Anyone see "The Last Airbender" ?

D

DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I am a big fan of the TV show and was planning to see this movie on my vacation next week.

My teenage son (19), who is also a big fan, possibly bigger than me as he owns all of the DVD's and has seen them MANY times, saw the movie with his friends last night at midnight and said it was "horrible"... all of his friends said the same thing.

Anyone here see it? What did you think?
 
W

wizards8507

Active Member
Sucks for the producers that James Cameron had *dibs* on the "Avatar" name. I doubt most people realize where the film came from anyways.
 
E

Erika

Moderator
Judging by the reviews, it seems like the worst ones are coming from people who were fans of the original. I have no idea what it is based on or what the heck it's all about so... if we decide to see it, maybe having nothing to compare it to might be in our favor. :shrug: My daughter's desire to see it comes half from seeing the movie poster at her ATA school and half from the Happy Meal toy she got earlier today :lol:
 
D

DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Erika said:
Judging by the reviews, it seems like the worst ones are coming from people who were fans of the original.
Click to expand...

That's the issue.

"Avatar: The Last Airbender" ran from 2005 to 2008, 60 episodes, spanning 3 seasons. It won a Primetime Emmy. Another 6 wins & 4 nominations in Annie and Emmy and Motion Picture Sound Editing areas.

It continues to run on Nickelodeon and has been released on DVD.

One critic said about the tv series "Smart, tough, compassionate, dynamic, visionary, and funny, the show ranks among those precious and few surprise TV discoveries like HBO's "Sopranos" and SyFy Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" reboot that can reaffirm your faith in mainstream genre storytelling."....

Apparently the movie doesn't even come close.

Also, the supposed plan is to take each of the 3 tv seasons (of 20 episodes each!) and turn each into a movie. Judging from the initial reaction to this one, I'm doubting that will happen...
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
Erika said:
Judging by the reviews, it seems like the worst ones are coming from people who were fans of the original. I have no idea what it is based on or what the heck it's all about so... if we decide to see it, maybe having nothing to compare it to might be in our favor. :shrug: My daughter's desire to see it comes half from seeing the movie poster at her ATA school and half from the Happy Meal toy she got earlier today :lol:
Click to expand...
That is pretty typical. Many fans seem to expect an almost scene by scene recreation of the original. If it deviates even in the slightest the movie is horrible, their childhoods have been destroyed, etc. I plan on seeing it this weekend having never watched an entire episode of the original.Odd are that I will enjoy it and my daughter who is a fan of the show will probably fit into the category I previously described.
 
E

Erika

Moderator
Master Yoda said:
That is pretty typical. Many fans seem to expect an almost scene by scene recreation of the original. If it deviates even in the slightest the movie is horrible, their childhoods have been destroyed, etc. I plan on seeing it this weekend having never watched an entire episode of the original.Odd are that I will enjoy it and my daughter who is a fan of the show will probably fit into the category I previously described.
Click to expand...

Yes, and if I had a dollar for each time I myself have said "The book was so much better," I could afford to produce my own Hollywood blockbuster :lol:
 
tigsmom

tigsmom

Well-Known Member
Haven't seen it yet, but Princess #2 and I are planning to go (she owns the DVD's and has watched them so many times they must be worn out by now :lol: ).
I've never been one to go by what others (the so called experts) think about a movie, I like to make up my own mind. To me this will always be Avatar :zipit:
 
E

Erika

Moderator
DisneyJoe said:
I'm going to do my best to go in with an open mind, I'm sure my son will love it.
Click to expand...

Be sure to let us know what you think :)

We just watched the trailer and it looks intense for my DD so... she is thinking dvd rental on this one. That's a big win for me. It cost us $60 to see Toy Story 3 :eek:
 
D

DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Erika said:
Yes, and if I had a dollar for each time I myself have said "The book was so much better," I could afford to produce my own Hollywood blockbuster
Click to expand...

From what my 19yo son says, its SOOOO much worse than that. I asked him what was good about the movie, he said "the boy cast as Aang was good, some of the scenes were nice (pretty)". I asked him what was bad about the movie, he said "everything". I pressed for more specifics, he said: "the script. The acting, the action sequences, the dialog, it was one of the worst movies I have ever seen".

He is not one to be overly critical of movies either.

I'll give my review in a week or so when I return from vacation.
 
W

wizards8507

Active Member
DisneyJoe said:
From what my 19yo son says, its SOOOO much worse than that. I asked him what was good about the movie, he said "the boy cast as Aang was good, some of the scenes were nice (pretty)". I asked him what was bad about the movie, he said "everything". I pressed for more specifics, he said: "the script. The acting, the action sequences, the dialog, it was one of the worst movies I have ever seen".

He is not one to be overly critical of movies either.

I'll give my review in a week or so when I return from vacation.
Click to expand...

He must have never seen "Ninja Assassin" or "The Lake House."
 
Testtrack321

Testtrack321

Well-Known Member
I think this says it all...

http://io9.com/5576076/m-night-shyamalan-finally-made-a-comedy


Everything about this movie from what I hear is horrible. The forced upon 3D done afterwards makes the film so dark it's unwatchable. The acting is horrible, casting Americans as Asians is a joke, the list goes on and on.

Recently, at an Asian fusion restaurant, I was offered a thing called an Asiadilla. This was a quesadilla with roast duck and hoisin sauce inside it. Just let that idea sink into your mind and permeate your tastebuds — in essence, it's Beijing Duck crossed with Tex-Mex. With extra cheese. Watching The Last Airbender is like being force-fed a hundred Asiadillas, washed down with a pitcher of overly sweet Saketinis. The Asian kitsch flies at you, from the yin-yang fish to the army of Samurai who are all South Asian. You want a cheesy foreign backdrop for your fantasy epic? M. Night Shyamalan will smother you in cheese! Because the setting, in this movie, is just another trickster making fun of your desire to believe in it. Airbender's Asia is a giant pantomime, and you are Puss in Boots.
Click to expand...
 
imagineer boy

imagineer boy

Well-Known Member
D

DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Just saw these comments on my son's facebook page and one of his friends that saw the movie too:

"It was the worst movie I've ever seen. If you're planning on seeing it, cut yourself a break and just smash a finger in a car door. Then burn it."

"I can say that I was expected to be disappointed, but the movie went far beyond anything disappointment could ever begin to describe. It was a two hour event meant to cause physical and mental trauma. It was like walking in on your parents having ______ while having your kneecaps obliterated with a ____________ hammer. Really. Do NOT see this movie."
 
Number_6

Number_6

Well-Known Member
Before hearing any reviews or seeing the awful looking trailer I was already refusing to give this movie my business. I have a lot of Asian friends who were upset about the casting job and having none of the lead roles be cast by Asian actors. It wasn't until there was an outcry after the initial announcement of the cast that they replaced Jessie McCartney with Dev Patel. And since his character starts off working for the bad guys, it still made all the "heroes" white in an entirely Asian backdrop. Even the casting call when they were first looking for actors stated "Caucasian actors" and then added "or other ethnicity." It could have just asked for actors of any ethnicity if it didn't matter, as M. Night Shaymalan claims. It's shades of old Hollywood all over again and it really shouldn't be like that these days. Sorry to get kinda preachy, it's not like me usually, but this really does bother me. If you want more information about it all, you can go here: http://www.racebending.com/v3/
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom