Review: The Last Airbender

Ever since first seeing the teaser trailer [last Fall] showing a horizon full of ships firing on a temple, I've been looking forward to seeing The Last Airbender.

The latest (and non-original) work by M. Night Shyamalan is not a great movie, but it is a fun, satisfying and visually appealing film. About the only thing holding this movie back from being great is some bad acting, as well as a few moments of awkward emotions that are never really explained.

Having never read the series, or seen any anime of this storyline, I take the movie for what it is; on its own merits. The movie is a first chapter of a series, and is clearly the introductory, or set-up, of the remaining films. As such, there is a lot of backstory fill-in, but it is done deftly as it is nicely interwoven with the developing story. I was never lost as to what was happening, or where things were going.

Shyamalan's directing was a terrific as ever. He not only directs The Last Airbender, but he also produced and wrote the screenplay. Being that heavily involved certainly showed as scenes flowed easily, logically, and with little stumbling.

The young actors are mostly good. Noah Ringer as Aang, the Last Airbender, is a bit stilted, but his overall performance really carries the film. He obviously trained hard for the martial arts required; and his skill and grace in his execution of the arts was outstanding. Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Seychelle Gabriel, Dev Patel, Shaun Toub and Aasif Mandvi comprise the most prominent of the supporting cast. Overall, they are all good in their roles; though Peltz suffers the most from her obvious inexperience in her craft.

The Special Effects, by Industrial Light and Magic, are phenomenal. Not much else to say about it. The Music, by James Newton Howard, is a wonderful match to the films. It is both rousing and delicate, as the moments require. The rest of the production was exactly what we have come to expect from an M. Night Shyamalan film.

As to those critics and viewers who are saying what a terrible film this is--don't believe them. Remember, critics hate just about everything; and viewers who rip a good movie are usually doing so because it fails to live up to their personal expectations or mental images that they think it should follow.

Go see The Last Airbender expecting a fun, visually appealing and satisfying film. Again, while it's not a great film, it is certainly worth the price of admission. I really enjoyed the movie...and so will you. In fact, I look forward to the next chapter in the series. In the mean time, I'll see this again, and will buy The Last Airbender when it is released on DVD.