The Last Airbender Movie Review and Thoughts on the Boycott

[Toph625]

oh yeah i saw that.aang was supposed to be some monkey dude,that's why his ears are so huge

[Paulismyhero777]

@devonferris ...South Korea, Mexico for two *shrugs* its doing fine in other countries, too. Worldwide Gross: a little less than 253 million (so far...)

[Paulismyhero777]

@devonferris I dont really watch any o those (yeah, I know Im the only one who doesnt!) but I've thought for a while the next James Bond should be black. :)

[Zhaquiri]

It's clear why Noah Ringer was chosen? Because he's a "martial arts prodigy"? LMAO He had a stunt double -- a grown ass ASIAN WOMAN.

[ZoozaTheBink]

@Zhaquiri

^__^ Jackie Chan has used stunt doubles. And Jet Li, and numerous martial artists. Stunt doubles take care of the very dangerous scenes. They're physically tough, don't have to worry about the acting part of things, and generally learn a smattering of gymnastics/martial arts/motorcycle riding/etc to be useful.

The Asian woman was probably about the right size to double for Noah. ^_^ That's the big factor. But Noah did his own martial arts, the forms, etc.

[Paulismyhero777]

btw Zooza, I think Airbender beat out inception in some countries

[ZoozaTheBink]

@Paulismyhero777

Aweseome! :) It's making a lot of money oversees- it's already passed by the budget for the film, now onto getting past the budget for the advertising...

[Pusscatification]

you have good opinions but i really hope that Shyamalan doesn't make a follow up. i love the fan fiction and the cartoon was the best ever made it was so epic. but i was so sad when he got the names wrong, didn't include key characters, skipped over the whole story and when it was over it really felt like i had been let down. i was happy with how it was ended in the cartoons and was hoping it would be left like that but sadly no. fair bit of a let down overall. i world give it 2 out of 10 stars

[Paulismyhero777]

wow, ZoozaThe Bink, ur really polite! :) I like you, favorited! and a thumbs up!

btw airnomads are mixes cause they travel all over and apparently people join them

[ZoozaTheBink]

@Paulismyhero777

Thanks so much! ^__^ Thanks too for pointing that out- I heard that recently too! :D It makes perfect sense- since they are nomads and all. ^_^;

I also learned after putting this video up that Dev Patel actually commented in an interview that the race of the Fire Nation people WAS determined after he was cast as Zuko. He said Shyamalan simply felt it made sense for each nation (excepting the air nomads) to have one or two racial types each- for realism. ^_^

[aprun]

And I really don't think that you understand the political science behind the casting of the last airbender. Alone, it still ignores the asian cultural overtones that the show had. It was just so good that EVERYONE can relate to it. That's why there are people in countries all over the world boycotting the movie. But if you observe it as part of Hollywoods past movies, then you see a trend of racism.

[ZoozaTheBink]

@aprun

Politics schmolitics- people are too wrapped up in political mumbo jumbo. :) How can you enjoy a movie when you're so focused on the race of the characters? It seems sad to let that get in the way of judging it for what it is. And honestly, M. Night Shyamalan wanted this actress, had open casting with many races- and is not white himself. I just don't see the racism there. ^_^

[aprun]

@ZoozaTheBink

The same way I try and stomach old movies that have black/yellow face and watch token minorities act in their stereotypes. Ever watch Auntie Mame? -_-; By itself...maybe it's just a movie. But when you connect it with the multitude of other movies that have this same pattern, then you gotta say, "Wait, stop,"

[ZoozaTheBink]

@aprun

Older movies can be quite entertaining- Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Fred Astaire, dance on air...lol The Marx Brothers! :D

Anywho. After taking a good look at the "racism" accusation in regards to The Last Airbender, I just don't feel it deserves that particular criticism, I suppose. ^__^

That's the main reason for my video, I guess. It lays out my point of view reasonably well.

Thanks for the comments. Later! ^__^

[aprun]

I didn't write a review because there aren't enough words to express what I wanted to express. That's the opposite for other people; because I noticed that yahoo posted several reviews that upped the rating for the last airbender. Racism aside, the movie failed in artistic value. The quality of kids movies is much higher than that, as shown by the toy story, shrek. Even Karate Kid is a wonderful alternative. I do think that the casting was unfair, but boycotting this movie is saving people $10.

