The Last Airbender: An Abomination

PointlessHub
25 Mar 202436:02

Summary

TLDRThe video script offers a critical analysis of M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Last Airbender' movie, highlighting its numerous shortcomings. It discusses the film's failure as an adaptation, its poor storytelling, and the controversial casting choices. The script also delves into the director's career trajectory and the potential reasons behind his missteps in handling the project. Despite its criticisms, it acknowledges a few aspects of the film's background design that still hold up. Overall, the video serves as a retrospective critique on what could have been a beloved adaptation, but instead became a point of ridicule and disappointment for fans of the original animated series.

Takeaways

  • 📺 The Last Airbender movie adaptation was widely criticized for its failure to capture the essence of the original animated series.
  • 🎬 M. Night Shyamalan's direction and storytelling were seen as a significant factor in the film's failure, with critics pointing out the lack of character development and awkward dialogue.
  • 🎥 The casting choices, particularly the whitewashing of certain roles, sparked controversy and were seen as a misstep in representing the diverse cultural backgrounds of the four nations in the Avatar universe.
  • 🌍 The film's portrayal of the four nations and their bending styles did not align well with the source material, leading to confusion and disappointment among fans.
  • 🤯 The pacing and structure of the movie were criticized for not effectively condensing the rich narrative of the series into a coherent film format.
  • 🔥 The action sequences and bending abilities in the film were underwhelming, with firebenders, for example, relying on external sources for fire instead of generating it themselves.
  • 🌊 The concept of the Avatar was altered in the film, presenting Aang as a pacifist figure rather than the powerful bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds as in the series.
  • 🎭 The performances of the young actors, particularly Noah Ringer as Aang, were seen as uneven and not up to the standards of a major blockbuster film.
  • 🏰 The change in setting and atmosphere, such as the portrayal of the Northern Water Tribe, deviated from the show's original depiction and did not resonate with fans.
  • 🗣️ The film's dialogue was criticized for being stilted and unnatural, with characters often speaking in a roundabout way that did not feel true to their personalities or the world they inhabited.
  • 🚫 The overall sentiment towards the film was overwhelmingly negative, with many feeling that it failed to honor the legacy of the original show and instead created a new set of problems.

Q & A

  • What was the initial reaction of kids at school to the premiere of Avatar: The Last Airbender?

    -The kids at school were excited and imitated the bending moves from the show, with some even throwing rocks at others, showing a wide range of responses to the show's popularity.

  • How did the speaker feel when they were singled out for liking the water element?

    -The speaker felt embarrassed and devastated because they were told that only girls could be waterbenders, which made them question their preference and feel out of place.

  • What is the speaker's overall opinion of the movie adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender?

    -The speaker considers the movie a fascinating failure on multiple levels, including as an adaptation, an introduction to the show, and in terms of storytelling and character behavior.

  • Why was M. Night Shyamalan chosen to direct the Avatar: The Last Airbender movie?

    -Shyamalan was chosen due to his previous success with small-scale thrillers and his desire to revive his career, as well as his personal interest in the show, which he watched with his children.

  • What was the main criticism regarding the casting decisions in the movie?

    -The main criticism was the whitewashing of the cast, particularly the choice of actors for the waterbenders, which was seen as either a result of Hollywood nepotism or a lack of consideration for the source material's cultural backgrounds.

  • What did the speaker appreciate about the movie despite its numerous flaws?

    -The speaker appreciated the backgrounds in the movie, particularly the aesthetic of the Fire Nation Capital, which they felt still held up well despite the movie's shortcomings.

  • What was the speaker's issue with the pacing and structure of the movie?

    -The speaker felt that the movie failed in pacing and structure by trying to condense too much plot from the series into a single film, resulting in a disjointed and rushed narrative.

  • How did the movie's portrayal of the Avatar differ from the original show?

    -The movie portrayed the Avatar as a pacifist figure who couldn't hurt others, which was a significant departure from the show, where the Avatar was a symbol of hope but not necessarily bound by pacifism.

  • What was the speaker's view on the performances of the main cast in the movie?

    -The speaker was critical of the main cast's performances, particularly Noah Ringer as Aang, and felt that the actors were not well-utilized, with their characters lacking depth and motivation.

  • What was the speaker's final verdict on the live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender?

    -The speaker concluded that the live-action adaptation was a failure that did not capture the essence of the original show and suggested that a better approach would have been to create a new, original story in a different timeline.

Outlines

00:00

📺 Nostalgic Misunderstandings in 'The Last Airbender'

The paragraph discusses the author's childhood memories of the excitement surrounding the premiere of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' and the subsequent playground discussions about the show's elements. It also touches on a personal anecdote where the author was singled out for liking the water element, leading to feelings of embarrassment. The paragraph transitions into a critique of the live-action adaptation 'The Last Airbender,' highlighting the film's failure as an adaptation and introduction to the series, as well as its storytelling shortcomings.

05:01

🎬 M. Night Shyamalan's Inconsistencies and Casting Choices

This paragraph delves into the career of director M. Night Shyamalan, noting his inconsistent track record with films. It explores why Shyamalan was chosen to direct 'The Last Airbender,' suggesting that his intention was to revive his career and fit into the Hollywood mainstream. The discussion includes the controversial casting decisions, attributing them to a mix of nepotism and Shyamalan's vision, which led to the 'whitewashing' of the characters. The paragraph also reflects on Shyamalan's realization of the film's shortcomings and his return to smaller-scale movies.

10:03

🌄 Appreciating the Backgrounds in 'The Last Airbender'

Despite the overall negative reception of 'The Last Airbender,' the paragraph expresses appreciation for the film's backgrounds, particularly the Fire Nation Capital. The author acknowledges the visual appeal of the CGI and the aesthetic combination of Southeast Asian styles. However, the paragraph also criticizes the film's script, pacing, and character development, arguing that the movie fails to engage the audience due to its focus on exposition and lack of character depth.

