ok... so I just saw Avatar: The Last Airbender movie and honestly... sucked.
Kinda made me think of Star Wars Eps 1 with a dash of Matrix (not even the first one, the second) and even some Baliwood Camera style thrown in the mix where they are constantly switching from one face close up to another, depending on who is talking... back and forth, enough to make one sick.
It was choppy in plot, acting and camera movement, not the fluidity one would hope to see in a chapter named "Water".
Characters were completely off the track from their basis and were exceedingly flat, not at all like the original series where there is great character development. Even the pronunciation of the characters names was wrong (while not the worst thing to do, still it is very annoying)
Aang became Ong "Sa- Ka" became So-Ka .. and so on. Like I said, not the worst thing that was done to this movie. Actually, in the scheme of things, that was a mere mosquito bite on the death of this story.
The characters were completely changed from their original personalities. The entire purpose on Aang in the start was that he was just a kid who was trying to have fun and laugh at things in life. The movie version was so tense, silent, I wouldn't have known it was the same character except for the obvious arrow on his head.
The same goes for Prince Zuko. He is suppose to be a teenager, about 16. In the movie he is at LEAST 25, a far cry from a stubborn teenager that wants nothing more than to regain the respect of his father. Not only that, but he is so quiet that he seems to fade into the back drop rather than being an actual main character.
There is no development. Even as the movie progresses Aang... or Ong is focused only on learning to bend the elements, the complete opposite of his suppose to be fun loving personality.
There is also the choppy factor in transitions. First they are there... now here, now here, now here, with no decent explanation of why they stopped there. Yes to bring hope to the people and all that rot, but why that town? Why not another? They just seem to move arbitrarily around.
Then there was the acting itself.
Have you ever seen a movie where the actors are acting using a language that they do not understand but just recite like parrots? (Yes there are movies where this actually happens) This seemed like one of those. Where the actors were simply reciting the lines of the character, but not really understanding the motivation behind the actions. When you act, you are suppose to become the character, that is what makes a good actor. Most of the cast failed in this attempt. The only one that came close it seemed was Sokka, and even he was missing vital parts of his personality such as the nervousness and fumbling around girls.
If you are going to make a movie out of someone else's creations, you have a duty to see that their creations are not destroyed. This movie failed at this on so many levels. If feel the need to change characters to such a great extent that they are no longer who they are suppose to be, then just make up your own darn characters and your own story. Do not go and destroy what is already great.
To summarize this movie up; Simply, it was a photocopied and badly pasted remake of a great series that was thrown into a mangle and covered up with some sparkles knows as special effects.
I am not a die hard Avatar series fan. Nor have I been watching it faithfully for the years that it has been broadcast. I just know that I found this movie painful to watch, even when I tried not to compare it to its predecessor.
I would never recommend that anyone that actually enjoys decent movies watches this. If you feel you must see it... just wait for it to come out and download it or something. I don't think M. Night Shyamalan needs any more encouragement to continue making the crap he calls movies.
yumekichigai Community Member 
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