MOVIE REVIEW … THE LAST AIRBENDER

MOVIE REVIEW …

THE LAST AIRBENDER

Simply mentioning director M. Night Shyamalan’s name seems to shine a beacon of savage hatred from some reviewers.  Perhaps his early rise to the top or indulgent tendency to always place his name above the film’s title is a small cause – whatever the case the knives are always sharpened whenever he appears.  Sure enough The Last Airbender has received much venom, with the harsh criticism perhaps justified due to his mis-handling of its strong source material.

Aang (Noah Ringer) is a young boy dubbed ‘the Avatar’.  Having the ability to control the natural elements, his skills become crucial in maintaining his kingdom’s equilibrium.  Long represented by Water, Air, Earth and Fire, the province is in danger of the ruthless Fire Lord Ozai (Cliff Curtis).  Wanting to control everything in his path, he sends his evil Commander Zhao (Aasif Mandvi) to crush any rebellion.  With the shadowy Prince Zuko (Dev Patel) also in the side-lines, Aang must vanquish his foes and fulfil his calling in becoming his world’s protective saviour.

Based on a popular animated TV series, The Last Airbender is a study in what could have been.  At best a visual feast full of superb cinematography and finely realised action sequences, the minuses far outweigh any positives.  From its unfocussed direction, terminally mis-cast roles, stilted dialogue and lack of crucial exposition, it quickly becomes a bewildering mess.  As its director, producer and writer Shyamalan should receive much of the blame as his creative input ensures an exciting sounding enterprise turns into a drawn out bore.

It’s very unfortunate this is the case as The Last Airbender’s dense narrative lends itself to becoming an engaging series.  Possibly it may have translated better in animation than live-action, as the choppy editing style used confuses rather than enlightens.  It also suffers from the ‘setting up for a sequel’ syndrome as the story builds to an open ended conclusion which – due to its poor box office performance – will most likely never be resolved.

M. Night Shyamalan really hasn’t made an effective film since his break-out hit ‘The Sixth Sense’.  His latest isn’t any better as it’s a poorly judged venture whose entertainment value is minimal and only maximizes the poison in some critics’ unrestrained pens.

Movie Review Rating 3 / 10

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

The Last Airbender released in Australia on Thursday 16 September 2010.

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