The Last Airbender ** (2010, Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Dev Patel, Cliff Curtis, Katharine Houghton, Jackson Rathbone) – Classic Movie Review 3849

So what kind of bender are you? A Waterbender, Firebender, Earthbender or maybe an Airbender? Or are you an Avatar, perhaps?

The script of this kids’ story about the adventures of a young boy called Aang turns out to be a bit of a stretch for writer-director M Night Shyamalan, in his first film not based on his original script. Shyamalan’s costly 3D extravaganza looks a treat. But that is really about all that it has got going for it.

When Waterbender brother and sister (Jackson Rathbone, Nicola Peltz) come across Aang (Noah Ringer), their new pal turns out to be more than just the last Airbender. He is also the real prophesied Avatar, who can control all four of the elements, and could be the sole hero who can repel the Fire Nation’s onslaught on the other three nations. But, first, he has to hone his bending skills…

Is it just me, or is this just unworkable nonsense as the basis of a big-screen epic? It must have worked when it was the beloved Nickelodeon animated series that it is based on, so obviously Shyamalan is to blame for the failure here. He seems besotted with his material, unable to maintain any critical distance from it, making some of it look amazing and even seem intriguing, yet uncertain how to make it work as a whole.

It is like an Arabian Nights story without any of the magic – without any movie or storytelling fairy dust – that would make it entrancing. Nevertheless, this watchable movie is not a total disaster. The 103 minutes pass by quite painlessly, giving the eyeballs a nice treat, while you wait for something actually interesting to happen.

Dev Patel has a lot to do as Prince Zuko. With a strong movie presence, he looks commanding and would be very effective in a better movie, as would Cliff Curtis (the lord of the Fire Nations) and Katharine Houghton (as Peltz’s grannie). Ringer is a feisty, useful little hero. I would like to see him take on Jaden Smith in a sequel to The Karate Kid.

Without being anything extraordinary, the 3D and visual effects are fine, and James Newton Howard’s score pumps up the action.

Although it had a scary cost – $150,000,000, plus $130,000,000 in advertising – and poor reviews, it went on to take $131,500,000 in the US. The film was intended to be the first part of a trilogy, but after its poor reception, Nickelodeon scrapped the other two, though they say they are still interested in a sequel.

It tied with The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) for the most Razzie nominations at the 2011 Razzie Awards and ended up winning five Razzies, including Worst Picture of the year.

Unfortunately, dialogue in the film like ‘Look Out, He’s a Bender!’ led to lots of laughter in UK cinemas.

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© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3849

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