Netflix’s Live-Action: Avatar The Last Airbender: A Surprising Success

Avatar: The Last Airbender Review

Netflix’s live-action delivery of Avatar The Last Airbender is poorly planned. Why aim to replicate a massively enjoyed cartoon series, particularly after a prior disastrous attempt that was heavily rejected by the fanbase?

Questioning the Remake: Avatar: The Last Airbender in Live-Action

Well, Netflix is captivated by this live-action remake concept, so here we are. They plan to establish a large-scale franchise featuring aspects from multiple seasons of the original program and maybe even from Korra, with the commencement of this endeavor starting today.

And despite a mountain of skepticism, even from myself who sees the original as one of my favorite programs ever, I have to confess Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender is far better than I imagined it would be. Ultimately, I enjoyed it.

The presentation displays the tremendous passion the artists and crew have for the source material. Yes, I intently analyzed all the interview statements that suggested adjustments were being made that sounded uncomfortable.

There were several red flags in my perspective. But in actuality, I don’t feel such tweaks dominate the overall, and the whole thing is very much an attempt as a love letter to the animated series. Some innumerable moments and phrases are similar to the original, even if some structural alterations are made for the sake of the adaptation. I discovered nothing detrimental.

Avatar The Last Airbender, The Last Airbender, Avatar: The Last Airbender,
Avatar The Last Airbender, The Last Airbender, Avatar: The Last Airbender,

It is less than the animated series. Certainly not. This is like drawing the Mona Lisa in colored pencil, where it may be gorgeous in its own right, but it’s simply a completely different media that could never come up to the original masterpiece.

So I think you must grade on a bit of a curve here. I don’t know how superfans will respond to the series, and I’m sure many of them will not be tolerant of aspects of it. I also don’t know what this will do for “onboarding” new fans who haven’t watched the original, which is how I approached Netflix’s One Piece remake (which was wonderful!). Here, all I can say is that as a fan, I think they did a tremendous job.

Casting Triumph: Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Stellar Performances

The big triumph here is casting. Many observed how eerily similar the casting decisions were to the cartoon characters, but in terms of channeling those traits, it works. Right from the outset, I have to say the most remarkable performance is Dallas Liu as Prince Zuko, who expresses wrath masking rejection effectively throughout the whole series.

He is accompanied by again, another beautiful casting decision in Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s Iroh, whose sole disadvantage is that he’s…tall.

While they take more time to warm up, Ian Ousley’s Sokka and Gordon Cormier’s Aang are terrific, and anchor the series. No, Sokka is not on as much of a “girls are bad” kick here, but he still suffers from the same sort of issues that lead to that worldview, plus he is Sokka.

I feel Cormier’s Aang started a bit rough with his line delivery, but as the show develops, so does he, and for an Aang who had to be as young as he is, Cormier winds up fitting the role flawlessly.

Again, before release, there was this worry they were changing Aang to darker and more serious than the original show, and that is something that is just not true in this incarnation. Yes, he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders, but he’s still that foolish child at his heart.

Avatar The Last Airbender, The Last Airbender, Avatar: The Last Airbender,
Avatar The Last Airbender, The Last Airbender, Avatar: The Last Airbender,

The Fire Nation crew is excellent. Daniel Dae Kim looks as frightening as Fire Lord Ozai. Ken Leung is terrific as the sniveling, dishonest Commander Zhou. I did feel Elizabeth’s Yu as Azula may have been a miscast at first since she is one actor who does not precisely suit the original character, but she’s got that fire, no pun intended. By the end, you’ll believe in her predilection for brutality.

You may observe the lone absence here is Kiawentiio’s Katara. Of all the characters, she landed the least well for me. There’s nothing bad with her acting, but considering what a cornerstone Katara is on the show, I simply wasn’t experiencing the same degree of enthusiasm from her.

She excels in the climax fight of the series, but before that, she doesn’t appear as on target as most of her castmates. Perhaps it might evolve in future seasons (which I would argue the program merits).

The visuals are largely nice. There are several occasions when things go a little too green-screen for my comfort, sailing on boats, riding Appa. But then sometimes the VFX is excellent. Appa himself is animated well. The cityscapes are stunning. And although you will never beat the fast cartoon-bending battles from the original show, they are very stunning for being live-action.

Future Prospects: Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Continuation

Another feature working for the program is its pace. Looking back, it was completely absurd for M. Night Shyamalan to attempt to fit a full season into a single picture, but here? Eight episodes are generally roughly 50-60 minutes.

The first season of the program contained 20 episodes that were closer to 20-22 minutes apiece. If you do the arithmetic, there’s practically the same or even more time to tell the narrative that the original book 1 had, and it permits the performance to breathe.

It’s hard. I know that no matter what, this program will not fit everyone. It was almost an onerous burden to have others trying to duplicate such a brilliant series. But although this tendency has been hit or miss on Netflix especially, I would rank this a hit. My rather modest expectations have been surpassed, and I’m genuinely excited to see how they tackle the remaining two volumes of the original. Give me Toph. And after that? Sure, give me Korra. Let’s do it. It ain’t my money.

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