LAF Reviews of TLA

[YipYip]

Thank you to Mindbender for the most accurate and genuine review thus far. If anyone wants a true review please read his.

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[Melon Lord's Revenge]

Saw a packed midnight show last night and went with several friends, not as many as originally planned but at least I was there with a bunch a fans in the audience. Cosplay, lots of ATLA and TLA shirts, overall a fun outing with people that love the show and wanted to love the movie.

I think its the casual fans (besides professional critics) who are most upset by this movie. They're the ones sitting behind me going "Ong?" Because real fans would have known months in advance of these changes I guess we're die hard fans on here Because the shock and awe and complete silence throughout the movie was often interrupted by me and one of my friends totally enjoying it at times. And if you're a fan you will enjoy moments but you may not enjoy the movie as whole, because everything you've heard or read by now is true with one thing missing, and that is that you'll just have to see it for yourself. Personally, I separated this movie from the show completely as I mentally prepared myself the entire day for my midnight show. This in part due to all the negative reviews.

As a fan, it was hard for me to feel hatred towards TLA, and I agree the reviews are excessively harsh, but even if they lightened up just a bit I don't think it would help. Quite simply the movie was flawed and full of holes. It was rushed, the writing was bad, that bad writing then leads to actors delivering bad lines, there was zero room for character development or even time to absorb the wonderful world they're in. It was heartbreaking to watch (just as others have said) at times because everything going in looked so good with only a few red flags along the way as we followed the production of this movie for almost two years.

So I'll start with the nail in the coffin. Running time! I know I'm just repeating myself but finally after seeing the movie, there was so much information and details that needed to be shown rather than explained by characters that it absolutely needed or probably contained 30 minutes of footage that was not there for the audience to comprehend going from one scene to the next. Katara's narration was a cop out. A post production tool used to move the story forward as scenes that were filmed now became a montage of sorts about their journey to the NWT. And that really hurt. Because the movie starts off faithful and then slowly becomes a collage of scenes taken directly from the show to live action.

M. Night is usually good at building suspense and playing up the drama to emotional climaxes. It is the first time in all of his films that I did not feel it. His strong point here was attention to detail and visuals, just about everything from the sets, to costumes, and special fx for the bending are all quite stunning. It truly was A:TLA brought to life. Unfortunately, the film felt lifeless, and it is because of how much is thrown at you all at once. I just wanted them to slow it down and let the audience breath and get to know the characters. We know who the characters are but even in this movie they felt like strangers.

But don't let me bring you down just yet, because the next thing I will say is that this was a movie made for the fans, with a few known exceptions and changes of course. Or at least Night really tried to make this for the fans, because there were things in the movie that made me want to thank him personally and other moments that left me shruggin my shoulders. There were absolutely moments where it really is the show coming to life. And maybe that's where he lost the critics, this attempt at being very faithful. And it was also in this attempt to be too faithful that he lost all those casual fans and even us die hard fans. Because he basically forgot he was also supposed to be making a good movie that more than just kids and fans can enjoy. Somebody mentioned the movie has a charm to it, and this is very true, but it fell short on way too many standard do's and dont's of storytelling and filmmaking.

So now let me get all list-y on you just to wrap it up in case you weren't ready to read my book.

The Good:
SFX, Sets, Costumes, Cinematography, Film Locations! All of it was visually stunning!

James Newton Howard's score was beautiful as we all knew by now

Dev Patel as Zuko was awesome.

Believe it or not...Jackson Rathbone as Sokka! Not hilarious the whole way through but he was great.
Noah Ringer was awkward at times but he held the film together. And for his first film I mean c'mon, hats off to him

Shaun Toub was underused but still passable as Uncle Iroh so no complaints.

Yue was surprising good and came across very natural.

Pakku, even though they only mentioned his name once I think was good but underused as well.

The action was good and comes and goes but Night needs to work on it but it still gets a pass because the more they showed the more you wanted.

Appa and Momo looked fine but were underused.

Specific scenes like the Blue Spirit and Aang vs. Zuko were some highlights for me.

Neutral:
Aasif Mandvi as Zhao was up and down, sometimes perfect and other times just not the right guy for the part.

Cliff Curtis did what he could with what little he had to work with. If they only showed his face just once it would have been more effective. He mostly just seemed like a rich guy with a lot of power who has people report to him without consequence of failure. Unless we're talking about Zuko.

