Director M. Night Shyamalan has made a name for himself for coming up with small-scale-yet-interesting thrillers, often with twist endings. Some are pretty awful ("The Happening" and "The Village"), yet some I feel are simply fantastic ("Unbreakable" and "Signs"), while one, "The Sixth Sense," has become a cultural juggernaut. After all, How many times have you heard "I see dead people"?
His latest film, "The Last Airbender," is the first film he has made based off of a previous source material, and considering the main problem Shyamalan has is that he isn't very good at writing, I was reasonably excited for "The Last Airbender."
Sure, he's made big movies before, but this is his first summer-tentpole blockbuster film, and I was interested to see how the guy would handle an action-fantasy movie. This is why I am very disappointed to say that "The Last Airbender" is certainly the worst film of Shyamalan's career and probably the worst film so far this summer.
"The Last Airbender" is based on the popular albeit short-lived Nickelodeon TV show in which a young boy, Aang, used his ability to manipulate the four elements (earth, wind, fire and water) to unite the war-torn world.
The show was divided into "Books," with each book representing a season of the show. "The Last Airbender" adapts the first of three books, so the basic plot is Aang coming into his own, and harnessing his powers to save the Earth from the evil Fire Nation.
Let's begin with the acting for this film. Shyamalan hired a relative unknown, Noah Ringer, to play the young boy, Aang. Ringer turns in one of the most lifeless, charmless, zombie-like performances I have ever seen. The kid simply sleepwalks through the whole film. And considering the film is entirely about his character, the whole film is about is dreary and bland as he is.
Dev Patel (yes, the Dev Patel who was so fantastic in "Slumdog Millionaire") plays the villain, Prince Zuko, leader of the Fire Nation. Although Patel is way over-the-top in the first few scenes of the film, he soon finds his footing and ends up being perhaps one of the most redeeming qualities of the film. It's quite unfortunate that in this film, the villain is far more likable than the protagonist.
The main problem I have with "The Last Airbender" is that it all seems somewhat joyless and mechanical. It doesn't once feel as if anyone in the film really has their heart in it, and the result is a boring, middling film that runs 105 minutes and feels 200. I mean, come on. This is a $150 million summer movie about a young boy who can manipulate fire, and there is not a single moment where you feel any joy, or satisfaction, or anything at all. It feels like a chore to sit all the way through this film.
The film's marketing revolves almost entirely around its special effects and action. Sadly, the effects look simply terrible. Come on, Hollywood! The special effects from 1991's "Terminator 2" look more convincing and real than this. And the action is solely in the last 20 minutes or so, interestingly enough the trailers have pretty much only drawn footage from these 20 minutes.
Also, another curious fault this film has is it can't seem to keep a consistent sense of location. For example, in one of the moments of the film, a character is in a rowboat, about two miles off shore. In a scene that's meant to take place minutes after that one, the same character is in a temple. This occurs really often and goes to prove just how little effort was really put into this film.
Another large gripe I hold with this film is that there is a ton of exposition and back story. Yes, the film is set in an alternate universe with lots of new creatures and powers and such, so some back story is necessary, but literally half of the film is devoted to explaining the world of the film, thus preventing the film from really beginning. It feels like the film is simply a prelude to a larger pay-off that never comes around.
This is likely because this is the first film in a suggested franchise -- that all depends on the film's financial success -- and to quote a certain conservative radio host, "I hope it fails."
The most abysmal 2010 release this side of "The Human Centipede" gets 1/2 star out of four.
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