His Name is AANG!

Noah Ringer as Aang in M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

… as in “hang” not as in “hong”. And Sokka is sock-a (who was NOWHERE near as funny nor as concerned with food as he should have been. Jackson Rathbone needs to stick to the Twilight franchise).

Those were just the first few things that grated continuously on my nerves as I sat impatiently through The Last Airbender. I *really* wanted to love like this movie. I adore the series. I have been re-watching it over the last few weeks, and probably know more about it than any other middle-aged mother who’s kids have outgrown the series should.

I sat impatiently because I was waiting for it to get good. I wanted to disbelieve the reviews, it couldn’t be that bad, right?  When you have such a beloved series as Avatar:The Last Airbender, you do not rewrite and eff it up!!!


That’s two hours and $20 I will never get back. I can’t believe Nickelodeon signed off on this adaptation. None of Aang’s youthful playfulness is apparent. He’s moody and confused, apparently fighting the need to grieve (which does occur, but is not Aang’s overall attitude). The genuine affection and friendship between three of the five kids trying to save the world is dismally lacking, the scene between Sokka and Yue reminded me of Amidala and Anakin “Oh Ani you’re scaring me!” (Yes, it was that emotionally packed and BAD).

To quote a few other people, it was rushed, the characters and story-line are not developed, you hop from one place to another and if you weren’t aware of the background or watched the series I am sure you would be lost. I was at some points.Well, it was more indignation and muttering under my breath with “he got that wrong and what the hell was he thinking and that didn’t happen and that comes later” … I’m sure you get the idea.

And of COURSE Shyamalan had to insert some twists and plot developments that weren’t in the original story. Hello, Zhao trying to assassinate Zuko? What universe did that happen in?

Momo and Appa did not get enough screen time. They are as integral to the story as any other character. Though I suppose in Book One: Water Appa doesn’t show how protective of Aang he can really be.

Save your money. If you haven’t bought the full DVD set yet, spend it on that.
  














And so, I leave off my tirade with …


Nickelodeon better reboot this and find another writer/director if they want the Avatar franchise to survive.

Oh, despite his over-acting, Zuko was well cast. You can only fit so much teenage angst, anger, and suffering into one character.

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