The cliffhanger ending would have worked great if Night had truly won fans over.

Spirit world, nothing special.

Live action opening of the shows opening introducing the elements.

Sins of Shyamalan

Name changes backfired, don't ask just ask my entire theater. Even saying "grandma" instead of Gran Gran.

Nicola Peltz as Katara.

No interaction between Aang and Appa.

A Dragon replacing Roku and Koh

Cutting the Kyoshi Warriors...I now know after seeing the Last Airbender Revealed that it was M. Night's decision.

Using Dee Bradley Baker should have been a no brainer for Appa and Momo.

Exposition Overload! Katara Narrating and conversations between Ozai and Zhao.

I'm not mad about Koizilla being cut, I'm mad that the tidal wave was not as epic and as powerful as it should have been.

Not making Iroh's scene cool enough! In the show he threatens Zhao and warns him not to kill the moon spirit, and then unleashes the fury...but in the movie he just creates fire There was no real build up to Firebender's fearing someone who can create their own fire so I don't know why they all just cowered before him, I mean we're supposed to be waiting for Iroh to do something truly bad ass and that should have been it. A zuko vs. Zhao fight would have been great as well.

In conclusion, because I dare not let this drag along...I do not think the movie will reach the box office heights needed to warrant Book2 and the reaction from critics and fans alike...I don't know, I don't think there's any recovering from this and why would people want to see a sequel to a failed first attempt even if the story is better in season 2, and we get more money and a longer movie.

I honestly think that Night should have hired Mike and Bryan to write the screenplay collaboratively with him. Anybody but him. He had his chance to really redeem himself with this film but something a long the way was lost. He was either in over his head or the studio execs and producer's really did twist his arm. I would love a director's cut, and I have no problem placing a TLA bluray right next to my ATLA box sets. I didn't hate it, I'm disappointed but I didn't hate it and I don't hate M. Night. I think the feeling now that we may never get our next two movies is the only thing that hurts in the long run. Our expectations blinded us. I got caught up in the hype but I don't think it was a waste of time. And neither should you.

[Mindbender]

If you know anything about M. Night, it's that he lives in a bubble, and hasn't been getting a single piece of feedback on any of his films since The Village. There's multiple books written about how his ego is so inflated yet fragile that he can't take criticism in any form and just does whatever he wants, with no one supervising him to tell him no.

Multiple books, eh? Which books are those?

[Eudaemon]

I will make a concise review that is spoiler-free.

Let's start with the beginning. When they showed the live-action sequence of the "Water, Earth, Fire, Air!" in the opening of the cartoon, I was amazed. But then we were forced to read paragraphs, yet, paragraphs, of text, narrated by Katara. It was done reminiscent of Star Wars. It just didn't work. I would have liked visuals close to the opening in the cartoon...instead of text.

They cut the "soul" out of ATLA, leaving behind a movie that is like a montage. The entire movie would have improved if they followed the basic fiction writer's rule of "Show, don't tell." Katara narrating random events would have worked amazingly if it had been the future and she was telling little kids her adventure with the Avatar.

The character relationships were...bad. Character development was absent. Sokka served absolutely no point; not even for comedic relief. It's like they could have killed him and no one would have cared. I know I didn't and Sokka is my favorite character in the cartoon!

Changing the name pronunciations was annoying. The entire audience made a universal "ONG?!" "SOAK-UH?!" "EE-ROH?" "ADVA-TAR?" every time something was pronounced wrong. I was in a sold-out theater with a ton of Avatar fans, so they were obviously annoyed as I was.

The effects, scenery, costumes, and music were the best parts. If they had slowed down and showed more scenery, it would have been beautiful. The Fire Nation ships were epic! Speaking of the Fire Nation, Zuko and Iroh were perfect. They acted just like their cartoon counterparts. The Blue Spirit part was very good, probably one of the redeeming scenes in the montage. The battle at the Northern Water Tribe was really good; the scenery and costumes helped.

In a nutshell, TLA didn't end up like Eragon where the characters were in name only (minus...Sokka.), but it's not that impressive. As an Avatard, it was a letdown. My hopes for the best movie ever made of my most favorite cartoon ever were crushed. I mean, I suggest you see it, because I will admit, it was a thrill to see all the places that I remembered in the cartoon come to life. I truly believe that this movie would have been very good if they added at least 30-45 minutes of film.

