Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender (4 Stars)

WARNING: The following review contains some foul language. Please read at your own discretion. Also disclaimer, this blog is gonna be more geared towards fans of Avatar the Last Airbender (ATLA), so if you’re confused reading this, just go watch the show….go.

I love Avatar: The Last Airbender (not the blue alien films, holy shit). I think I’ve loved it since it first came out back in 2005 and ended in 2008. And lucky for me, I’m certainly not the only one who has this opinion. What’s not to love? The characters, the world-building, the pitch-perfect storytelling, or that it’s a show that still holds up even to this day, for both kids and adults. As for its follow-ups, like Korra and the live-action remake…….ehhhh, some are good, some want to make me peel my skin off (I’m praying that the sequel animated series is good). And that leads me to write about this particular follow up.

I once heard someone call this movie “anime filler movie”. For those that don’t know what that means, it’s basically a film based off an anime (Japanese cartoon) that is non-canonical; no relation to the main plot and is really just made to be eye-candy (or to make a buttload of money). This doesn’t mean that they are bad, they are just sorta watched and then people just kinda move on from it. There are some oustanders, like Demon Slayer: Mugen Train or some of the Dragon Ball films, but it’s few and far between. I guess my point is I can both agree and disagree with that statement. So what’s the story?

First off, if you want me to explain the series (ATLA) to you right off the bat, I cannot. There’s too much to go over and I just recommend you watch the series yourself because it deserves to be watched (and not in the same way Project Hail Mary needs to be watched, this is different). Anyway, the movie takes place about 10-ish years after the ATLA finale and actually sets up some stuff for its sequel series, Legend of Korra. All our main characters, who were children in the show, are now young adults and have established a new city where every nation, Earth, Water, Fire and Air(?), can co-exist in peace. Oh right, the world is mostly made up of elemental benders who can control the 4 elements (I’ll touch on this point later). Our protagonist is Aang, the titular last airbender, who, even as a child, is coming to grips with that sad fact. The story kicks off when, while Aang is collecting ancient airbending artifacts, a group of non-benders called the Denied (stupid name) try to rob and raid the temple he is in for a map. After the scuffle, Aang and his friends, Katara, Sokka, Toph and Zuko, join together after the discovery of an ancient airbender, named Tagah, frozen in ice, not unlike our protagonist. Tagah knows of a staff that grants anyone airbending, which naturally makes Aang estastic. After some harrowing journeys with the Denied and other things Mother Nature throws at them, the crew reach the location where the staff is, but is it all it’s cracked up to be or is there more to it? Can you see why this might be considered “anime movie filler”?

Let’s start off with some pros: the movie is gorgeous! There’s a reason most of the reviews are constantly praising the animation, and I will be no different. If you’ve seen the show, you already know it’s beautiful, but it’s also TV animation. That’s by NO MEANS a bad thing, it’s more about time and budget. And for a TV show, it could accomplish a lot in the animation department. This movie is just that animation ON STEROIDS! Every motion is fluid, the set pieces are a marvel to look at, and the comedic animation is also great, particularly Sokka with his quick recap of the series! It particularly shines in the action scenes, basically if Disney and shonen anime had a baby. Which is why it makes me so mad that this wasn’t a theatrical release (I’ll get to THAT later)! The characters are also still great. Now that they are adults, there’s a bit more depth to their characters, particularly Aang. Yes, he had to come to terms with that fact that he’s the last airbender, but it’s not like that childhood trauma just goes away. He’s gotta face it more head on, mainly with the fact that there’s a slight possibility his culture could come back. And he’s still his lil goofy self albeit just older. All of them are in fact. Katara the kind and caring badass, Sokka the smartest goofball, Toph the irreverant best girl, and Zuko the honorable leader. I think this qualities are what makes up for what is kinda a mediocre story.

So, it’s time to address the elephant-in-the-room: a few months before this films planned theatrical release, the entire movie got leaked online. I’m not sure what the reception was for those who watched the leak (shame on you ya fucks), but it deeply affected how this film got released. It ended up on streaming to Paramount+, a hugely questionably decision seeing how this film’s quality and this stupid leak absolutely warranted a theatrical release. So with that being said, I’m also not really surprised it got put on streaming just based on its cons. Remember I mentioned how I heard this was called “anime movie filler”? Well, it’s not incorrect. The plot, without spoilers, is suuuuuper basic. I can’t say it’s bad or herrendeous, it’s just…fine? It seemed like there were trying to repeat some important plot points from the show while also trying to set up for Korra, and in doing so, some stuff gets lost.Apart from Aang and Tagah, almost every character gets sidelined for the plot. Sure Katara and Sokka get some moments to shine in the climax, but Zuko and especially Toph seem almost pointless to be there, which makes me so sad. There’s also some things that seem questionable? Like the main reason why they are after the macguffin-I mean staff! The owner was an Avatar that disconnected spiritually from the rest? Like….how? Or how when the main gang is at their lowest point, the way they get out of it seems….odd and not real, I dunno? And finally, it’s definitely relying on fans to be the main target. What do I mean? Well, I mentioned before that the city is where all citizens of the 4 elemental nations come together. If you hadn’t seen or even heard of this show, you might be a bit lost. Yeah they explain it in the beginning, but it just doesn’t hit for those who did watch it. Everything is sort of relying on nostalgia and fandom, and any “normie” wouldn’t really see the appeal of it in my opinion. Also not everyone has Paramount+ or the dozens of other streaming services cause they’re all too expensive!

So it would seem I don’t really like this movie. Not true. As you can see in the title, I gave it 4 stars. Actually in all honesty, it’s probably teetering between 3.5 and 4, but that probably comes from a bias. If you can see it, please do. It does deserve all the support after the leak. I’m proud of all the people who worked on it and they deserve all the recognition without all this crap. Also watch the show! I think it’s on Netflix, but at this point it’s just better to have the DVD box set…that I have right now…………and I’m gonna go watch it again………….water tribe ;)