15:05

🔥 The Fire Nation's Flawed Fire Benders

The paragraph criticizes the depiction of fire benders in 'The Last Airbender,' arguing that the film's decision to have them rely on external sources of fire makes them less interesting and less threatening. It contrasts this with the original show's portrayal of fire benders as powerful and capable of generating their own fire. The author also discusses the film's action sequences, suggesting that they fall short of the original show's excitement and that the live-action adaptation fails to capture the essence of the bending arts.

20:08

🎭 Disappointing Performances and Character Depth

This paragraph focuses on the performances of the actors in 'The Last Airbender,' particularly Noah Ringer as Aang and Nicola Peltz as Katara. It discusses the challenges faced by the young actors and the impact of the film's failure on their careers. The paragraph also touches on the lack of character development and the film's inability to capture the essence of the original characters, resulting in a disconnect between the audience and the characters on screen.

25:09

🗣️ The Misguided Direction of 'The Last Airbender'

The paragraph critiques M. Night Shyamalan's direction of 'The Last Airbender,' arguing that his approach to storytelling and character development was misguided. It discusses the film's failure to establish a central theme and its mishandling of the concept of the Avatar as a symbol of hope. The paragraph also highlights the film's changes to the original show's narrative, suggesting that these alterations detract from the story's impact and emotional resonance.

30:09

🎥 The Folly of Live-Action Adaptations

The final paragraph reflects on the broader implications of 'The Last Airbender' and other live-action adaptations, questioning the necessity and value of retelling stories that have already been perfectly executed in their original form. It argues that adaptations like 'The Last Airbender' can inadvertently increase appreciation for the original work by showcasing how not to adapt a story. The paragraph concludes with a plea for filmmakers to avoid creating major blockbusters that fail to capture the magic of their source material.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Avatar: The Last Airbender

Avatar: The Last Airbender is an animated television series that the video discusses in comparison to the film adaptation. The show is praised for its storytelling and character development, and serves as a point of reference for critiquing the film's failures.

💡M. Night Shyamalan

M. Night Shyamalan is the director of the film adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, which the video script criticizes extensively. His directorial choices and the film's failure to capture the essence of the original series are central to the discussion.

💡Adaptation

Adaptation refers to the process of transforming a piece of media, like a TV show or book, into a different format, such as a movie. In the context of the video, the film adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender is scrutinized for its numerous deviations from the original series.

💡Whitewashing

Whitewashing is the practice of casting white actors in non-white roles, often leading to a lack of representation for people of color. The video script discusses allegations of whitewashing in the casting of the film adaptation, questioning the decision-making behind the ethnicities of the actors chosen.

💡Pacing

Pacing refers to the speed at which a story unfolds, which is crucial for maintaining audience engagement. The video script criticizes the film's pacing, stating that it fails to effectively condense the original series' plot into a coherent movie format.

💡Exposition

Exposition is the process of revealing background information about events, characters, or settings to the audience. In the video, it is criticized for being heavy-handed and lacking in the film, with characters often serving as mere vehicles for lore dumping rather than engaging in natural dialogue.

💡Bending

Bending is the core concept of the Avatar universe, where individuals can manipulate the elements of water, earth, fire, and air through martial arts. The video discusses the challenges of translating the animated bending into live-action and criticizes the film's execution of it.

💡Casting

Casting involves selecting actors for roles in a film or production. The video script heavily critiques the casting decisions made for the film adaptation, suggesting they were based on factors other than acting ability and did not align with the characters from the original series.

💡Character Development

Character development refers to the process by which characters in a story change and grow over time. The video script laments the lack of character development in the film, with characters reduced to mere plot devices rather than fully realized individuals.

💡Cultural Representation

Cultural representation in media refers to the portrayal of different cultures and ethnic groups. The video script touches on the film's failure to accurately represent the diverse cultural backgrounds of the four nations in the Avatar universe, leading to a homogenized and less authentic adaptation.

Highlights

The impact of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' on children and their play, with kids imitating the elements and the social dynamics it created.

The personal anecdote of being singled out for liking the 'water' element, reflecting broader societal gender stereotypes.

The critical failure of 'The Last Airbender' film as an adaptation, failing to capture the essence of the original show and alienating its fanbase.

M. Night Shyamalan's inconsistent directorial record and his misstep with taking on a major blockbuster like 'The Last Airbender'.

The irony of Shyamalan's career resurgence being linked to his children and their interest in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'.

The questionable casting decisions in 'The Last Airbender' and the controversies surrounding them, including allegations of nepotism.

Shyamalan's admission of his lack of fit for blockbuster films and his better niche in smaller scale thrillers or horror concepts.

The disconnect between the ethnicities of the four nations in the film and the source material, highlighting Hollywood's casting issues.

The critique of the film's script, pacing, and character development, emphasizing the importance of a well-written narrative.

The observation that the backgrounds and visual effects in 'The Last Airbender' were one of the few redeeming qualities of the film.

The analysis of the film's action sequences and how they failed to translate the animated show's dynamic into a live-action format.

The critique of the film's handling of the Avatar's role and power, contrasting it with the original show's portrayal.

The disappointment with the main cast's performances and the lack of depth given to their characters.

The contrast between the original show's complex characters and the film's one-dimensional representations.

The examination of the film's tonal inconsistencies and its failure to capture the spirit of adventure and humor from the animated series.

The critique of the film's handling of the Fire Nation and the loss of cultural significance in the adaptation process.

The discussion on the film's missed opportunities and the broader implications for the potential of a live-action 'Avatar' adaptation.

