the silver screen is Nicola Peltz, who portrays Katara, the lone Waterbender from the South Pole’s Water Tribe. The fifteen-year-old has been previously cast in the movies Harold, Righteous Kill, and Deck the Halls and has appeared in several commercials. She is a model with the renowned Ford modeling agency.

In an interview with Kidzworld, Peltz shared that she has loved the character Katara as soon as she began watching the series with her younger brothers. The qualities she admired in Katara included her “big heart” and her love and care for Aang and her brother Sokka. “She's very mentally and physically strong,” she said.

Playing the role of the shamed Fire Prince, banished by his father for being a weakling, is Slumdog Millionaire breakout star Dev Patel. Patel was not the first choice as Prince Zuko though; the role was initially given to singer Jesse McCartney, but scheduling conflicts with his music tour forced McCartney to bow out of the movie. But it has been reported that the real reason behind replacing the singer was the flak received by Shyamalan and Paramount Pictures for having all-white actors when the original Avatar is based on Asian cultures.

In an article, Patel described working on the film as “difficult at times” but being in the company of his fellow actors, whom he described as “good” and “great,” made the job easier.

Taking a break from his role as one of the Twilight franchise's vampires is Jackson Rathbone, who plays Katara’s brother Sokka. Rathbone is glad to take on this new character, especially as this affords him the opportunity to show more of what he can do as an actor.

The fall of Shyamalan?

The Last Airbender opened with plenty of dismal reviews and was even called by many critics a “fall from grace” for Shyamalan. The review aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes, rated the film a low eight percent on its Tomatometer. Robert Roten, however, calls the film “life affirming” as it goes against what many films show: blood, gore and violence. The movie gives children, and audiences in general, the idea that “people can wield power without becoming corrupted by it.” Colin Covert describes the film as a “visual marvel.”

Despite the less-than-glowing reviews, The Last Airbender has grossed over USD116 million to date domestically in the United States. On its opening day alone, Shyamalan’s flick earned USD16 million, including sales from the midnight screening which was released at the same time as the vampire flick New Moon. As such, these figures have earned The Last Airbender the honors of being the biggest grossing movie for a non-sequel release for this year.

The Last Airbender opens today in cinemas across the Philippines in both 2D and 3D format.

Photo screencap from ClevverMovies.

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