Crowd reaction in the end was half booing and half applauding.

[Mooseboy018]

Part 2 of my review (Part 1):

-dining with Zhao: The show and the movie both tried to explain a bit of Zuko's past in this scene and who Zhao was, but it only really worked in the show. (6/10)
-Kyoshi Village: This scene wasn't really bad, but it was definitely lacking in real emotion and action. The parts at the end after the prisoners were freed were a bit better though. (6/10)
-Earth Kingdom montage: It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but it was pretty unnecessary. Actually having some plot and character development here would have much a much better way to go. (3.5/10)
-the teashop: I loved this scene. It wasn't perfect, but it really worked for the most part. It wasn't really rushed, and it had some good dialogue. And Iroh drinking tea is always a plus. It was great seeing a bit of the Agni Ki flashback, but it just didn't have the emotional impact that it did in the show. (9/10)
-Aang trying to waterbend: This was way too rushed to the point where it wasn't even really a scene (well there were two scenes technically), but Noah's acting was pretty good. Having Katara and Aang actually interacting instead of a quick bit of narration would have helped, and it would have been some of the first real interaction between them. (4/10)
-the Blue Spirit/Northern Air Temple: I think the "Old Man in Temple" was a great idea for a character, and his acting was great. Pretty much all of the scenes at the Northern Air Temple were good. Zhao interrogating Aang was good, but it could have been better. The Blue Spirit fight/escape was exciting, but the pacing wasn't that great. And I honestly can't remember what the dragon spirit told Aang in this scene. (8.5/10)
-the Ozai scenes: These were pretty good overall, but a lot of it felt like another awkward attempt to explain the plot. (7.5/10)
-Zuko's assassination: There was a huge lack of sympathy for Zuko, so this scene didn't work as well as it did in the show. But the character interaction was pretty good, and Iroh getting a foot massage was hilarious. (8/10)
-arriving at the Northern Water Tribe: There was no sense of a journey or destination for the gaang, so arriving at the Northern Water Tribe felt like no big deal. Introducing Yue with narration was a mistake. Her relationship was Sokka wasn't necessarily bad, but it wasn't given any time to develope, which was really the case with all the characters. Pakku was never probably introduced, and the waterbending training was way to short. (7/10)
the siege of the Northern Water Tribe: There wasn't enough action or even a real sense of a siege, and the lack of build up really hurt the overall feel of the end of the movie. Most of the actors were at their best though by the end, but there wasn't enough character interaction and development in the middle of the movie to make it really matter. The Zuko and Katara fight was ok, and I liked his line "I can't go back home without him". Zuko's little monologue in the storage room had a lot of potential, but it felt really rush and like half of it was missing. But the fight between him and Aang was great. Zhao's scenes were pretty good, but they weren't as powerful as they should have been. There was never an explanation about the firebender's lack of ability to create their own fire, so when Iroh showed his true power there was no impact. Yue and Sokka's goodbye was good (even with some bad dialogue), but nothing ever made you care about Yue in the first place. Zuko and Zhao's final confrontation was actually pretty good, and the way Iroh stepped in really worked. Zhao's death worked pretty well too. It was actually a good idea to cut out the Ocean Spirit's involvement because that would have just been one more awkwardly explained plot point. Aang's flashbacks before he went into the Avatar State were great, and that scene actually had some emotional weight to it. But the Avatar State wasn't explained at all, so I don't think regular people understood what it was. Having everyone bow to him in the end was good, and I loved that the Fire Nation soldiers bowed to him too. (8/10)
the epilogue: This scene worked pretty well overall, but like most of Ozai's scenes it was a slightly awkward attempt to shove in more plot explanations. Seeing Azula was great though. (7.5/10)

Music:
The music was great, but it wasn't really that noticeable during some of the movie. It wasn't really used to its full potential. (9.5/10)

Things I noticed that were missing (or might have been missing):
1. Katara: How did you do that?
Sokka: You can bend air! (and maybe more dialogue in that scene)
2. Zhao: If he's real he's just one person. (That could have just been dialogue for the trailer, but I think it was missing.)
3. The Kyoshi Warriors...and their entire scene, which would have shown more character for Sokka and Katara.
4. Katara losing her necklace, Zuko finding it, and Aang getting it back.
5. the actual footage for the intro...
6. the original epilogue (but that was obviously replaced by the Azula one)
7. Sokka: I taught him that. (I'm pretty sure that was left out.)
8. Sokka's WOOHOO!
9. I think the Kataang hug at the Southern Air Temple was missing...
10. the fortuneteller/medium
11. Aang: I don't deserve their praise. (that could have been another line just for the trailers, but I'm pretty sure it was missing)
12. Sokka calling Katara a "baby-bender"
13. a scene with Katara training at the Northern Water Tribe
14. probably more stuff...

