Hollywood loves nothing greater than gnawing on the bones of preexisting IPs. Whether or not a reboot is nice or not, it’ll virtually actually be profitable. In relation to Avatar: The Final Airbender, the business powers that be ought to’ve realized their lesson the primary time. In 2010, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko’s Nickelodeon present, broadly thought-about one of many best animated sequence of the twenty first century, was tailored by M. Night time Shyamalan in The Final Airbender. That movie is broadly thought-about one of many worst motion pictures of the twenty first century. (We’re speaking a 5 p.c Rotten Tomatoes ranking). Sadly, it didn’t cease Netflix from making its flesh-and-blood-and CGI adaptation. The most effective factor to say about it’s not less than they did a greater job than Shyamalan.
Like the unique, Albert Kim’s model of Avatar: The Final Airbender is a fantastical journey story set in a world divided into 4 elemental cultures: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fireplace Nation, and the Air Nomads. Inside every, sure individuals referred to as “benders” are gifted with the power to control their native component, whether or not they use it to struggle, heal, construct, or fly. Then there’s the Avatar, an eternally reincarnated chosen one who can bend all 4, tasked with sustaining steadiness amongst people and spirits alike.
When Avatar begins, Fireplace Lord Sozin (Hiro Kanagawa) has declared struggle on the world. He units out to overcome his adversaries one after the other, starting by wiping out the Air Nomads in an try to finish the Avatar cycle ceaselessly. 100 years later, the world remains to be with out a defender, and the Fireplace Nation is steadily gaining floor. Seems our MIA hero, a 12-year-old Airbender named Aang (Gordon Cormier), has been frozen in an iceberg for the previous century. That’s, till Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley), a teenage brother and sister from the Southern Water Tribe, unwittingly thaw him out.
After an icy begin, the three hop aboard Aang’s flying bison and head north so the inexperienced younger Avatar can study to bend the opposite three parts and presumably save the Northern Water Tribe from a dire destiny. En route, Katara works on her water bending, Sokka makes out with a number of girls, and Aang involves assistance from varied of us they meet alongside the best way. But it surely’s not all clean bison-riding for our trio. They’re being pursued by Zuko (Dallas Liu), the exiled prince of the Fireplace Nation, who can solely return dwelling as soon as he’s captured the Avatar. Zuko and his Uncle Iroh (Paul Solar-Hyung Lee) are themselves dogged by Commander Zhao (Ken Leung), a Fireplace Nation soldier decided to grab Aang himself—and take down the Northern Water Tribe, as a deal with. In the meantime, Zuko’s dad and sister hatch their very own plots from the palace.
Sequence creator Kim (Nikita, Sleepy Hole) and his workforce are aiming to keep away from the gravest sins dedicated by the 2010 film. Before everything, the characters within the East Asian and Inuit-inspired animated sequence have been performed virtually totally by white or Indian actors. Netflix’s Avatar, alternatively, incorporates a forged reflecting the cartoon’s world. It’s a welcome and important change. The present additionally tries to hew nearer to the vibe of the unique with its colourful costumes and manufacturing design, gravity-defying motion sequences, and humorousness and marvel. The operative phrase right here is tries as a result of, sadly, the hassle exhibits. DiMartino and Konietzko have been initially connected to the variation, however they pulled out in 2020 citing inventive variations. And after eight awkward, uneven hourlong episodes, it’s straightforward to guess what their objections have been.
Like Aang’s air bending, the unique 22-minute sequence felt easy in its top-notch character arcs, worldbuilding, struggle choreography, and wit. It managed to steadiness lighthearted road-trip capers, edge-of-your-seat thrills, and heavy topics like familial trauma and the ethical price of struggle. This model, alternatively, is weighed down by stiff appearing, sluggish pacing, robotic dialogue, touch-and-go CGI, and extra exposition than a military of earthbenders can deal with.
The primary episode, specifically, is so lore-heavy and repetitive that newcomers to the world of Avatar will seemingly discover themselves midway between befuddled and bored. (In a single significantly awkward scene, Sokka and Katara’s grandmother recites the explanatory dialogue from the cartoon’s opening credit word-for-word). In an obvious nod to followers, the present makes an attempt to recreate a number of of the cartoon’s most iconic scenes shot-for-shot: A raging Aang leveling the Southern Air Temple together with his bending, Zuko capturing vivid gouts of fireplace from his wrists in an in any other case colorless world. However these sequences solely spotlight what’s been misplaced in translation. There are issues an animator’s pen can do this digital results merely can’t.
Whereas there are a number of genuinely spectacular set items, corresponding to an acrobatic jail break and a terrifying encounter within the Spirit World, most easily really feel inert. A climactic water bender-on-water bender showdown on the North Pole is about as thrilling as watching two children having a splash struggle within the shallow finish. Additionally, watching adults bully and assault a cartoon baby is one factor, however witnessing, say, an aged King Bumi (Utkarsh Ambudkar, slathered in an unnerving quantity of old-age make-up) hurl boulders at a real-life baby is difficult to abdomen. These shortcomings may very well be forgiven if the fundamentals have been in place. However there isn’t a lot to work with within the horrible writing and appearing that seldom rises above the extent of small-town neighborhood theater.
A couple of performances rise above the muck. As a sympathetic antihero with an epic character arc, Zuko is the unique sequence’ most iconic character. Although he’s hamstrung by the script, PEN15‘s Liu does an honest job of conveying the Fireplace Prince’s internal battle, significantly in flashback scenes reverse a sinister Daniel Dae Kim as his calculating, abusive father, King Ozai. As soon as he settles into his position, Ousley offers some much-needed comedian reduction because the wisecracking Sokka. Many of the different actors flounder. Lots of the youthful performers appear misplaced, whereas the adults merely look bored.
Ultimately, it’s exhausting to say who this model of Avatar is for, precisely. Followers of the unique will likely be upset with the present’s charmless, uncanny-valley riff on the world they know and love. Newcomers could also be postpone normally. There’s an argument to be made for live-action variations of beloved animated sequence; Netflix’s personal One Piece, for instance, is a rollicking remix of the traditional anime that gleefully embraces its cartoonishness. Avatar: The Final Airbender tries so exhausting to heft the load of its legacy that it finally ends up sweating bullets.
Avatar: The Final Airbender premieres on Netflix on February 22
Correction: An earlier model of this assessment mistakenly said there are 10 episodes. There are eight.
This story initially appeared on The A.V. Membership.
