Movie Review: The Last Airbender

I never watched the cartoon. Didn't know any of the characters or their storylines. I remember seeing the trailer and watching a kid, in monk's clothing, blowing out candles with hand strikes and kicks. And then he hit the ground with his staff and the rest blew out. Awesome. It's a fight film. Right up my alley.

Well the first thing that struck me is that this is chapter one, The Book of Water. So prepare for at least 3 more to complete the series of elements. (Water, Earth, Fire. He already has Air.)

So it starts off in another world with Katara who is the last waterbender of her village in the south and her brother who seems to be terrible at hunting. They stumble upon a light coming out of the ice and decide to bust it open to see what is inside. Out pops Ong... or Aang... Just pick one and run with it. He's the avatar that's can weild all of the elements.

Well the Fire Nation is running around beating up on people and Ong/Aang and company begin their whirlwind(no pun intended) rescue of captured villages while heading north so our protagonist can learn the water element. Wait... shouldn't he already know all of the elements? Well, yes if he continued his training. But he decided that the whole Avatar business was too much for him and he ran away. Lucky for him he was caught up in a storm and a protective ice barrier surrounded him and gave him enough air for a hundred years. Before you ask, I would like to remind you that this is a cartoon turned into a live action movie so logic is not wanted nor needed.

No need for spoilers here. It's chapter 1. You know Ong/Aang survives. A good guy dies; a bad guy dies... the classic layout. Fight scenes were decent. There were no moments that would have me pretending to have a fight with my shadow when no one is looking.

Is it kid safe? (Rated PG) I think so for about 8 and up. Not knowing anything about the story, I was able to follow it pretty well. Cursing was kept to a minimum if there was any. Blood was hard to spot. A fish was stabbed, but you don't actually see the fish being stabbed. There is a drowning, but facial expressions are covered by small waves of water. Even the final fight scene that looked as though it could've been as bloody as something from Bravehart or Lord of The Rings seemed to be missing blood and bodies when the fighting was over with.

Was it worth the money to see the 3D version? I say no. There weren't too many things flying at the camera. I must have missed all the classic 3D gimmics and I did remove my glasses at certain parts of the film because I was tired of looking through them when the clarity was halfway decent, in some cases, without it.

Would I go see it again? Yes. Especially in 2D and during matinee times when it's cheaper.

*image from iwatchstuff.com