Knock, knock. Who's there? It's the possible end of M. Night Shyamalan's career. The Last Airbender is a fantasy epic based on a popular show on Nickelodeon. Apparently, a brother and sister discover a boy named Aang encased in a ball of ice. Once they free him, the siblings discover that he is the Avatar, the master of the elements water, air, fire, and earth. Due to his virtuoso in bending these elements, the evil fire nation wants to capture him and use his powers for evil. It sounds like a fabulous premise. However, it can be easily botched, and unfortunately that is the case with this film. The movie thinks its audience is slow-witted because it spells out every scene visually, and then drives the point of the scene home by using excruciatingly obvious dialogue. All of the actors deliver this laughable dialogue with no grace, emotion, or intensity. The movie's predictability seems to be present due to its impulse to deliver a poorly shot action sequence every ten minutes. These action sequences feature dull camera-work and the overuse of visual effects. The script additionally fails to establish its characters; with the exception of Aang, you have no clue about who the other characters are and as a result, you don't really care. An incoherent plot, lifeless performances, predictable script, and absent tone result in the top contender for worst film of 2010 and the end of this once-promising director's career.
Review of The Last Airbender