The final verdict on 'The Last Airbender' as a film that failed on multiple levels and the appreciation for the original show it inspired.

Transcripts

00:00

when I was a kid avatar The Last

00:01

Airbender had just premiered its first

00:03

few episodes it took the school by force

00:07

every dumb kid was swooshing and

00:09

slashing the air like they were bending

00:11

the elements some were just chucking

00:13

rocks at people I remember one day at

00:16

recess all the guys were gathered around

00:19

and we discussed which element we like

00:21

the best some kids said fire others

00:24

Earth and then there was me I said that

00:27

I liked water some little [ __ ]

00:30

immediately singled me out and said

00:33

don't you know only girls are water

00:35

benders that caught me off guard it

00:37

devastated me I couldn't recall any guy

00:41

water benders water I felt embarrassed

00:44

and I slunk away yeah you know in the

00:46

end the kid was just wrong uh we see a

00:49

lot of male water benders later on I

00:51

guess the lesson here is that uh in that

00:54

brief span of time before the gang got

00:56

to the northern water tribe a bunch of

00:58

dumb kids in rural Ohio

01:00

thought that just girls could waterbend

01:03

because our only reference was qara this

01:06

has nothing to do with the rest of the

01:07

video uh I just didn't want to be

01:09

another video essay that starts off

01:11

saying the last air bender is absolute

01:18

trash The Last Airbender the movie the

01:22

game is an utterly fascinating film for

01:25

me it's one of those brilliant moments

01:27

in Hollywood where absolutely nothing

01:30

works that's a penis it fails as an

01:33

adaptation of one of the greatest shows

01:35

to ever exist and it fails as an

01:38

introduction to anyone unfamiliar with

01:40

said show it fails at storytelling in

01:42

general hell it even fails in emulating

01:45

how humans behave and speak are really

01:48

powerful Benders in the the northern

01:50

water tribe my dad told me about it

01:51

before he left it's led by a princess

01:53

because her father died there a teacher

01:55

how does that even happen who forgets

01:58

how humans work oh that that's why

02:00

complaining about this movie is one of

02:02

the most done to death things on YouTube

02:04

for most late Millennials and early

02:06

Zoomers the cartoon was like a holy text

02:09

and this movie was the equivalent of

02:11

sacrilege burn him at the stake they

02:14

said Stone the

02:16

Shyamalan make him pay for his sins and

02:19

if they had just called him a once and

02:22

look I'm a major fan of Avatar it's

02:24

certainly the Best Western animated kid

02:26

show by a long mile friendly mushroom

02:30

she jo friend I understand the outrage

02:33

but now just so many years have passed

02:36

uh this whole experience is more funny

02:38

to me than anything the show exists I'm

02:41

glad it exists and you can never

02:43

replicate it no matter how many times

02:45

they try I think I've genuinely got more

02:48

entertainment from this movie being bad

02:50

than I ever could have if it was just

02:52

mediocre or even good and now here I am

02:56

making a video trashing that movie in

02:58

2024

03:00

I'm a little late to the party on this

03:02

one I got a feeling that Avatar fans are

03:04

going to make fun of something else for

03:06

the next 10 years so before that takes

03:08

over I decide to be the last one out

03:10

goodbye Last Airbender we got a new

03:12

thing to make fun of but before sending

03:15

this movie off to the farm and never

03:16

talking about it again I want to explore

03:19

just one question what the hell was

03:21

anyone

03:24

thinking if there is something that has

03:26

baffled people for over a decade it is

03:29

the question why ight Shyamalan why was

03:33

he the director chosen for this project

03:36

and to answer that we have to first ask

03:38

another question where was ight

03:41

Shyamalan in his career the answer is he

03:44

wasn't doing great some directors are

03:46

consistently good some are consistently

03:49

bad but Shyamalan is consistent in not

03:52

being consistent you might as well roll

03:55

the dice on his quality some of his

03:57

films are all right and then there's

03:59

those times that he just rolls a crit

04:01

fail the rebounding explosion makes a

04:03

critical

04:06

bomb ight shamalan works best with small

04:09

scale Thrillers or horror Concepts

04:12

doesn't mean they'll always be good what

04:15

no but it's what he's best at so why why

04:19

did he take on a major Blockbuster two

04:23

reasons one to fit in and two to bring

04:26

back his career from the verge of death

04:29

shyamalan's catalog is like a roller

04:31

coaster a lot more UPS than Downs

04:33

Shyamalan always has this ability of

04:36

releasing one decent movie right before

04:38

everyone has given up on him he really

04:41

has that knack for occasionally hitting

04:42

a home run so everyone just keeps him

04:45

around like Stanton so he's never really

04:47

done actual

04:49

Blockbusters except for those two times

04:52

and even he admits now he wasn't cut out

04:54

for it you know he says now after

04:56

everyone's clowned on it looking at the

04:58

interviews he used every COPE in the

05:00

book you know I always had a European

05:02

sensibility to my movies so they the the

05:04

pacing is always light little bit off

05:06

for for them you know and it feels a

05:08

little stilted and they need more they

05:10

need more electricity and all that stuff

05:11

and I'm like this is the way I I think

05:13

of things cuz you know Hitchcock and

05:15

corar and stany kubri these are like my