[Melon Lord's Revenge]

so so much was cut and anybody who watched every trailer and tv spot (most of us on here )could easily point it out.

[Gold333]

Wow, I feel like it is april fools or something, I LOVED the movie, yet it seems like everyone else hated it, critics and fans alike. I'm assuming the reason it is being responded to so negatively is 1) critics and people who have not seen the show didn't get it, which i completely understand because it was short and potentially very confusing to those without background knowledge and 2) those who are fans of the show feel it was too short, left too much out, and are upset about any changes that were made. However it did NOT deserve such a low rating on rotten tomatoes, when I went to the midnight showing the theaters were packed and people were laughing and such at all the right places. To put it in the same realm as Gigli, etc. is ridiculous.

Dev, Iroh, surprisingly Sokka and imo, especially Noah were awesome! Dev's portrayal at times was heartbreaking and Noah was adorable. I teared up about three times so i felt the acting was clearly effective. Also, the reshoots must have done some good because they definitely must have cut out any bad acting from Zhao, Sokka, and the hyped outburst Dev originally had.

Yes the kyoshi warriors weren't in it, but they would've been a huge distraction. I don't even know how they would have fit in, especially with the whole Sokka-Yue romance. Earthbending was kind of lame, but I'm guessing they're waiting to break it out with Toph and Bumi in the second movie.

Yue was gorgeous and a great actress. Sorry to say this, but Azula (very brief apperance, with only one line) was a disappointment in my opinion. I thought even the one line she had was poor acting, but I am one of the rare people who don't find Summer Bishil to be a fantastic actress. But azula is my favorite so I had high expectiations. She'll have to step up her game for the sequels for sure though, if there are any.

BTW, this may irritate some people, but the movie had actual correct pronunciations of those names/words. Avatar is not pronounced correctly on the show and stems from Hindu Mythology. M. Night must have changed Sokka and Aang to follow more Hindu pronunciations as opposed to the Midwestern accent added to the show.

I thought the Spirit World could have been more majestic, but other than that the movie was visually stunning, especially the colors used to distinguish kingdoms and the Spiritual Oasis in the Northern Kingdom was lovely.

Overall I loved it but it should have been 30-60 minutes longer. There are a bunch of changes but I liked how I didn't know what was coming next. Forewarning however, I was very lucky that everything worked out to my advantage-I hadn't seen the first season in several months, and I went in having read about many of the changes (fire benders needing a source, which i may have been mad about had i not already known, etc.) and being depressed about the critical reception so having VERY low expectations. It's obviously not going to be the amazingness and comedy that is the show, but I sincerely loved it and am really concerned about the sequels being greenlit. I spent the first minutes being nervous about the movie/acting being good but I genuinely got lost in the movie and forgot about that all after that period of time.

Sorry about the long post! Don't go in thinking it's going to be the same as the show. Go in thinking we are lucky to have an extension of the show on the big screen to feed our Airbender cravings.

[christopher]

I hope Nightbender does a review. I am seeing this movie tomorrow.

[Emtee]

Gold333, thanks for the review, it's nice to see an optimistic one amongst us fans here. I don't know what to think, but the general consensus seems to be that M. Night needs someone else to write his dialogues! I really hope they release the director's cut on DVD since it seems there has been so many scenes cut out.. sigh.

[Gold333]

Gold333, thanks for the review, it's nice to see an optimistic one amongst us fans here. I don't know what to think, but the general consensus seems to be that M. Night needs someone else to write his dialogues! I really hope they release the director's cut on DVD since it seems there has been so many scenes cut out.. sigh.

thanks Emtee, I'm sad no one likes it After reading others' reviews I see where they are coming from as well however, it's just so hard to watch from an unbiased perspective. To some this movie is like if The Fellowship of the Ring was an hour and a half. That would be so not good.

Let's all campaign for a super extended edition in DVD.