If you care about the Avatar animated series at all, then stay away from the live action version of it at all costs. In the series, everybody laughs and has fun and they're lighthearted and actually care about each other, unless it's in their character not to do so, or if an event calls for them to be serious.
In the movie, nobody smiles or laughs. Not. Even. Once. Everybody is dead-on serious.
Sokka, who is supposed to be a comic relief character, never even tries to make even a pathetic joke. He never does anything silly or voices his liking for food. His boomerang that was so precious to him in the series is only used once. He doesn't even show any sign of love towards anybody, not even Princess Yue. What is the first thing in the movie that he does? He tries to hit his sister after she accidentally spills water on him. Perhaps he's mad because they call him "so-ka" in the movie.
And then there's Avatar Aang, the Last Airbender. Oh, sorry Mister Director! I should call him "Ovatar Ong", since you repeatedly insist that I do so! Let's see...He is so serious that it's disconcerting, his airbending techniques are choppy and laughable, and he's supposed to be fun-loving and easygoing, correct?! And in the series, you learn how he got to be in an iceberg after awhile. In the movie, a few scenes after meeting him, Aang says that he was told he was the Avatar and then he ran away because he was told he would never have a family because of this. In the series, he ran away due to the fact that he had to be separated from his guardian, Monk Gyatso, because he was interfering with the Avatar's training because Gyatso thought that Aang was too young to deal with it and that he should focus on other things. You are supposed to learn this a few episodes later.
Katara is also left souless and apathetic for her role in the live action film.
Appa and Momo are pointless in the movie. Appa is used for transport only. Momo isn't named and only careful viewers will notice that he even left the air temple.
Poor, poor Suki...We mourn her loss of a part in the movie...because they removed the Kyoshi Warriors. How dare they. Plus Kyoshi Island itself wasn't even an island, it was an obvious inland town, and it only appeared for two minutes for plot advancement.
Princess Yue was basically Sokka's forced love interest for the movie. She didn't even look interested in being there.
Zuko's scar was missing and he looked freaking ugly.
General Iroh's name was pronounced wrong (they called him ee-row) and he was lean and had dreadlocks. What the frack.
Firebenders originally didn't need a source to create fire. In the movie apparently if you don't have something to firebend from then you're left defenseless, and firebending with pure chi makes you The God of Firebenders.
Waterbenders were okay.
Earthbenders didn't show up because this movie only covers Book One.
Airbending was choppy and awkward.
In the series, the characters had...well...character. In the movie, cardboard cutouts would have had more personality.
The movie plot was like this:
Katara: Hey, it's Aang! Erm, I mean Ong.
Director: Oi! Move faster!
Sokka: But we just got here--
Director: Quick, to Kyoshi Island!
Aang: It's not an island--
Sokka: Suki!
Director: Who's Suki? Now move along! Move move move!
*thirty minutes later, the main characters arrive at the Northern Water Temple, exhausted.*
Katara: My...god...Director...have you...no mercy?
Aang: We've been walking at a mile a minute since the movie started!
Director: All for the sake of the plot!
Sokka: This movie has one?
Director: Sh'up! You're not supposed to be funny!
Sokka: Yes sir. Katara, I'mma punch you for no reason.
Katara: Eep!
Director: Stop! We need to keep this scene ten seconds long, tops.
Personally, I hated this movie and I find it offensive to the World of Avatar, and I haven't even listed everything that's wrong with it. It reminds me of an episode in the Avatar series when they went to a play about themselves that was created using unreliable sources and crummy actors.
- Zuko: That... Wasn't a good play.
- Aang: I'll say.
- Katara: No kidding.
- Suki: Horrible.
- Toph: You said it.
- Sokka: But the effects were decent.
- On a scale of 1 to 5 stars, I give this movie 0.25 stars. Just because I feel generous.
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