05:18

teachers and I'm the

05:21

Avatar I ran away but I'm back now who

05:24

do you think you are ight coima which

05:27

look it makes sense that nobody wants to

05:29

take the project they worked on and

05:31

throw it under the bus except if it's

05:33

Madam web but now that he's been removed

05:35

from it and he's been humbled went back

05:38

to midsize movie land where he belongs

05:40

he realizes that uh yeah this movie's

05:43

trash at the same time though why did he

05:46

have to learn this lesson with Avatar

05:50

why is your hair white young lady you

05:52

look very

05:53

odd it's because of his kids that's it

05:56

they were watching it in the room one

05:58

day and M Night waltzed up and started

06:01

watching it with them it was all over

06:04

from there imagine just liking a show

06:06

and your dad walks in on you and decides

06:09

to make his own version of it what a

06:11

nightmare by all accounts Shyamalan was

06:14

the one who came up with the idea of an

06:17

Avatar movie Paramount were kind of just

06:20

like oh okay I guess we're doing this

06:22

and Shyamalan really over promised he

06:26

wanted to do a three movie trilogy that

06:28

he would write into direct all by

06:30

himself he wanted to ride that Avatar IP

06:34

all the way back to the top and oh man

06:37

did he not do that at

06:41

all in hindsight betting at all on ight

06:44

Shyamalan was the first mistake the

06:47

second more Infamous reason uh one that

06:50

everyone has forever talked about is the

06:53

casting why do the water benders look

06:55

like that why do the fire Benders look

06:57

like that why do the Earth ERS look like

07:00

that well the Earth kingdom is literally

07:02

based off China so that makes sense why

07:04

did they do this was it malicious was it

07:07

racist and uh no best that I could find

07:11

Shyamalan kind of just didn't think

07:13

about it you see the ethnicities of the

07:16

four nations were determined by whoever

07:19

he decided to work with that was it the

07:21

reason Ang was white was because Noah

07:24

Ringer was a short 12-year-old black

07:26

belt in Taekwondo he had literally no

07:29

acting experience but he he sure could

07:32

do that go go go Shyamalan wanted to

07:37

cast Nia peltz's guara saying she was a

07:40

talented young actress who he envisioned

07:43

in the role if you watch my Transformers

07:45

4 video you could kind of tell that was

07:47

absolute [ __ ] 100 years ago all was

07:50

right with our world prosperity and

07:53

peace filled our days Fire Lord

07:56

son you took him from our village but

07:59

how did she work in two major Hollywood

08:01

films without any experience allegedly

08:05

pelts was only hired because of her

08:08

billionaire father Nelson pelts

08:11

allegedly a producer owed her dad a

08:13

favor like I said

08:16

allegedly but considering how bad she is

08:19

and how Hollywood works I 100% could see

08:22

this being true because of that well

08:24

Saka had to be the same ethnicity as

08:26

qara and all the other water benders had

08:28

to kind of resemble them too we'll never

08:31

get the true story but there is always

08:33

the possibility that this whole

08:35

unfortunate whitewashing incident was

08:37

never caused by actual racism but just

08:41

Classic Hollywood nepotism yippe it's

08:44

funny how much one casting Choice

08:45

drastically affected the film like

08:48

originally Zuko was supposed to be

08:50

played by Jesse McCartney yes that one

08:53

but he had a tour at the time or

08:55

something and dropped out so shyamalan's

08:57

next choice was Dev tell oh my God

09:00

imagine this trash fire of Jesse

09:02

McCartney in regards to the fire

09:04

nation's ethnicity Shyamalan said this

09:07

in a Gizmodo article from 2010 the fire

09:10

nation was the most complicated I kept

09:12

switching who was playing Zuko it was

09:14

such a complicated and drawn out thing

09:17

about practical matters but the first

09:19

person I was considering casting for

09:21

Zuko was Ecuadorian so I started

09:24

thinking that way then when that person

09:26

couldn't do it the next person who came

09:28

in was much more C asion and then we had

09:30

to switch everything around so here's my

09:33

personal Theory whoever was going to be

09:35

Zuko was going to determine the

09:37

nationality of the entire Fire Nation

09:40

like it sounds like here we almost got

09:41

ecuadorians Conquering the world but

09:44

since Dev Patel got the role well in

09:46

shyamalan's mind all the fire Benders

09:49

had to be Indian now not a single neuron

09:52

was activated in that brain but hey hey

09:55

I don't like being too negative before

09:57

going down that path of just completely

10:00

bashing this movie I want to say what I

10:03

actually like about the last air bender

10:06

the backgrounds I like the backgrounds

10:09

man that says a lot about modern CGI at

10:11

The Last Airbender movie still kind of

10:13

holds up and I like one specific

10:15

background more than any of them uh this

10:18

background the Fire Nation Capital yeah

10:21

it doesn't resemble the show's capital

10:23

in the slightest but I really like the

10:25

aesthetic it's like a grandiose

10:27

combination of multiple s Southeast

10:29

Asian Styles it doesn't fit at all as

10:32

the capital of the Fire Nation I I just

10:34

like the atmosphere okay that's

10:38

it oh to be a fly on the wall when ight

10:42

was writing this movie what was the

10:44

thought process how can you get so

10:47

invested in the show approach Paramount

10:49

with the idea go through all this work

10:53

and then that's the script you write

10:55

what what if we found you teachers

10:56

teachers to teach you bending Which

10:57

element would the last air bend fails

10:59

first and foremost because of its script

11:02

the greatest production and effects in

11:04

the world can't save a movie from Bad

11:06

writing unless you're the Star Wars

11:08

prequels but then again those are

11:10

actually funny another happy Landing the

11:13

last air bender is very similar to the

11:15

prequels dry Bland expository dialogue a

11:19

screenplay that was probably a first

11:22

draft directing that didn't work well

11:24

with the actors at all and a film that

11:27

was tonally strange and a often bizarre

11:30

yet still the backgrounds were strangely

11:33

good crazy how that happens while the

11:35

prequels have been redeemed by childhood

11:37

Nostalgia the Clone Wars and Battlefront

11:40

2 brainwashing well of course I know him

11:43

he's me the last air bender did not have

11:45

that luxury nor should it it's time for

11:48

you to stop doing

11:49

this the Avatar would have to be an

11:52

airbender are you an air bender

11:57

boy leave him like like no amount of

12:00

time is going to redeem this movie nor

12:02

future bad adaptations two bad things

12:05

can exist at once the only thing this

12:07

film has is exposition a house of

12:10

exposition built on a shaky Bedrock of

12:13

more Exposition there are no characters

12:16

here only Wikipedia articles that badly

12:20

retell World building that may or may

12:22

not pertain to the situation at hand as

12:25

you know I conducted a raid on The Great

12:26

Library which most said didn't even

12:28

exist good one with adapting a cartoon

12:30

that just aired is already a dumb idea

12:33

and adapting an entire season of

12:35

character growth and relationships into

12:37

a 3A structure is even worse yeah here's

12:40

my opinion this movie didn't fail

12:43

because it tried to condense a season of

12:45

plot into a single movie no this movie

12:48

uniquely failed because it didn't know

12:51

how to do anything it didn't know how to

12:53

condense it didn't know how to write it

12:56

especially didn't know how to Pace

12:57

itself because it's entally the first

12:59

three episodes of the show and

13:05

then the blue spirit and then the next

13:08

half of the film is the climax at the

13:10

northern water tribe so that's the first

13:14

issue I'd say act two begins once they

13:17

leave the southern air Temple they get

13:19

captured cuz this little dick was

13:21

slinging rocks and they're brought to

13:23

the Fire Nation prison you just know

13:26

what ight was thinking see the show had

13:28

anep episode where the earthbenders were

13:30

imprisoned and it's just like that but

13:32

you know that prison was a metal barge

13:35

in the middle of the ocean the one place

13:37

the prisoners couldn't earthbend in the

13:39

movie it's a dirt pit I can't think of a

13:42

place more surrounded by Earth and yet

13:44

the earthbenders still do nothing why

13:47

are you acting this way you are powerful

13:50

and amazing people they're just too sad

13:53

poor little guys what's their excuse

13:56

here I don't know they're just sitting

13:58

there so a can go up to him and say hey

14:01

guys know you can throw rocks right and

14:03

then they're like

14:12

okay is that even fighting back I don't

14:15

know maybe they should have given up the

14:17

movie is just chock full of these little

14:19

tidbits from the show that are

14:21

disconnected from their original purpose

14:24

like why does the earthbending village

14:25

have a waterbending scroll why didn't

14:27

the firebenders just burn all the stuff

14:30

down did you guys want to lose the war

14:32

see it's the scroll like in the show you

14:35

never see it again after the shot though

14:37

Avatar Koshi loves games I do too I mean

14:44

I still

14:45

do yeah when I think about Avatar Koshi

14:48

the first thing I think about is how

14:50

much he loved

14:53

games k who knows maybe having

14:56

disconnected chunks of the show that

14:58

play no relevance in the story was just

15:00

part of shyamalan's European artistic

15:02

taste maybe the swedes absolutely love

15:05

this scene I don't know look we don't

15:07

need every plot point we could have

15:09

survived without the episode where a

15:12

gets his fortune told or the two tribes

15:15

that hate each other actually I take it

15:16

back I will defend the Great Divide

15:18

until the day I die I like that Ang just

15:21

lied to these people about their

15:23

foundational myth after this Montage a

15:25

gets captured and saved by the blue

15:27

spirit and then the rest of the movie is

15:29

at the northern water tribe yeah so

15:32

there's a pacing

15:36

issue so in writing there's the term

15:39

called cheze off's gun act one there's a

15:42

gun on the wall seems pretty unimportant

15:44

then an act three the gun is used to

15:46

shoot the bad

15:48

guy setup payoff you get it Mite does

15:52

the exact opposite of that in act one

15:54

there's like five guns on the wall the

15:57

characters talk about why they're five

15:59

guns in the wall and then in act three

16:01

the main bad guy gets ran over by a

16:03

truck will the exposition being said be

16:05

relevant who knows but there are really

16:08

powerful Benders in the the northern

16:10

water tribe my dad told me about it

16:11

before he left it's led by a princess

16:13

because her father died why did Saka

16:15

need to mention that the water tribe is

16:17

ruled by a princess because her father

16:19

died that information won't be relevant

16:22

until they reach the north actually I

16:24

don't think that information is relevant

16:26

ever like she doesn't reflect on her dad

