Day Seven: Bloody
Busy day, didn't really have time to think of anything. So... I bring you a review of the movie I saw today.

The Last Airbender

Normally, I'm not the reviewing type. But this deserves it. I'm a pretty big fan of the cartoon... and when I heard that the movie was going to be made, I watched news roll in. From who is playing who to watching almost all the promos. I was getting really into it. I was excited for it.

I wish I wasn't. I was telling people about the movie and how awesome and epic it would be. Now I have to sit here and tell them how it's not worth seeing. It really isn't...

My List of Complaints:
1. Ong?! Soh-ka? Ee-roh?! I'm sorry, but the pronunciation changes were just ridiculous. I practically cringed every time one of the names was said. I also mentally corrected everything. In my opinion, they were a little inconsistent in their pronunciation of "Avatar" some said it like most Americans would. Some said it "AH- va-tar". If there was at least a general "right" way of saying it... Yes, I know the "new" pronunciations are the correct way... but... we're all so used to the originals...

2. Pacing. The end felt... long. But everything else felt rushed. It was like, "Hey! We're in this village! Jk, we're actually at the northern air temple. No, actually we're at the norther water tribe." It was just way to hectic and quick paced. It would have been helpful if they split things up and took longer on certain aspects. The beginning is a great example. The ice berg was broken open and you see "Ong" then... they're at the village. Then... the Fire Nation is there. It was so rapid paced.

3. Hey! I think I spotted character development! Oh wait... no... I just remembered the cartoon. Like the character histories. Zuko's was told by a little boy... Yue's was a silly little answer to a question.... "Ong" never really grew. We kinda got a little glimpse at his childhood but... I knew so much more from the cartoon. We didn't learn anything about the characters. At all. Flat and boring.

4. "Ong"... smile? He was so carefree in the cartoon! He smiled and had a goofy grin. He didn't take many things seriously. In the movie... it was like he smiled two or three times, at the most.

5. Appa? Momo? You exist? They were shown... I don't think they were actually given names. Maybe Momo was... and they had very little screen time. It made me sad because the animals were a big part of the cartoon. They were lovable.

6. Monk Gyatso. I thought you were old... and... white. It just did not fit. I would not have imagined who they chose to be a fatherly figure. He just... it didn't work. I'm sorry.

7. Sokka should've been funny :(. It just took away his entire character. Fans of the series know Sokka as the one who always gets himself into trouble. He makes these wise comments. He's just generally a funny guy.

8. No humor. Practically all the humor was stripped away. We had some glimpses in trailers, but they were taken out. I was so looking forward to most of it. It would have made the movie much more light hearted and... more bearable. Some of the essence of the cartoon would have been there.

9. Haru?! You... you look like a girl! Well, at least I'm assuming it's Haru. We didn't really get a name for him. But it seriously looked like a girl. I kinda... I kinda wondered a bit.

10. Kyoshi Warriors... where are you? *sigh* The characters that would actually move the plot (sorry, Haru... you don't count) were cut! What is this?! They had filmed some stuff for them and everything. But they cut it. WHY?!

11. *flail for five seconds* *stops moving* *element moves* 'nuff said.
12. Pakku... we didn't even know your name! They seriously didn't give names to some of the side characters. It.. it upset me. It's like the didn't think the audience could handle all the names. But it's like.. "So who is that old guy?" "Oh, you mean Ee-roh?" "No, no. The one that was teaching water bending" "Oh. I dunno."

13. NWT should've been sexist and not let Katara train, like in the cartoon. This showed at least a little bit of Kataras strength. It also showed Pakku's cocky attitude. It showed that there were cultural differences. It would have been an opportunity for a fight scene.

14. A girl... training at an air temple. WHAT?! I'm sorry, but this is a blatant fact that goes against the show. Girls and boys were separated. They learned at different air temples. They did not work side by side.

15. Dialogue.... I think I could even write better dialogue than that. And I'm a horrible writer. That was just BAD. If the dialogue had been cleaned up a bit... the movie could have been better. As it stands... I almost covered my face with my hands after anyone said anything.

16. Narration. It felt more like a documentary. Telling us all that's going on, not showing us. It felt like it was giving us facts and not really connecting the movie together. It was also a little awkward. And the very beginning the narration just was not... good.

17. Spirit World. I'm sorry... a dragon does NOT replace Roku OR Koh. And it does NOT help in anyway. "Show them the power of water." Or you know.. save the moon spirit. Either one, of course...

18. Avatar State? We didn't even get a name for what was going on. It was just kinda like... "Oh... he's glowing... is that... normal?" I felt like some explanation would have been nice. At least a little bit...

19. Over use of slow-mo. The fight scenes were ridden with slow mo. It does not make an action scene better by slowing it down. I like if it's going regular speed. It's so much more exciting. Then you want to rewatch it to see if you missed something. Or just break it down. Not so with these...

20. "Ee-roh" was a disappointment. He's the happy, fat, fun loving, tea drinking, wisdom bearing uncle. We saw... wisdom bearing. A little bit. Totally took away the entire feeling of Iroh.

21. Zaoh's death. Why?! He KILLED the moon spirit. But just some normal benders KILL him.

22. The ending. It reminded me of "Breaking Dawn". The buildup for a really exciting battle and conclusion. But nope, everyone leaves. He was getting this BIG wave ready. And then.... he just drops it.

23. What the heck was with the "test" Zuko and "Ee-roh" give "Ong"? I was SO confused by that.

It may seem like I was a straight cartoon to movie kind of adaptation, but I don't. I like some of the allusions they gave. Like, about the library and Hama. And they cut the Great Divide. Otherwise...

Things I liked:
1. Jackson Rathbone. He may have been the redeeming actor in this movie. For a little while I actually believed he was "Soh-kka". It was still a bit dry, but his emotion when Yue died... aw. It just made me want to reach out and hug him.

2. CGI was pretty good. The animals were fairly believable (the lizard the fire nation rode were really nice). The elements, not too bad. Earth was a little funky...

3. "Ong" wasn't... awful. For his first movie, at least. Give the boy a beak. He's like, 10 or 12... and it's his first movie. Ever. He doesn't know HOW to act just yet. But he did well with what minimal training he had.

4. Yue was pretty.

5. Blue Spirit was cool. I did like that part. It felt fairly true to the show. Maybe one of the only parts that was...

6. Sokka kicking butt. Like... literally. He kicked a fire nation soldier. It was funny. Sure, it should have been serious... but it wasn't.

7. The sets were pretty nice. But NOTHING beat the scenes filmed in Greenland.

And that basically sums up what I have to say about the movie. It wasn't the worst I've seen. It's certainly not even close to the best I've seen. I wish it was better. I had high hopes for it.. but it just didn't work out.

If you were on the fence seeing the movie... don't see it. If you really wanted to see it- go see it. Judge for yourself. Some fans like it more than others.

Make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be
always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how
to answer everyone.
-- Colossians 4:5-6