[ZoozaTheBink]

@aprun

I'm sorry you feel so strongly about this. When it all boils down, of course, it's just a movie. :) I tried, in my humble way, to illustrate that, and defend what I consider to be a good telling of the original series' story. ^_^

[SeekingOutTomorrow]

Oh, and just because it's a western cartoon doesn't automatically make it about white people. Way to be racist ;D

[ZoozaTheBink]

@SeekingOutTomorrow

lol...Nicola Peltz was chosen from a racially diverse group of actresses- and M. Night Shyamalan felt she was perfect for the part. If an Indian man isn't bothered by her white-ness, that's good enough for me. :) And as I said in the video, it follows (particularly with Shyamalan's eye for continuity) that Sokka would be white too, and thus believable as Katara's brother.

All in all, I was pleased with Ms. Peltz's performance- I can see why he chose her. ^__^

[SeekingOutTomorrow]

@ZoozaTheBink You were pleased with her performance? Wow, just wow. "racially diverse group of actresses" You do know that they specifically requested caucasian actors, riiiiiiight? If not, well, now you do. Oh and, again, she was nothing like Katara.

[ZoozaTheBink]

@SeekingOutTomorrow

Yup! I think she did a good job. She has a lot of promise as an actress. ^_^

M. Night Shyamalan stated that he chose Ms. Peltz out of a diverse group of actresses. That choice likely influenced who he chose for Sokka. And Dev Patel being cast as Zuko influenced who Mr. Shyamalan cast in other Fire Nation roles. ^_^ It all makes reasonably good sense to me. :)

Later! ^_^

[SeekingOutTomorrow]

@ZoozaTheBink Okay, please stop saying the same thing over and over. It makes reasonably good sense to you because you can't think for yourself, so whatever any "leader" (i.e. director, manager, the flipping president) does, you just go along with it like all the other mindless sheep in the world. You take what he says as fact. He says he chose out of a diverse group but evidence proves that it's most likely not the case. They specifically wanted CAUCASIAN people. That's why it's mostly whites.

[ZoozaTheBink]

@SeekingOutTomorrow

The majority of main characters aren't white or are mixed (Iroh, Zuko, Aang vs Katara and Sokka), and the vast majority of minor chars/extras were non white.

Just go see the film- then you'll know what I'm saying is true! ^_^ It's very good- I recently went back and saw it a second time. I'm a very picky movie goer too- which is partly why I felt compelled to defend this movie.

[SeekingOutTomorrow]

@ZoozaTheBink I've seen the film. I saw it the day after it came out. It SUCKED.

Noah Ringer is white. I don't know where you got the idea that he wasn't. Zuko was going to be played by Jesse McCartney, who btw is really really white. They only changed him because his tour dates conflicted with the movie. So by your logic that would've meant the whole Fire Nation would've been white. Thank god that didn't happen. But the movie still sucked. I hope they fire Night. That would make me happy!

[SeekingOutTomorrow]

@SeekingOutTomorrow So happy that I would throw a party!

[ZoozaTheBink]

@SeekingOutTomorrow

Well, you're entitled to your opinion of course. ^_^

I've read online that Mr. Ringer is half Chinese. And he honestly looks like it. ^_^ In any case- it doesn't matter. That's the point of this video.

I'm sorry you've taken this film so badly. Try to cheer up. :) I do feel that I'm butting my head against the wall just a bit with you, though- so don't be surprised if I don't reply again. ^_^ No offense meant!

Thanks for all the comments.

[SeekingOutTomorrow]

@ZoozaTheBink I did cheer up when I went to see Inception :O Now THAT was a great movie.

And looks don't really mean anything. I mean, he looks like Miranda Cosgrove and she's white. She does look like she could be part asian. But just saying that he looks asian doesn't mean he is.

I'm sorry I took the film badly, too! It's a damn shame that I get so worked up over it but I just love the show so much and wanted it to be a success. Needless to say, that's not really been the case.

[SeekingOutTomorrow]

@ZoozaTheBink @ZoozaTheBink You were pleased with her performance? Wow, just wow. "racially diverse group of actresses" You do know that they specifically requested caucasian actors, riiiiiiight? If not, well, now you do. Oh and, again, she was nothing like Katara. And I still think you're racist.

