The Last Airbender (6/10)

A disgraceful 8% on the RottenTomatoes.com scale? Sigh. Where do I even begin?

I've read a few of those controversial reports regarding the casting and racism before the movie was out. It was another one of those Hollywood-American bullshit. Look at the history of movie making in Hollywood. Why single out The Last Airbender? Because it's an American-born cartoon? Because it's by M. Night Shyamalan?

Did that had an impact on the response for the movie? Probably a definitive affirmative, since that 8% never moved anymore. It's as if the whole movie review community - those with power to influence - boycott this artwork. (Yes, I'm calling it art.) I don't think some reviewers even bothered to go watch this.

I've never seen the animated series so I have no idea what the story is all about. Just like how I've never followed the Dragonball series. But RottenTomatoes is telling me that that sad excuse for a movie was better than Airbender. Bullshit. Having Chow Yun Fatt and Jamie Chung on the roster made it OK for Dragonball? Bullshit. Their acting was worse off. They were probably the reasons why that movie ended up so bad as well. And somehow having Dev Patel in the roster of Airbender wasn't enough. Bullshit. Both the protagonists in both movies were Caucasian. Bullshit.Where were the outcries when The Last Of The Mohicans and The Last Samurai were both Caucasians? Bullshit.

Anyway, back to the review. As I was saying I had no prior experience with Airbender so I'm viewing this purely from an entertainment standpoint.What's weak about this movie? First would be the dialogue. Yes, I have to say Shyamalan needs to get a writer for the dialogues. They were not easy for all these young actors to deliver; heck, they are not easy for anyone to deliver.

Too much was cramped into the story. Therefore, the result became very episodic. Continuity became an issue and loopholes were not far behind. A lot of things happened one way just because they had to happen that way. A lot of times also the actors had to say what's happening just to facilitate the progression. I dislike that kind of storytelling very much.

And that floating monster became too much of a prop. It badly needed a back story of its own. And better CGI effects for it. Also, the acting wasn't on par. But then again, look at how bad Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter was in the first instalment. I would love to see the cast grow as actors in future instalments. Plus Noah Ringer is a brand new actor.

What's good? M. Night Shyamalan's vision. He created art. That first battle where the trio teamed up with the Earthbenders against the Firebenders was a glorious watch. The choreography of Tai-Chi-like movements were mostly beautiful and always beautifully shot. The cinematography brought fantasy and exotic locales to life.

This was the best I've seen of Jackson Rathbone. He was insignificant in the Twilight series. But Dev Patel was the best actor of the bunch. He was the most convincing and most emotional, almost to the right level, while the other few constantly over-acted.

The score by James Newton Howard added a lot of value to the storytelling and the movie as a whole. I would even go as far to say because of the beautiful marriage of the direction and the score, I've added one whole point to the rating.

Sure this is Shyamalan's first foray into fantasy, not everything was great. But he has managed to make me care about the movie and the characters. He made things mysterious, intriguing and engaging. I was interested and entertained throughout. And I still love how stylised his storytelling is. Most of all, he made me want to catch the series.

But to get 8%? Bullshit.