Basically a longer, bigger Avatar episode. That's great right? Right?
So, I just finished watching Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender on the small screen (because that's the only place we'll get to see it). Shame on you Paramount, this one deserved the big screen.
The animation first
It's easily the best thing about this movie, so I'm putting it up front where it belongs. It's truly top tier, and the Avatar world has always been a great outlet for it. There isn't a second where my eyes get to rest, because almost the entire short runtime is pure eye candy. And I don't know about you, but when I think of a modern take on Avatar, the first thing I want is exactly this. And they nailed it completely.
The rest holds up too
And it's not just the animation. The movie is funny, it's well paced, the voice acting is good, all of it just works, exactly like I remembered from the show. Honestly, if you liked the TV show, you're going to like this, because it copies that same vibe down to the dot. But...
Here's the catch
The plot is just empty. Aang is once again feeling bad about the airbenders, and yeah, the beat lands, but it feels a bit exhausted, and it was never the most emotional thing this world has done anyway, at least for me. They go on a mission for some world-changing artifact, there are a couple of twists that were super telegraphed, the friends are Aang's moral compass, and we beat the bad guy. Feels familiar right? I've basically seen this a million times. It's a fine formula and kids would genuinely love it, but I don't know, Hollywood has such a hard time treating us like we're smart. The whole thing felt flat and basic to me, nothing personal or emotional to hold onto.
The real question
Everything I've said kind of points to the show just being better than this, right? So why is that? I think it's because the show was personal. It wasn't always about saving the world. Some of the best episodes were just a town you'd known for five minutes, and saving that town by the end of a tiny 20-minute episode still moved me more than this whole movie did. Isn't that strange?
Where that leaves me
And that's the shame of it. I'm going to forget this movie pretty fast, and it bugs me that I will because I just wanted to switch my brain off and love the thing. It's got Avatar DNA through and through, it just, I didn't really care?
But even so, I really did enjoy it, a lot. And besides, I got to watch Avatar with gorgeous animation, so I'm a happy man. Just take a real risk next time.