16:28

dying once it doesn't contribute to her

16:30

character at all she has no character

16:32

why did he say this they could have just

16:34

shown her when they reached the north

16:36

why' you waste our time like that M

16:38

night this Exposition problem is what

16:40

brings down the entire movie Ang air

16:42

bended a sphere around them and ice

16:44

formed and he couldn't remember anything

16:46

after that instead of having characters

16:48

that interact with motivations and

16:50

attributes that the audience would care

16:52

about ight instead wrote lore dumping

16:54

machines that explain Common Sense

16:57

things that people in the world should

16:59

already know it's not a place made up of

17:02

things you can touch but it exists

17:05

nonetheless it is filled with the most

17:07

amazing forms dazzling creatures that

17:11

exist in the most exotic valleys

17:15

mountains far get on with it yes get on

17:18

with it so much of this movie feels like

17:21

a first draft by a writer who

17:24

intentionally overit everything to

17:27

compensate for having no deeper

17:29

substance a smoke screen yet it's a poor

17:31

smoke screen like you can see him

17:33

sneaking away even if these characters

17:35

weren't Lord dumping to one another I

17:37

don't think the problem would ever be

17:39

solved because even regular dialogue

17:41

just sounds strange and stilted why is

17:44

it all so damn weird everyone talks in

17:46

the most roundabout way possible like

17:49

Grandpa Simpson never getting to the

17:51

point you said I I

17:54

apologize I should have explained

17:56

further if you failed the test as all

17:59

others did you were free to leave but as

18:02

it turns out you are the only one in the

18:05

entire world who could pass this test

18:08

just say he's the Avatar holy [ __ ] what

18:11

we end up with is this Unholy Trinity of

18:13

wasting time dialogue that comes from a

18:16

dimension that was generated by chat GPT

18:19

Fire Nation knew the Avatar would be

18:21

born into the air Nomads so they

18:24

exterminated all the air Nomads while

18:26

some actors probably weren't great I

18:28

can't blame them in the slightest okay

18:31

maybe a little but you try to make these

18:33

lines sound halfway decent is there a

18:35

spiritual place where I can meditate

18:37

there is a very spiritual place the city

18:40

was built around this place all three of

18:42

these factors manifest a film that is

18:45

uniquely horrible well not uniquely

18:47

horrible I I did say earlier that it was

18:50

like the prequels but you know why the

18:52

prequals were redeemed while the last

18:54

air bender never will be because behind

18:57

all of its flaws the setting and action

19:00

of the prequels were cool as hell and

19:03

the last air bender is not the last air

19:05

bender actually took something that was

19:07

already cool and made it

19:12

worse the last air Bender's action is

19:15

just woof bending in general just

19:17

doesn't translate as well to liveaction

19:20

like yeah there's some cool scenes in

19:21

the Netflix adaptation like imagine half

19:24

of this stuff in real life it look goofy

19:26

as hell that said though they still

19:28

didn't even really try Five Guys throw a

19:31

rock we the biggest tragedy here are the

19:34

fire Benders why can't they make their

19:36

own fire why force them to use another

19:39

source it just makes them so much less

19:41

interesting how did these guys

19:43

consistently wage a war for a 100 years

19:46

if they could only do this one of the

19:48

reasons the fire Benders were so

19:49

threatening was that they could you know

19:51

shoot fire from their hands might as

19:54

well call them gun Benders but if they

19:56

have to carry the fire around them

19:58

themselves well now you can just defeat

20:00

them by snuffing out whatever Source

20:02

they have it's like a boss fight once

20:05

you find out the exploit it's all over

20:07

fun fact with enough dirt you can

20:09

suffocate a fire just dce the flames and

20:12

jump the guards dummies my goodness what

20:14

an idea why didn't I think of that for

20:16

some reason ight thought producing fire

20:19

should be the special skill set that

20:21

only a few fire Benders could do he

20:24

making fire out of nothing it'd make it

20:26

more impressive I guess impressive who

20:29

the fictional firebenders that don't

20:31

exist the general audience cuz the

20:33

general audience already saw three

20:34

seasons of this being the norm imagine

20:36

if the Michael Bay movies made it that

20:39

the Transformers could never transform

20:41

on a whim and it was a big deal when

20:43

Optimus Prime transformed or something

20:46

who would be impressed with that they

20:48

should just do that on default he wanted

20:50

that moment with iro though so uh I hope

20:53

it was worth it it's like ight took

20:55

every opportunity to make this world

20:58

actively less interesting like the water

21:00

benders aren't this Arctic civilization

21:03

based on the Inuits anymore they're like

21:05

colder Russia everyone's dressed like

21:08

Russians remember how the Northern Air

21:10

Temple was resettled by Earth Kingdom

21:13

refugees who turned it into a new home

21:15

yeah there's this one guy in it now he's

21:18

just hanging out the worst change of all

21:20

though is what the movie does with the

21:21

idea of the Avatar you see this movie

21:24

does have a central theme it's not a

21:26

good theme but uh it exists see the

21:29

lesson to takeway is that the Avatar

21:32

cannot hurt others I guess has the

21:36

Avatar you are not meant to hurt others

21:40

