How the mighty have fallen.  In 1999, M. Knight Shyamalan was poised to become Hollywood’s next great director. His breakout hit The Sixth Sense energized audiences with its iconic twist and fresh premise.  Some maintain that he peaked with that first film, although he went on to make Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, Lady in the Water, and The Happening.

Even though his latest movies have not fared well critically, I have held out hope that he could recapture some of the magic we saw in the early days of his career.  The Last Airbender took those hopes, smashed them to the ground, and pissed on the ashes.  I was stupefied that someone so talented had actually made such a piece of junk. I’m still reeling.

Before I go further, I would like to make it clear to fans of the series that this is a critique of the movie, not the series. I have always believed that even if a movie is based on source material, the movie should speak for itself, and be worthy of a watch based on its own merit.  A lot of people go see movies based on books, comics, and other source material, and a movie should be accessible to anyone who buys a ticket, whether they know the source material or not.

This film is a dismal failure when it comes to storytelling, direction, acting, set design, and the post-production 3-D, and it cannot possibly do justice to the animated series upon which it was based.  I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about it, but you won’t cull that knowledge from this movie adaptation.

Thirty minutes into the film, I had no clue what it is about. Worse still, I didn’t care to find out.  Not because I’m lazy, but because the script is so convoluted and did such a poor job of convincing me that there was anything compelling to the story.

Continue Reading