[SeekingOutTomorrow]

Too bad the movie, along with Nicola Peltz, FAIL. She wasn't a good actress. She was not Katara. Katara is a lot more bad ass than Nicola Peltz could ever hope to be and I don't even like Katara.

If the characters aren't asian then why are their names asian? Better yet, why does Shyamalan INSIST on pronouncing their names the way they would be in asia? Hm, maybe, I don't know, it's because they're ASIAN? So if their names are to be pronounced the asian way then why is main trio white? DUH.

[ZoozaTheBink]

@SeekingOutTomorrow

lol...Katara is fictional, and lives in the minds of millions of people, all with a slightly different take on who "Katara" is. :) I'm sorry you don't like her as a character. I feel M. Night Shyamalan and Nicola Peltz did a good job of bringing out some of her best, most important characteristics in this movie. ^_^ But I understand if you disagree.

As for the "Asian" pronunciations- It didn't really bother me. I've always pronounced Iroh "eeroh", for one. ^_^;

[Fashioncat412]

I totally agree with what you said. People are so bent on the races of the cast that they aren't even looking at the movie as a whole. I've watched the tv series and I think the movie was pretty close to it, except for things like the pronunciations of some of the names or that Zuko didn't have a ponytail. I mean sure the fire nation was Indian but so was the director/writer and India is part of Asia so that would in fact make them Asian too geographically. Just sayin. Thank you for this video.

[ZoozaTheBink]

@Fashioncat412

Thank YOU for taking the time to comment on my video! :) I feel rather sad at the thought that if they don't make enough money on this film, there probably won't be sequels. That said, I checked out the dates for international releases, and it isn't out yet in Japan, or Great Britain- most other countries actually. :)

I went to see it again today- I loved it the second time even more! :D And my friend who didn't like it much the first time, enjoyed it much more this time! :D

[vanessacam]

I loved the movie & the cartoon.....That's my story & I'm stickin with it!!! Can't wait for #2 & #3 to come out. No blood & Gut's. Great flick to take my grandkids to see.

[ZoozaTheBink]

@vanessacam

Haha, thanks so much for the comment! And yeah, I really crave movies and books, etc, I can read that have action/adventure, etc in them without being gory, or having a sex scene or whatever. Bleh! I know that may be a tad unusual for someone in their late twenties, but...that's my story and I'm stickin to it too! :D

Sigh...I'm generally confined to PG films these days. But hey, Pixar is awesome, lol! :P And The Last Airbender. :)

[AdorableZukoMe]

Hm, well, I liked the movie. And that's all I have to say. I don't get the big deal about this movie, I think it SHOULD have a sequel, and people SHOULDN'T be racist.

[ZoozaTheBink]

@AdorableZukoMe

lol....sequel!!! :D I just think that even people who were really disappointed this time around might be shooting themselves in the foot, you know? Things could be really amazing, and just the eye candy alone....I want to see Bah Sing Say! (Meep, I forgot the spelling...) And Toph, and I want to see the lightning bending and earth bending...:D And I'm looking forward to seeing Aang actually *grow* through the films, lol...

[AdorableZukoMe]

@ZoozaTheBink Yeah! And I wanna see Zuko become good....and ...Ah!

[ZoozaTheBink]

@AdorableZukoMe

lol...I want to see his interaction with Katara...:P lol...and all of them, really. I loved his fight with Aang at the end of the film, where he's trying to catch him after he wakes up, lol! It's like one exactly wants to do permanent damage to the other, you know? :) It'll be cool to see Aang in the third film, when he's taller- I kinda wonder how tall he'll get (hopefully taller than Katara at least, lol!)

[AdorableZukoMe]

@ZoozaTheBink Yeah! Haha, I hope Aand gets taller....or else it'd just be weird

[ZoozaTheBink]

@AdorableZukoMe

Urp...I meant NEITHER one wants to do permanent damage....woops. :P I should've checked over it before posting. :)

[realangels]

Well thought out. Good rationale.

Overall, I did not like the movie. There was so much plot there was no room for the characters' development. There was no emotional buy-in. The "Why should I care?" question was never addressed.