like this little display is just to show

21:42

how powerful the ocean is not to

21:44

actually hurt anyone uh he's not

21:46

supposed to do that it's just to Spook

21:49

the Fire Nation and the running away

21:51

when was that ever established you see

21:53

throughout the film the Avatar is

21:55

supposed to be a symbol of Hope yeah

21:57

yeah in the show the Avatar is a symbol

22:00

of Hope because the Avatar is the most

22:02

powerful Bender in the world hope in the

22:04

Avatar is kind of like hope that an

22:07

asteroid will hit your enemy's house

22:09

everyone has hoped that the Avatar will

22:11

obliterate the fire lord and stop the

22:13

Fire Nation from waging their War you

22:16

know because he's so powerful in the

22:18

movie The Avatar's main goal is now just

22:21

to inspire people why are you acting

22:24

this way you are powerful and amazing

22:28

people you don't need to live like this

22:30

oh just got to believe in themselves

22:33

lift their Spirits enough to not want to

22:35

be in a prison camp and maybe we can

22:36

stop in the villages on the way start a

22:38

change in the war in these small

22:41

villages ironically the liveaction

22:43

message is far more in line with the

22:45

children's show than the actual

22:46

children's show bringing balance means

22:49

harming and even killing people bringing

22:51

the world out of balance and that

22:53

dilemma was the central focus at the end

22:56

of the series I guess I don't have have

22:58

a choice

22:59

Momo I have to kill the fire lord I mean

23:02

he still didn't do it cuz like lion

23:04

turtle magic or whatever but that's not

23:05

the point in the movie The Lesson Ang

23:08

has to learn is that the Avatar is a

23:11

pacifist he can't actually hurt people

23:14

as the Avatar you are not meant to hurt

23:17

others he's a Captain Planet figure that

23:20

comes in and inspires change by doing

23:23

fancy bending tricks turns out the

23:25

Hundred Years War wasn't actually a

23:27

stalemate at all but earthbenders just

23:29

weren't really feeling it what a great

23:31

lesson these people were letting

23:33

themselves be oppressed by an invading

23:35

power because they just didn't try hard

23:37

enough thanks Mite I'm going to do

23:41

nothing so instead of turning into this

23:43

fish Kaiju and wiping out the Fire

23:45

Nation Navy by force Ang just does this

23:48

use the ocean show them the power of

23:52

water did emni accidentally mix up

23:54

Airbender pacifism as Avatar pacifism I

23:58

think he did not meant to hurt others is

24:01

that really the central theme you want

24:03

to stick with cuz you're just shackling

24:05

yourself for no reason what was your

24:07

plan for the next two movies ight for

24:09

him not to fight anybody let's not

24:12

pretend there were plans here we were

24:13

flying by the seat of our clown pants in

24:15

this

24:17

situation why does Ang always look so

24:19

scared you know this isn't a horror

24:21

movie

24:26

right considering he literally never

24:29

acted before this I think Noah Ringer

24:31

was all right he's a flying lemur bat we

24:35

keep them as pets he's good at physical

24:37

acting and action uh even if the

24:39

choreography is often strange and dumb

24:42

though half his moves are just ight

24:44

saying eh swing that stick around and

24:47

look cool why they thought he would be a

24:49

good lead for a three movie Blockbuster

24:51

series I will never know I really think

24:54

ight thought he was going to get another

24:56

Haley Joel Osman discovered new talent

24:59

and it blew up in everyone's face more

25:01

than anyone Noah himself he apparently

25:04

was a fan of the original show and was

25:06

elated to be a part of it then the movie

25:08

came out how dare he be hired as a

25:11

firsttime child actor at the end of the

25:14

day it was his face more than anything

25:16

that became cemented with one of the

25:18

worst films of all time his face will be

25:21

on every thumbnail for all of eternity

25:25

no ringer quit acting soon after only

25:27

appearing ing in one other movie Cowboys

25:30

versus Aliens and do good things you go

25:33

get our people

25:36

back man he never had a chance he

25:39

vanished from the public Spotlight so

25:41

hard that it's impossible to find any

25:43

recent pictures of him you're lying I

25:45

don't blame him imagine if the world

25:47

only remembered you from that time when

25:49

you were 12 it's not like he had a

25:51

billionaire family to fall back on

25:53

speaking of

25:56

which I'm lumping these two together

25:58

because in this movie they're really not

26:00

too different they're both cardboard

26:02

husks that follow Ang around also with a

26:05

terrified look on their face like I said

26:07

before Nicola pelts is the worst actor

26:09

in the film it doesn't help that she's

26:11

also the narrator for the whole thing my

26:14

brother and the princess became friends

26:16

right away my brother and I live in the

26:19

southern water tribe which was once a

26:21

big city Ang air bended a sphere around

26:24

them and ice formed and he couldn't

26:25

remember anything after that there is

26:27

nothing here that even resembles qara no

26:30

motherly role no moral grandstanding

26:32

even if you had never watched the show

26:35

you would have thought qara and Saka

26:37

were just the same

26:39

character

26:41

so are you the avatar

26:44

on Saka is there too they try on

26:47

occasion to do comedic bits with him but

26:50

they're so far and few between it

26:52

catches you off

26:54

guard like so much of the tone in this

26:56

movie is ominous it's got kind of creepy

26:59

music most of the

27:00

[Music]

