The Last Airbender :Movie Review

Cast: Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Dev Patel, Jackson Rathbone, Shaun Toub, Aasif Mandvi, Cliff Curtis, Seychelle Gabriel, Katharine Houghton
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: **

Manoj Night Shyamalan’s latest film follows close on the heels of his last two disasters ‘Lady in the water’ and ‘The Happening’ but this time the genre is different. The film is a creatively censored
children’s film with stagey effects , non-violent theme anda
distinctly oriental bent- one which Shyamalan as helmer, appears to be distinctly uncomfortable with. The fantasy-action realm of myth and adventure is certainly not an easy one to depict and Shyamalan’s film shows how difficult it is. The director appears to have appropriated this genre, picking out an adaptation of the cult animated series ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender,’with an eye to increasing his box-office chances and it may well do that but that’s not to say that this isn’t going to appear as a stinker for anyone with even a semblance of intelligence or imagination.

The concept is solid and the preposterous premise lends itself well to a big-budget special effects adventure. The story is as simple or as complicated as you want it to be- depending on how you look at it. The Fire Nation is the usurper trying to expand it’s power across all the four worlds-earth, fire, water and air. They have already wiped out the air people while the water and earth people are lying in wait for a surprise attack. Katara and his sister a water bender named Sokka find a young boy, Aang(Noah Ringer) with all the markings of an incarnation, trapped in a bubble of ice. He appears to be the only one who can lead them out of the trouble caused by the Fire people.

Intermingling with this is the sub-plot of young Prince Zuko(Dev
Patel) who is out of favor with his father, the reigning monarch of
the fire people and he is further unhinged by the evil machinations of Jhao (Aasif Mandvi). All this does not make for much drama.
Shyamalan’s way of telling it is too serious and unyielding to createany effect. The solemn tone, long winding explanations, ineffective and shallow narration, caricatured performances and unworthy effects fail to create any kind of intrigue, whimsy or humour. Mood is also non-existent here. The film is also quite different in appearance as compared to the Nickelodeon series so even the very young who are hooked to it, will find this unexciting.