As written on July 2nd, 2010 02:53 PM

Despite all the negative reviews, I went to an afternoon matinee with my brother to see The Last Airbender. First and foremost I would like to say I'm a big fan of the show.  I  love the characters, love the plot, the personalities, development - I guess I'm an air-head.  *rimshot* Anyway, as I found the perfect seat in the theatre (and cursed myself for wearing my glasses and not my contacts), I dropped the expectations, both good and bad, I had for this movie.

I decided to look at the movie from three angles:
1) Somebody who has never seen Avatar: The Last Airbender before
2) Understanding that this is not a continuation of the story, but a re-telling
3) A diehard fan

1)
If you go into this movie, never knowing anything about the series... You'll be completely lost.  It's like walking into the middle of a Pokémon episode during some gym battle, and you've never heard of Pokémon before.  You just see a bunch of characters doing things for some unknown reason.  The characters for The Last Airbender move in an out so quick, that if you have no clue who they are, you will never know who they are up to the end of the movie.  Names are rarely used and the characters hardly interact with each other.  You'll be left lost in the middle of Aang's (or should I say Ong's) trips in and out of the spirit world.  They literally took the first season / book and smashed it into 90 minutes and leave very little room for character development.

2)
If you come to this movie, understanding it's a re-telling by another writer and new actors, but have some knowledge of Avatar, you'll be pleasantly surprised.  The characters maintain their personalities, and to some extent, their voices.  Katara is still the mothering type, Sokka is still the silly yet serious big brother, Aang is the scared and confused but compassionate hero, and Iroh... Fweee!  Though Iroh looks completely different, he's still the level-headed spiritualist gentlemen who eyes the young pretty girls.  I was very happy they did not change Iroh's personality.  You'll recognize situations and locations, though a few are combined to make a point here and there, but like explanation #1, you'll feel a bit rushed through the story.  Again, they packed an entire season into 3 or 4 episodes worth of time.  Since you're coming in with some knowledge of the show, however, you'll understand who and where and how the personalities are changing to the situations.

3)
Diehard fans will absolutely grit their teeth at this movie if they cannot take the #2 example attitude.  If you're expecting dead-on scenarios, characters, voices, locales, and play-by-play Avatar... go home and save yourself $5.  Many of the characters are off-model, and while I tried not to let the ethnicity of the characters get in the way, it is very noticeable.  Fire Lord Ozai, for example, has none of the slick charm to his features from the cartoon.  We're left with a heavy-set man with thick dark hair and features instead of a slender, cunning man of the orient.  Zuko is the same and comes off looking much older than his cartoon counterpart.  Aang looks most on model, followed by Yue, then Sokka... even then, it's reaching.  Again, you'll feel rushed through the movie, not being able to savor the development of the characters  - which may lead a lot of serious fans to struggle finding a strong connection to the characters they love.

The movie as a whole:
Overall, TLA was a mediocre movie with some drawbacks.  At times the camera and effects come off as cheap or lower quality, but the CGI always comes off as spectacular.  Momo and Appa feel real enough , but also seem out of place since they still maintain some cartoon-like qualities.  Appa's face is hardly believable as a real beast, and Momo's eyes look dead at times.  While their cartoon counterparts maintained an animal feel, their movie counterparts seem too emotional, almost human.  The acting is sub-par where everybody seems to be reading off of cards every once and a while with delayed dialogue, and some scenes really could have been cut to make for stronger development and key plot points.  A lot of the movie leaves you, again, feeling rushed and somewhat empty.  All of the action and emotion is saved for the end of the movie, and even that feels out of place with the changes M. Night Shyamalan made to the story.

I would not say that I wasted my money, it gave me something to do this afternoon, but I won't be going back, and I might wait for the DVD to hit the discount bin before picking it up.

Summary: Don't go into this movie if you have no knowledge of the series or are a very strict diehard fan.  Do go see it if you can accept the movie being its own piece, a re-telling.  Expect some sub par camera angles and acting, but be in awe at the CGI.

I give this movie a 2.5 out of 5.

~Ty