Visually, the movie rocked. Costumes, scenery, CG, etc. were brilliant.

The lines were a disappointment. I expected better written scripts. It seemed like the lines did nothing more than explain essential parts of the movie so the film would make sense.

[ZoozaTheBink]

@realangels

Thanks!

To be honest, I think you've summed up why many fans are disappointed- they needed maybe 30 minutes more of character development in there. That said, I guess I'm afraid people will hate on this so much there won't be any sequels, you know? And I think this has the potential to grow and be something really amazing, despite the pitfalls in this film. :)

I also think they were worried about confusing people who hadn't seen the series, and ended up with some clunky lines.

[hirokido]

lol i say its racist now just because i dont like the movie and m night shyamlan ruined it. i want him to understand it was awfullllll. the movie could have been good but wasn't race wasnt a major issue though

[ZoozaTheBink]

@hirokido

Thanks for the comment. :)

Well...if you say you don't like it, that's enough, right? I mean, being racist is seriously bad- it's why I did this video, lol.

Anywho, I guess I'm less picky, or just had different things I wanted to see or what not, but I really like it. O_o Weird! It definitely has problems, I'm not saying it doesn't- but I felt the overwhelming negativity just wasn't justified. (I mean, unlike some other adaptions out there, lol...) And I want to see sequels! :D

[hirokido]

@ZoozaTheBink well this is my favorite tv show of all time and i thought the movie should be perfect but it was not, ruining what i had envisioned. im also an aspiring film maker so i had lots of ideas of what i wanted to see in the movie.....of course i was very dissapointed, i also dont like how he made money off changing my favorite story, he didnt care about the true fans

[ZoozaTheBink]

@hirokido

I understand it's emotional for you- but I've seen all three seasons, and have a hard time seeing what changed that was really important, you know?

I guess Zhao was the biggest change, and there were some staging problems...and Iroh was really different, but I actually really loved him anyway- all the core stuff was there for him.

There was a lot of clunky exposition, and things really flew by, but I still don't see the whole "he didn't care about true fans" thing...

[hirokido]

@ZoozaTheBink the firelord was shown way too early, he knew way too much he shouldnt have known, then it was unrealistic how zhao could consult with him any time he wanted, not realistic cuz the nations are far apart, also the bending took way too long so there wasnt much fighting, too much hand to hand combat, re watch the show, hardly any of that, the dragon didnt exist,the koi fish monster didnt appear, the names were pronounced differently, he changed what the true fans loved and he did it

[ZoozaTheBink]

@hirokido

I think that was a poor attempt at showing the passage of time. (Zhao's meetings.) The bending- that's something easy to fix in future films. I know what you mean. That said, it wasn't as bad as all that. :)

Now, the friend I went with was disappointed about the Koi- I think this was a theme Shyamalan felt close to, and wanted to make his own. The dragon was a plot device- a single spririt instead of Aang talking to past incarnations of himself (which I always found wacky)..

[hirokido]

@ZoozaTheBink and he did it for no apparent reason, the story was already there he didnt need to change anything, he is selfish and stupid

[ZoozaTheBink]

@hirokido

...the names didn't bug me, weirdly enough. I've always pronounce Iroh "eeroh" in my mind, for instance. Soh-kah (instead of Sah-kah) did sound weird, but I think Shyamalan thought it was a truer pronunciation of the name, less "Americanized", weirdly enough. So he changed it, but not for no reason.

lol...check out Dragonball Evolution. I really do feel your pain. I just think there are movies out there which are WAYYY less true to the source material than this.

[hirokido]

@ZoozaTheBink see you keep saying shyamalan felt or thought, well he didnt have to think or feel because the show WAS RIGHT THERE, he just had to copy and paste, its not right to change what fans really love, the names threw me off the whole movie which irritated me and wouldnt allow me to enjoy it was just stupid, and where was suki huh??? she is a big character. just because there are worse movies out like dragonball ev doesnt mean this wasnt just as horrid

[ZoozaTheBink]

@hirokido

Well, we'll have to disagree, lol. ^_^

I know I'm not cut out to be a director- it requires a lot of nit-picking, and a big picture approach, knowing how stuff will look on film, and with something like this he had to figure out how to cut a LOT out...

