The Last Airbender Film and the Avatar Roku Winter Solstice Episode
Horrible reviews have kept me away from watching The Last Airbender, so I was putting off the inevitable until the last possible moment. I finally braved it on 15 August 2010 at The Cathay Cineplex; and, at the end, I think I felt the same way after having viewed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I was ecstatic that a beloved piece of material had become a film, but, I also knew that the film did not reach its zenith.
Choosing from 20 Avatar The Last Airbender Book One Water episodes as to what to include in a two hour film, plus, injecting one’s point of view can be quite difficult; but, I think the film’s pacing would have been much tighter if the salient points of the episode Avatar Roku Winter Solstice Part 2 had been included.
Aside from the exciting foray into the enemy territory of the Fire Nation and the introduction of the character of Avatar Roku, the urgency of learning how to bend the other elements of water, earth and fire could have been emphasized:
The comet will return by the end of the summer. And the Fire Lord will use its power to finish the war once and for all. If he succeeds, even the Avatar won’t be able to restore balance to the world.
Mastering the elements takes years of discipline and practice, but, if the world is to survive, you, [Aang], must do it by summer’s end.
Oh, and I’ll probably watch The Last Airbender again. Even though Noah “Aang” Ringer may not be Asian (a lot of critics were disgruntled over his casting), there can be no disputing the fact that he is totally committed to his character, mastering both the voice and physical precision required for the role. And, if they make the remaining books of Earth and Fire into films, it’s very likely that I’ll watch them repeatedly too.
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