Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Rights the Wrongs of the Last Live-Action Adaptation: Review
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The post Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Rights the Wrongs of the Last Live-Action Adaptation: Review appeared first on Consequence.
The Pitch: *Ahem* Cue the dramatic music, please…
WATER! EARTH! FIRE! AIR!
Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished…
So goes the iconic intro from the original Nickelodeon series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and as one might expect, Netflix’s new live-action adaptation follows the same premise. Aang (Gordon Cormier), the titular Avatar and last airbender, is tasked with restoring peace to a warring, magical universe. After inadvertently trapping himself in ice for 100 years, he awakes to find the world he once knew on fire — literally. The Fire Nation is in the midst of multiple genocides in their pursuit of power, and Aang and his friends are all that stand in their way.
Despite the fact that, at heart, he’s nothing more than a fun-loving kid in over his head, Aang must come to terms with his responsibilities. Joined by budding waterbender Katara (Kiawentiio Tarbell) and her older brother Sokka (Ian Ousley), Aang must hone his skills before it’s too late, all while running from a young, conflicted Fire Nation prince, Zuko (Dallas James Liu), who’s tasked with capturing him.
The Flying Bison in the Room: As any Avatar fan (or any obsessive so-bad-it’s-good film fan) knows, this isn’t the first attempt to bring the world of The Last Airbender into the realm of live-action. M. Night Shyamalan beat Netflix to the punch by well over a decade — and was instantly ridiculed for the effort by fans, critics, and just about anyone unlucky enough to catch a glimpse of the film.
From both a fan and filmmaking perspective, the backlash is pretty understandable. In the film, names get the wrong pronunciation, the dialogue is laughable, the once vibrant world is dull, and Shyamalan forgoes the original series’ humor and lightness for drab dramatics. Fortunately, it seems as if the team over at Netflix has studied Shyamalan’s blunder, and made a point to approach the source material in almost the exact opposite way.
Putting the “Avatar” Back into the “Last Airbender”: Unlike 2010’s The Last Airbender, Netflix’s Avatar brims with life. Despite leaning into the devastation and destruction of the narrative just as much (and possibly even more) than the show’s original run, the essential moments of joy and levity remain firmly intact. Just as important, the world feels expansive and lived-in, with believable, distinct pockets of culture occupying each corner of the story.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix)
Really, with the groundwork provided by Nickelodeon and the subsequent sequel series, The Legend of Korra, a fun and interesting setting should be a given. After all, the hard part — actually conceptualizing the universe and tone of the story — had already been accomplished. But as proven by Shyamalan’s adaptation, not even the simplest of translations are guaranteed. So, the mere fact that the new series feels like Avatar should come as a relief to fans new and old.
A World Worth Revisiting: The resulting eight episodes boast expensive-looking sets, consistently impressive (if not always perfect) special effects, and heartfelt performances. At the core of the show’s success is its willingness to embrace the wide spectrum of emotion that made its source material so potent, from childlike and light to deeply crushing to legitimately spooky (you’ll know when you see it).
Many times throughout the show, the overt effort on the part of the cast and crew to tap into the cartoonish nature of Avatar comes into full view, with over-the-top line deliveries and borderline cheesy moments of comedic relief that are ripped right from anime stylings. Other times, the stakes of the conflict are made abundantly clear, as the transition from animation to live-action makes, say, the burning of a live human being come across as all the more gruesome. Much like the moon spirit needs the ocean spirit, these two tones need the push-and-pull of each other to fully work.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix)
Narrative Bending: While generally faithful, Netflix’s Avatar is not a one-to-one, shot-for-shot remake of the original series. Even beyond the live-action element, the format for this first season has shifted from 20 half-hour episodes to eight episodes at an hour a piece (while still covering the same story). The change gives the new series the feeling of modern prestige television, but it also undoubtedly forced the writing team to make some tough decisions when it came to what would make it on screen.
For the most part, however, any story adjustments or overt omissions work in service of telling this version of the story. No character moment or plot development betrays the spirit of the original work, nor does any aspect of the new take demonstrate a lack of understanding of what made the franchise so appealing in the first place. Die-hard fans will notice some significant changes, especially towards the back end of the season, but they likely won’t be filled with the same level of rage as the last time a live-action adaptation decided to meddle with the original recipe.
The Verdict: So, is it as good as the original series? Not really, but was it ever going to be? The more important question is this: Was there merit in undertaking such a project? To that, the answer is a resounding yes. More than merely pleasant, Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender offers an enjoyable mix of nostalgia and new ideas, fusing the novelty of seeing elemental bending in “real life” with the excitement of an evolving, worthwhile story. Come for the flashy adaptation of your favorite fight scene, and stay for a new take on the story that won over your heart in the first place.
Where to Watch: All episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender drop Thursday, February 22nd, on Netflix.
Trailer:
Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Rights the Wrongs of the Last Live-Action Adaptation: Review
Jonah Krueger
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