The original animated series about Avatar Aang, which aired on the Nickelodeon channel, is considered a modern classic. It is difficult to find a person who would not sincerely love her. At the same time, “Avatar” did not turn into too big a franchise, there are relatively few individual works about it. “Avatar: The Last Airbender” is Netflix’s attempt to transfer the canons and best elements of the original to the format of a series with live actors. We tell you in our review how this attempt turned out.
Pros:
general designs and CGI moments; well adapted magic and cast; flirting with genre throughout; in general, a respectful attitude towards the canons of the animated series
Cons:
almost every element has its unpleasant “but”; the series still loses to the animated series in everything; some moments are adapted in such a way that questions about the script remain during the viewing
“Avatar: The Last Airbender” / Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre adventures
director Michael Goy, Rosanna Liang
In roles Gordon Cormier, Kiaventio Tarbell, Ian Ousley, Dallas Liu, Daniel Dae Kim, Paul Soon-Hen Lee
Premiere Netflix
Release year 2024
Site IMDb
The plot revolves around the boy Aang (Gordon Cormier), the last representative of the airbenders. The rest were destroyed by the Fire Nation, who are waging a war of aggression against humanity. Aang spent a hundred years frozen, so he knows almost nothing about the new circumstances of the world. Also, the boy has the gift of Avatar, which allows him to use all the elements. But first he needs to master his abilities. After all, it is they who can put an end to the tyranny of the Fire Nation.
The West has already tried to transfer “Avatar” to a format with live actors. That’s how we got M. Night Shyamalan’s Lord of the Elements. This is a very specific movie that spoils the full-length format. After all, the story of “Avatar” is full of nuances and details that form its charm. You should not rush with such.
Netflix’s Avatar does a much better job of this. However, one should not think that the series adapts the animated series one to the other. There are liberties and creative changes here. They are not very critical and are made to make it easier for beginners to watch. But if you remember the original, you will understand that some important points are missing here.
The problem is that all the changes that should simplify the perception of the series do not quite work. One can see how the adaptation is still very dependent on knowledge of the original work. If this is your first acquaintance with “Avatar”, it is better to keep a friend close at hand during the viewing, who can explain all the problematic points.
On the other hand, long-time fans may resent the depiction of certain characters and moments. Of course, no one was forcing Netflix to reproduce the original source as accurately as possible. But some changes are made in a way that spoils the viewing experience. Something was not explained here, someone was not revealed, some changed scenes are not so impressive. Doesn’t mean it’s downright bad. It’s just that the original was noticeably better, that’s all.
At the same time, there are almost no questions regarding the technical side of adaptation. The designs and CGI here are top notch. This especially applies to different cities. The entourage of the East is realized very well. Except that there may be critical statements about costumes, but even this is more a matter of taste and personal preferences. It’s definitely not Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop level of weird.
Battles take up a large part of the cinema here. They can be seen that the authors were inspired by the entire genre. This is a Chinese genre in which the emphasis is on superpowers and martial arts. Everything in Avatar is hinted at even by camera angles and some minor directorial techniques. But the local battles lack pathos, they are somewhat grounded for the chosen style. And it also does not allow you to adopt them from the bottom of your heart.
In general, it is very strange to talk about the new “Avatar”. Because it seems that there is a desire to praise him and Netflix in general, but when you start to delve into the details, the positive impressions are overshadowed by dubious moments. Precisely “doubtful”, not “bad”, because there is no bad here. Or almost none, if you can’t tear yourself away from the original animated series while watching the new adaptation.
There are good dialogues and the pace of the story, but some moments seem to rush the overall plot too much. Here are interesting designs, but with their own questions. There are visually aesthetic battles and magical moments in general, but they seem not to have been tweaked. But here they meet at every step, you have to put up with them if you want to watch the series to the end. This applies both to fans of the adventures of Aang, and to people for whom “Avatar” is primarily a movie from James Cameron.
The fact that after watching the new “Avatar” many viewers went to watch the original source is very telling. And sometimes even after finally completing the adaptation from Netflix. And this already eloquently testifies to its quality. It’s not bad, but still not at the level that such a franchise should really have.
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Conclusion:
“Avatar: The Last Airbender” is definitely worth watching for both newcomers to the universe and longtime fans. At the same time, it is better for them to watch the series together to share impressions and emotions. Because the Netflix version has enough questions and problematic moments. However, this is far from the worst anime adaptation that the streaming service has given us.
