by swatkins-6 ยป 1 hour ago (Tue Aug 19 2014 09:53:20)
What I do like:
- I like that in the movie, the fire for fire bending has to come from some actual fire, it did not make sense to have fire without fuel in the anime series.
It absolutely made sense, actually.
Point A: See, the fact that the firebenders didn't have to rely on a 'source' in order to bend their element was one of the reasons why they could afford to abuse their power. It was the reason why they were able to conquer different kingdoms so easily. In the movie, it made no sense. NO ONE bothered to put out the firebenders' source of fire, from stupid cauldrons that anyone could've just tipped over to silly little torches. Movie-Pakku even instructed people to put out every source of fire before the siege, but NOT A SINGLE PERSON did so, which I thought was ridiculous, especially because the writing and directing was done by the same person.
Point B: In the cartoon, the firebenders were the only type of benders to learn from original benders that didn't rely on a 'source'. The first human waterbenders learned from watching the moon push and pull the ocean's
existing tides. The first earthbenders learned from blind badgermoles who bended the
existing earth as a way to navigate their way around. The first airbenders learned from the skybisons who manipulated the
ever-existing air in order to fly. The first firebenders learned from dragons who bended the fire they
breathed out from within.
Many people, including Shyamalan, have said it "didn't make sense why the firebenders were able to bend fire out of nowhere," and I will never understand why they think so. It was explained in the cartoon. It's not like the source of explanation is some obscure book that only the most dedicated fans have access to.
- The bending seems not quite so powerful in the movie as in the series. They have to work harder at it. I like that too, it seems somehow more realistic.
During that montage of Aang liberating different groups/tribes in the middle of the film, there's a shot of him "preparing" for an airbending attack. The shot is of him dancing around, twirling his staff. The guy anticipating his attack? He just stands there, dancing side to side, WAITING to get hit. That's what the bending looked like in this film. It didn't seem realistic to me; it seemed ridiculous.
The concept of bending is tied to a martial art form. Water and Tai Chi, Earth and Hung Gar, Fire and Northern Shao Lin, Air and Ba Gua. In our world, anyone practicing any of those martial art forms have already "worked hard" to learn their art; in the Avatar world, those martial art forms
come with learning how to bend. There was no reason for them to have to "work harder" for an attack, because if they do use the attack, it's already a given that they've already learned it.
With that said, I don't agree that they were actually "working harder" for anything; the movie just made bending more complicated than it should've been. They had to do eleventy different types of hand flailings for a single attack, which was akin to saying a spell out loud before the spell comes out. It made no sense and begged the question, "Why did no one just disturb the attacker mid-spell to cancel their attack?"
- A nice scene with Appa swimming! Aang's detailled tattoos. Much of the scenery and sets. It's quite a pretty movie.
I don't remember the scene with Appa swimming, for some reason. It's been years since the last time I've seen this movie, so forgive me. As for Aang's detailed tattoos. It was cool, but unnecessary and added nothing to the movie. The scenery was nice in some parts, but the sets (especially the Northern Water Tribe) looked really SET-y to me. It looked fake, is what I'm saying.
- The bending effects are really quite good, it's nice to see realistic-looking bending.
The effects were done well, I do have to say. I just have an issue with the way the bending works in the movie, with the bender's movements not being in sync with the movements of their respective element.
- I like the giant tidal wave thing better than the giant water monster! (which didn't make much sense)
Oh, no. Oh, no no no. Much like Shyamalan, I guess you really didn't understand much of the cartoon.
The giant water monster was a koi fish. The mortal forms of the Moon and Ocean Spirits (remember, the Moon was the original waterbender, pushing and pulling the Ocean's tides) were two koi fish eternally swimming in circles. Those spirits were a very significant part of the waterbenders' history and culture. The Moon and the Ocean Spirits were "twi and la, push and pull, good and evil, yin and yang" (according to Koh, the face-stealer). When Zhao killed the Moon Spirit, in the movie the Ocean Spirit did NADA. In the cartoon, however, it exacted revenge. That was the point. The Moon and the Ocean Spirits were "the balance," which Zhao messed with. So what happened was, Aang, under great emotional turmoil (from witnessing Zhao kill the Moon Spirit), went into auto-pilot as the Avatar, who then merged powers with the Ocean Spirit, so out came the giant water monster. The water monster obliterated those who dared to get in its way. It was even the Ocean Spirit, in water monster form, that eventually killed Zhao at the end, pulling him into the depths of the ocean with its own hand. While in the movie, Zhao was killed by RANDOM waterbenders, which honestly p*ssed me off.
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In my case, the thing I didn't like most about this movie was NOT the fact that they couldn't fit everything in it, but the fact that what DID end up in the movie was just handled very poorly (case in point: Zhao and the Moon and the Ocean Spirits, and the art of firebending). I also didn't like that Aang was immediately able to control the Avatar State by the end of just the first film. It was clear in the cartoon that he only ever managed to enter it on "auto-pilot" (meaning he's not himself) in times of great emotional turmoil (finding out the monks are extinct, witnessing Zhao kill the Moon Spirit, that Earth Kingdom general who emotionally tortured him by putting Katara in seemingly dangerous situations, finding out the sandbenders stole Appa, etc.), and his inability to control the Avatar State was a HUGE part of the cartoon's 2nd season. When he went into the Avatar State in auto-pilot after finding out that the sandbenders stole Appa, not being himself, he scared Katara; Aang realizes this and didn't like it. You say you liked that the benders had to "work harder" with their bending in the movie, so it's a little odd that you saw no problem in Aang
immediately learning how to control the Avatar State with absolutely no training and proper work.
To be honest, I have noticed that, whenever someone says the movie "is not that bad at all," it always comes from someone who didn't fully understand the cartoon. This isn't the first time I tried to explain
why it made sense in the show how the firebenders didn't need a source in order to bend, and it's also not the first time I tried to explain the giant water monster.
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TyLee896
9 years ago
Link6321, You are nothing but a hypocritical *beep* I remember you from last year. I went by the name ibenez96, and you called me ignorant for being born in 1996. Then you accused me of having multiple accounts, you claimed that I was that other guy under a different name, because we just happened to speak to one another on another thread. Which btw, you cannot go into other people's accounts and bring up information from other threads. That's against the rules everywhere on the internet and extremely rude! Imdb is a small world, so anyone can know each other.
So what's your deal here? Do you like going around "patrolling" The Last Airbender movie threads and burying anyone who likes the film? Wow, what a lowlife you are. Why don't you go find a job and go do something with your life. Moron.
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