Thaindian News

The Last Airbender: Is a failed attempt

Rating: 2 out of 5*

Starring: Dev Patel, Noah Ringer, Jackson Rathbone, Aasif Mandvi and Nicole Peltz

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

July 10, 2010 (Sampurn Wire):Air, Water, Earth and Fire. Four nations tied by destiny when the Fire Nation launches a brutal war against the others. A century has passed with no hope in sight to change the path of this destruction. Caught between combat and courage, Aang (Noah Ringer) discovers he is the lone Avatar with the power to manipulate all four elements. Aang teams up with Katara (Nicole Peltz) a Waterbender and her brother Sokka (Jackson Rathbone) to restore balance to their war-torn world. Prince Zuko (Dev Patel) is on the hunt for the Avatar, to prove to his father, Fire Lord Ozai (Cliff Curtis) that he is not the pathetic loser his father takes him to be. But Commander Zhao (Aasif Mandvi), an ambitious sort, also wants to bring the Avatar in to Ozai.

Based on the hugely successful Nickelodeon animated TV series, this live-action feature film is the opening chapter in Aang’s struggle to survive. But the screenplay by Shyamalan is cluttered with so much gobbledygook exposition and confusing action that it’s impossible to grasp what’s supposed to be going on for more than 15 seconds at a stretch. So therefore the bigger problem is that you don’t care about any of these people, whose motivations and personalities are impossible to discern. Also bizarre is the manner in which the warring parties fight. A fire bender, say, will toss a fireball at an earth bender, who will throw up a wall of dirt and block it. Meanwhile the fire bender will stand there and wait while the earth bender hits him with a rock or something. It’s using elements as rock-paper-scissors, but done by way of a sort of advanced form of martial arts. Why wait for your enemy? Why not just hit him in the head with a shovel while he’s standing there?

And then there’s also the issue of the 3D conversion. Like Clash of the Titans before it, The Last Airbender was converted to 3D in post-production, leaving it a fuzzy, dark, eye-straining affair. Much of the film doesn’t even register in three dimensions, allowing the viewer to remove their glasses for much-needed breaks.

As for the acting, it is dreadful. Most of the performers are so bland that you forget them while you’re watching them. Slumdog Millionaire fame Dev Patel, saddled with a character with conflicting motives, fares slightly better, but for adults barring Aasif Mandvi no one impresses.

The film ends with a set-up for a sequel, which those unfortunate enough to endure this torturous mess can only hope never occurs. Stay clear of this one folks.

-Sampurn Wire