The original Nickelodeon animated series about Avatar Aang is considered a modern classic. It’s hard to find a person who doesn’t sincerely love it. At the same time, Avatar has not turned into a large franchise, and there are relatively few separate works based on it. “Avatar: The Last Airbender” is Netflix’s attempt to transfer the canons and the best elements of the original into a series format with live actors. In our review, we will tell you how this attempt turned out.
The plot revolves around the boy Aang (Gordon Cormier), the last representative of the airbenders. All the others were destroyed by the Fire Nation, which is waging a war of aggression against humanity. Aang has been frozen for a hundred years, so he knows almost nothing about the new circumstances of the world. The boy also has the gift of the Avatar, which allows him to use all the elements. But first he needs to master his abilities. After all, they can put an end to the tyranny of the Fire Nation.
The West has already tried to transfer Avatar to a format with live actors. That’s how we got The Last Airbender by M. Night Shyamalan. It’s a very specific movie that spoils the full-length format. After all, the story of Avatar is filled with nuances and details that form its charm. You shouldn’t rush to see it.
Netflix’s Avatar is much better at this. However, don’t think that the series adapts the animated series one to one. It has its own freedoms and creative changes. They are not entirely critical and are made to make it easier for newcomers to watch. But if you remember the original, you will realize that some important moments are missing here.
On the other hand, longtime fans may be offended by the portrayal of certain characters and moments. Of course, no one forced Netflix to reproduce the original source material as accurately as possible. But some changes are made in a way that spoils the viewing experience. Some things were not explained, some things were not revealed, some changed scenes are not as impressive. This does not mean that all of this is outright bad. It’s just that the original was significantly better, that’s all.
Battles take up a significant part of the cinema here. In them, you can see that the authors were inspired by the wuxia genre. This is a Chinese genre that emphasizes superpowers and martial arts. Even the camera angles and some small directorial techniques in Avatar hint at wuxia. But the local battles lack pathos, they are somewhat “grounded” for the chosen style. This also prevents us from feeling them wholeheartedly.
The dialogues and pacing of the story are good, but some moments seem to rush the overall plot too much. It has interesting designs, but with its own issues. There are visually aesthetic battles and magical moments in general, but they seem to be not finalized. There are “buts” at every turn, and you have to put up with them if you want to watch the series to the end. This applies to both fans of Aang’s adventures and people for whom Avatar is primarily a James Cameron movie.
It is very telling that after watching the new Avatar, many viewers went to watch the original source material. And sometimes without even completing the Netflix adaptation to the end. And this speaks volumes about its quality. It’s not bad, but it’s still not the level that a franchise like this really needs to have.
Verdict
“Avatar: The Last Airbender” is definitely worth watching for both newcomers to the universe and longtime fans. However, it is better for them to watch the series together to share their impressions and emotions. Because the Netflix version has a lot of questions and issues. However, this is definitely not the worst anime adaptation that the streaming service has given us.