I think Suki would have been too much. They already need 30 minutes more focused on the characters already introduced, you know? I'm betting she pops up in the third film...:D

DB Evol cut Krillin. Wow! That's like cutting Sokka.

[Pzuko1994]

great video! nice to know, or see, im not alone. i also liked the movie. lol

[ZoozaTheBink]

@Pzuko1994

Thanks for commenting! Please, please take the time to leave a review at Rotten Tomatoes?  We really need to bring up the overall rating there- so that it will get noticed by random people scoping out movies, and encourage people to see Airbender. The more people who see this movie, the more likely sequels will be! :D

[dratinifan13]

Earth Kingdom: Mostly Asian. (Chines, Indian, Japanese, Korean, ect.) Also Middle Eastern.

Air Nomads: Asian/Caucasian.

Water Tribes: Inuit. Possibly African. Native American. Something with Melanin!

Fire Nation: Asian/Caucasian.

See, the creators actually based most of the races after real ones. While race could distract form a fan's view of a movie in comparison, the acting done by Katara and Sokka were terrible. They could've been better is all.

[ZoozaTheBink]

@dratinifan13

Well, I disagree about them being based so clearly on the races you mention. I just really like the idea that their races are purely fictional, I guess...

Anywho, we'll have to agree to disagree, but thanks for commenting!

Even if you didn't like the movie, you've got to admit the sets and the CGI were just gorgeous though, right? :)

[dratinifan13]

@ZoozaTheBink Well didn't mean that they were exact copies of the races I foretold, I mean they were made by studying the people of those cultures. Their race is no doubt fictional.

And yes, the movie was amazing to look at, but for a long time fan of anime, movies, and games, sometimes looks don't cover a bad script.

[ZoozaTheBink]

@dratinifan13

Definitely agree that lots of cultures went into the characters- Katara and Sokka definitely sport Inuit-esque clothing, for instance.

I have to disagree on the script. It could have been better, but definitely wasn't pure fail. I too am a long term fan of many things- if you want an example of a true fail, check out Dragonball Evolution. :( Nothing of Goku's character remains- and I'm not talking about the casting, I'm talking script, lol.

[realangels]

@dratinifan13 Agreed. The acting and lines were substandard from Katara, Sokka, and most of the water tribe people. To use a water illustration, they were shallow. I do not blame the actors for this. I blame the director for giving them lifeless scripts.

Solution: Take out some of the boring, scenic "bending practice" scenes and replace them with character development, especially for Katara and Sokka.

Pet peeve: It's Avatar, not Ovatar. It's Sokka, not Soeka. It's Aang, not Ong.

[ZoozaTheBink]

@realangels

Well, I do think there should have been about 30 minutes more of character development- the movie felt rushed. I think Sokka and Katara's main purpose in this film was to be introduced for development in the sequels. Honestly, I think what many people were disappointed with, beyond some clunky lines, was the lack of dialogue they had. I don't think Shaymalan was focusing on them in this movie. That said, I still think this was a pretty good movie. :)

[dratinifan13]

@ZoozaTheBink Well if you want to compare it to DB Evolution, (I'm a pure grown fan of DBZ) then yes, nothing of Goku's character remains. Both are bad in my opinion. Can't choose which one is actually better. While one is a completely different story, the other was just a clutter of some events from the first season. Sokka and Katara were basically just there for no reason. They changed the ending (which pissed me off) to a water wall instead of Koizilla! WHY?!

[ZoozaTheBink]

@dratinifan13

Wah? O_O There's just...no comparison. I mean...no Koizilla vs no Krillin here. Scenes cut versus Goku in high school? They threw the characters and basic plot out with Dragonball.

This clearly follows the series, has the same cast, I mean....the production quality is 5 million times better...and I actually re-watched it today. Sokka and Katara have more lines than I realized...and Aang bending the water over the Fire Nation ships was still pretty freaking awesome. :D

[ZoozaTheBink]

@dratinifan13

By the way, if you like DBZ, check out Dragonball Kai- it's coming out in Japan right now, you can find it online (Bleach Exile, Gogoanime, other places).

Anywho, it's the original series whittled down so that all filler has been cut- it is a cleaner representation of Toriyama's original manga.

[smiletone]

great job!

[ZoozaTheBink]

@smiletone

Thanks! :D