On Feb. 22, a live-action adaptation based on the hit animated series, “Avatar: The Last Airbender” released on Netflix. The new eight-episode series was highly anticipated by long-time fans of the original series, while still drawing in a new wave of fans to its epic fantasy world.
“Avatar: The Last Airbender,” takes place in a world of people who can control — or bend — different elements (fire, water, earth and air) and live in respective elemental nations. However, the fire nation declared war on the other nations, wiping out the airbenders and laying siege on the earth kingdom and water tribes. However, one airbender survived the attacks — Aang, played by Gordon Cormier. Aang is the avatar, a master of all four elements and is destined to save the world.
Aang is accompanied in his adventures by a young waterbender, Katara (Kiawentiio Tarbell) and her brother Sokka (Ian Ousley). Together, they journey across the world to save the northern water tribe from an impending fire nation attack, as well as to find a waterbending master for Aang to begin his vital training in mastering the four elements — all while trying to avoid numerous fire nation agents. Prince Zuko — a prince banished from home by his father, Fire Lord Ozai, until he can successfully capture the avatar – is the main threat to Aang and his friends.
The new live-action adaptation certainly captures many of the beloved elements of the original series, such as many of its casting choices. One of the truly note-worthy performances came from Dallas James Liu, who plays Prince Zuko. His performance, as well as Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s, who plays Uncle Iroh, are truly spectacular and felt accurate to the original characters. This was especially prominent in a flashback scene where Zuko offers his condolences to Iroh at the funeral of his son, Lu Ten. The scene was one filled with raw emotion and provides a strong contextual layer to the bond forged between Zuko and his uncle that continues to develop throughout the series.
Another noteworthy performance comes from Yvonne Chapman, who portrays Avatar Kyoshi. Chapman does a fantastic job at portraying her character, especially in a scene when she takes over Aang’s body to help him in protecting Kyoshi Island, driving an intense level of intimidation and fear into both those on screen and for viewers. Her role in this scene was one of the main highlights of the second episode.
Many of the series’ special effects were truly breathtaking. I sincerely enjoyed seeing what the new adaptation had in store for the variety of creatures featured in the show. Aang’s loveable flying bison, Appa, stole the show in numerous incredible scenes that effectively captured the original show’s epic nature. Many of the elemental bending scenes were also well-executed, and made many of the fight scenes feel immersive and epic, though some of the slow-motion action scenes felt a little overused at times.
There are also many hidden details that long-time fans of the show are sure to pick up on and enjoy, my favorite being the inclusion of the cabbage merchant. However, with this being an adaptation, this new version has certainly taken its own spin on the original series. Many episodes and storylines were combined into each episode, which made certain parts of the show feel a bit rushed or exposition-heavy, which can be somewhat expected in only an eight-episode adaptation.
The adaptation also features the addition of numerous scenes that were not featured in the original show, such as the fire nation wiping out the airbenders. This scene was incredibly powerful and terrifying at points, and gave context to many main aspects and motivations of the story. In addition to numerous other scenes — such as the opening moments of the first episode which also explicitly featured the fire nation’s immense brutality — these scenes highlight the fact that this show takes on a more mature adaptation of the original story. There were also heavy references to the second season of the original series, such as with the addition of Azula (Elizabeth Yu), Zuko’s sister, who had a more prominent role in the adaption’s season one storyline compared to the original show.
Overall, the new “Avatar: The Last Airbender” adaptation was a fairly good representation of the original animated series, while still taking on the story in its own way. It features numerous amazing performances, effects and action-packed scenes that revive the original show’s epic tone. Although it isn’t perfect, it does a wonderful job at capturing many of the important aspects of the story and creates a world that allows for long-time and new fans alike to take on the adventure.
Rating: 4.2/5