It is review time with Ashley!

Airbender is getting some horrible reviews. A 6% on Rotten Tomatoes and several 1 out of 10s from other sources. I checked these out before I saw the movie but had to keep an open mind because of how much I loved the animated series. Seriously, I watched all 65 episodes in 5 days. It is that good. There has been some racial drama with the casting of main characters white. Soka and Katara are for sure not white but that unfortuantely happens in many movie adaptations. Also, many people are bitching about Noah who plays Aang as being white. He is not white. Noah is either full or half Asian. Either way there were some things that hurt the movie before it even came out and that doesn’t bode well for a movie.

Why It’s Bad

First, they made a 20 episode season into an hour and a half movie. This made the character development none existent. The whole movie went way too fast and skimmed over some pretty important bonding times with Soka (Jackson Rathbone), Katara (Nicole Peltz) and Aang (Noah Ringer). The character of Aang is suppose to be a goofy kid in much of the first book but he wasn’t that way at all. Soka is awkward and funny, but again he had very little of those qualities. The actress who played Katara wasn’t that bad except you could tell she has had no martial arts training next to Aang. The Fire Lord Ozai is also present in this movie with a decent sized role. He is only in flashbacks the whole first book so that was a bit irritating. The film just moved too fast and skipped too many great stories of the series.

Why It’s Good

Dev Patel from Slumdog Millionaire did a great job as Prince Zuko. Basically the whole fire nation was cast well. It was surprising to see Aasif Mandvi from the Daily Show as Commander Zhao but he did a good job too. The costumes and cities were true to the anime which helped. Some critics are saying the special effects were bad. I have to disagree. Don’t see it in 3D and they will be much better. It is obvious Aang can do some complicated aerobatic moves that helped the fight scenes. The element bending was just what it should have been, fancy movements with the element reacting shortly after. It would not have been an Airbender movie without Appa and Momo who were digitally done either. I want an Air Bison.

Final Thoughts

The special effects and fight scenes make the movie worth a watch. If you have seen the series it will be disappointing with the hurried feeling it has throughout. For one who hasn’t seen the animated series, it might be a little confusing why the characters like each other so much with no development of their friendships. It is sad that such a well written anime was rushed into a movie like this but it really isn’t as bad as people are saying. You would be spending your time wisely watching Airbender rather than Twilight Eclipse.

Rating

6.5 out of 10