27:04

time everyone's sort of terrified like a

27:07

monster is going to jump out and drag

27:09

Ang away or something but then they'll

27:11

throw in some random joke that doesn't

27:13

mesh at all he was bending tiny stones

27:15

at us from behind a tree it really hurt

27:18

say what you will about the Netflix

27:20

version but that guy is far more like

27:25

Saka damn girl cover that up in public

27:28

funnily enough the romance subplot with

27:30

UA isn't that much worse mainly because

27:33

I just didn't care about that romance in

27:35

the two episodes it was in UA was never

27:37

great in the show yeah I said it team

27:40

Suki for life she wasn't bad she was

27:42

just there you know dear Mario he's come

27:45

to the castle I make a CI for you and

27:47

because of that liveaction UA is pretty

27:50

close to how she was in the show Bland

27:52

pretty uninteresting but Saka liked her

27:55

so we liked her too look her sacrifice

27:57

was always sad but let's not pretend her

27:59

turning into a space Rock changed her

28:01

personality much one funny thing I

28:03

noticed is that in their final scene

28:05

together Saka doesn't even maintain eye

28:08

contact at all he's just staring at her

28:10

forehead the whole

28:12

time these two are the best part of the

28:14

movie it's actually funny how the

28:16

quality goes up whenever it's their

28:18

scenes like a glimpse at a film that

28:20

wasn't a 4 out of 10 on IMDb maybe

28:23

something like a 6 out of 10 there's a

28:25

relationship here you can at least infer

28:27

one is supposed to be a rage filled

28:29

Prince and the other is his wise uncle

28:32

there are some elements of the character

28:34

actually here not a ton but it's

28:37

something I think they might actually

28:39

have conversations a few times that

28:41

aren't simply Exposition tell me what

28:43

you know about the prince he did

28:45

something wrong he spoke out of turn to

28:48

a general in defense of some of his

28:51

friends oh wait never mind the pain of

28:54

banishment is conveyed pretty well from

28:56

Dev Patel IO very clearly cares for Zuko

29:00

he doesn't resemble the show iro in the

29:02

slightest but he does look like someone

29:04

who used to lead armies I could see his

29:06

character working if there had ever been

29:08

sequels and that isn't something that

29:10

I'd say for the main Trio at all there's

29:12

one character who certainly isn't in the

29:14

sequels you know cuz he

29:19

drowns xia was the threatening arrogant

29:23

and confident leader of the Fire Nation

29:25

Navy he had no care for the spe

29:28

spiritual world and truly was an

29:30

embodiment of the fire nation's hunger

29:32

for Conquest they will call me xia the

29:35

Conqueror J the moon Slayer J the

29:41

Invincible he killed the [ __ ] Moon and

29:44

in the end he was defeated both by the

29:47

spirits and his own pride in the movie

29:49

he's played by the pizza guy from

29:51

Spider-Man 2o in 8 minutes I am

29:53

defaulting on Joe's 29 minute guarantee

29:55

you know I conducted a raid on The Great

29:57

Library which most said didn't even

29:59

exist good on with it he gets killed by

30:01

random water benders instead of the

30:03

ocean Spirit the main bad guy kills a

30:06

spirit defies them openly and then he

30:09

gets killed by random extras bold

30:11

storytelling the problem with casting

30:14

oiv Mani is that he is very clearly a

30:16

comedic actor a comedic actor with very

30:19

little physical presence he's doing the

30:22

best he can with these lines but because

30:24

he's an exposition machine he more comes

30:27

off like a nerd that annoys the fire

30:29

lord as you know the fire lord has

30:32

banished his son The Prince and

30:35

renounced his love of him and will not

30:36

let him return to the throne unless get

30:39

on with

30:40

it it took two seasons of buildup before

30:44

we ever saw the fire Lord's face an

30:47

ominous presence that everyone feared

30:50

you will learn respect and suffering

30:54

will be your teacher and here's how he's

30:57

introduced in the movie as you know I

30:59

conducted a raid on The Great Library

31:01

which most said didn't even exist got on

31:03

with it he's just a guy walks around his

31:05

Palace all day he doesn't even seem that

31:07

invested in the war more so annoyed if

31:09

anything this was the one who burned his

31:12

own son's

31:14

face this is the guy who wants to

31:16

conquer the world every change em might

31:19

makes man it's just you

31:22

think my

31:24

son is this person the soldiers are

31:27

called ping the blue

31:32

Spirit yes apparently there was actually

31:35

a scene of him being threatening and

31:37

they just cut it out of the movie why do

31:40

you keep making every wrong

31:43

decision I do

31:49

father they thought they were going to

31:51

get a

31:54

sequel The Last Airbender is a film

31:56

where nothing went right and really it

31:58

wasn't just because it had no reason

32:00

existing in the first place even then if

32:03

we had to make that movie ight had no

32:06

place taking on such a task he clearly

32:09

wasn't cut out for it my voice is

32:11

actually giving out and even then

32:13

there's still so much I want to talk

32:15

about like how the choreography sucks

32:17

how the extras don't know where to go

32:19

the slow motion is used because they

32:21

weren't confident in that action and you

32:23

know now that I think about it I didn't

32:25

even mention how they just pronounce all

32:27

their Nam name's wrong the Avatar the

32:29

monks named me Ang so good don't are you

32:33

the Avatar

32:35

Ang it was this long into the video and

32:38

I just mentioned it that to be a last

32:40

air bender review record y em might

32:43

watched the show it's not like he didn't

32:46

know their names or anything he

32:48

intentionally changed the pronunciation

32:51

he says it was to make the names more

32:53

Asian and accurate but no it's not even

32:57

in the correct way half the time in

32:59

these interviews I swear emite just sort

33:01

of Lies like he makes up reasons cuz the

33:04

real reason is too stupid to admit I

33:07

cannot imagine he never envisioned

33:09

anyone else except Nicola Peltz as qara

33:13

I think the main reason he changed the

33:15

pronunciation was to make this series

33:18

his own thing saying the right

33:20

pronunciations would just make people

33:22

think of the show and this isn't the

33:24

show this is a serious liveaction epic

33:27

created by by ight Shyamalan one that

33:29

was going to bring his career right to

33:31

the top even if he did enjoy the series

33:34

watching it with his kids I think he

33:36

mainly enjoyed it by using it as a

33:38

vessel for his career who's to say this

33:41

is a funny YouTube video I don't know is

33:44

a live-action Avatar adaptation just a

33:46

Folly an attempt at capitalizing on

33:49

something that already has been done

33:50

perfectly yes yes it is what made people

33:53

love the show was the fact that it was

33:56

animated every com beat every emotional

33:59

moment every bit of action even if you

34:02

did an exact Recreation of the story and

34:04

live action it just wouldn't translate

34:07

the same some things are just lightning

34:09

in a bottle I guess because people are

34:11

going to ask my opinion I did see the

34:13

Netflix series at least the first couple

34:15

of episodes and it isn't the worst at

34:18

least compared to the last air bender

34:20

but it's still not good after a bit you

34:22

just think what's the point why watch

34:25

something that slightly changes and

34:27

muddles the story of the original what

34:30

am I getting rewatching a story I've

34:32

already seen done better in animation

34:35

and the answer to that was nothing I was

34:38

getting nothing out of it these two only

34:41

exist to capitalize on a show that

34:43

already told its story if there was

34:45

going to be a liveaction avatar show

34:47

that was darker than the original then

34:49

it should have just been set in an

34:51

entirely different story in time make up

34:53

a new Avatar have a more mature original

34:56

story and nobody would compare it to the

34:59

cartoon but that requires you know an

35:02

original story which is why they didn't

35:04

do it sometimes bad adaptations make us

35:07

enjoy the things they're trying to adapt

35:09

even more there's now an example of how

35:11

to do the story absolutely wrong and it

35:14

makes you realize that you're kind of

35:16

Lucky for getting the original in the

35:17

first place I think I said the same

35:19

lesson in the Pacific Rim video but it's

35:21

a lesson that pops up more often than

35:23

you'd think so thank you M Night

35:25

Shyamalan for making something so

35:27

horrendous it made us appreciate the

35:29

show even more please never make a major

35:32

Blockbuster

35:36

[Music]

35:56

again

36:00

ringing

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