Well here we are again folks...another film adaptation of the beloved ATLA franchise that no one wanted or needed. I was suspicious why anyone would attempt such a thing again, especially after the disaster that was the 2010 film. However I tried to remain cautiously optimistic that this new show would be good, especially after the success of One Piece.
Unfortunately, I was sorely mistaken. Like many of the older viewers, I watched ATLA when it first aired as a young adult. I loved ATLA then and still love it now. In fact, I consider it one of my favorite TV shows of all time. I wasn't a fan of Korra, but hey to each their own.
However after watching the entire first season of this new show, I can say with confidence that it is a stinking pile of hot garbage and an insult to fans of the original series. While there were a handful of good moments in the show, the vast majority of it was so effed up that I spent most of the time laughing and shaking my head in disbelief. This show missed the heart of the original by a mile and instead infused it with a hefty dose of modern politics which is unforgivable.
Let's start with the biggest problem of this show - the dialogue. As many other reviewers have stated this series completely lacks the pacing and complexity of the original show. Instead of a well crafted story that slowly unfolds, in this series the characters try to tell the entire story with words instead of actions. Gone is the mystery, well crafted story arcs and character development that made the original show so compelling and drew you into the world it created.
With very few exceptions nearly all of the characters speak without any sincerity or passion and are completely at odds with their counterparts from the original series. This show was so poorly written that I was able to guess lines before they were spoken which left me bored and waiting for each episode to end. Most of the dialogue was so flat and one dimensional that it didn't deliver even a fraction of the powerful storytelling that made the original such a beloved classic.
That brings me to problem #2 - Member Berries Overload. This show has so many references to the original series that it seriously made me want to vomit since it is shoved down the viewers throats over and over again. In some cases we were given poorly repeated lines word for word from the original show (aka Gran Gran), as well as exactly replicated scenes that were unnecessary. Hey kids, remember the flying ice disk from Katara that almost hit Master Paku? And hey looky there, it's a picture of Flopsy! Dontcha remember Flopsy? Weeee!
Problem #3 - Overweight characters and weak martial arts. Now maybe this film was shot in some wide angle format that made the characters look wider, but what gives with how out of shape the vast majority of the cast is? I know the original was a cartoon, but with the exception of Iroh the characters in that show were lean, toned and extremely athletic. But that's not the case in this adaptation.
It shouldn't have been too difficult to find actors who were in good shape with visible muscle tone...but most of this cast looks like they have 10-20 lbs of post virus weight to lose. Even the guy playing Zuko looks a bit chunky and doesn't have a super toned physique. Mai and Ty Lee are both short and plump with chubby faces...seriously what is the deal here? We also don't see them do anything but stand around and talk. The few exceptions are the guy playing Sokka who looks great, as well as Daniel Dae Kim as Ozai who also looks very fit and athletic.
That brings me to another related point which is the poor quality of the fighting and martial arts. The original show had each element based on a specific martial art and they had the animators actually study the arts they were drawing. This attention to detail combined with the power of bending made ATLA really come alive.
But in this adaptation, most of the characters are simply waving their arms around and that attention to detail of their movements resembling specific martial art techniques is inconsistent at best. Most of the bending looks like dancing instead of fighting and is augmented through CGI, green screens, odd camera angles and an overuse of slow motion. It quite simply looks horrible and the vast majority of the actors simply aren't up to the task of making the fighting scenes convincing.
Which begs a serious question...why did they pick so many actors with poor physical conditioning and lack of martial arts ability? Funny thing, after watching the show I learned that the actor who plays Sokka is actually a skilled martial artist in real life. But instead of showcasing his ability he's outshined by the women at just about every turn and whines about his lack of skill as a warrior? No words.
The most egregious example is their casting choice for General Iroh. Paul Sun-Hyung Lee was great in Kim's Convenience, however no pun intended, he's way out of his element here. Paul is completely miscast and I would've loved to have seen an older and seasoned martial artist such as Sammo Hung or Jackie Chan take on the role. Instead of a thoughtful, wise and powerful old man badass like the original, in this series Iroh barely does any bending and spends most of his time talking about his feelings. To make matters worse, he even gets beat up several times which was cringe worthy to say the least.
The CGI on the bending is also a mixed bag. While the fire and earth bending looks great (air bending is also decent), the water bending is just missing something and looks weak and ineffective. Not sure what they were going for here, but in my opinion the water bending just plain sucks.
Problem #4 - Super Boss Girl Power and Introducing Katara - The Last Waterbender If the above examples weren't bad enough, the writers also turned our favorite headstrong and lovable Katara into a soulless girl boss. Her dialogue is some of the worst in the show, and she has such a bad case of power creep she could give Rey Palpatine lessons. In just a matter of weeks with just an old scroll and some pep talk from Jet she becomes a water bending master? Seriously?
And don't get me started on the scene where she gets all of the women from the Northern Water Tribe to join in the fight against the Fire Nation. Funny that we don't see any of them lying dead after the fight, do we? Katara also heroically saves the day in several scenes, including one that was done by Aang in the original series when she's just barely able to water bend. This version of Katara steals the show from Aang at every opportunity and is about as interesting as a plank of wood.
The same goes for Princess Azula. Instead of a lean and mean ass kicking machine, she's another cherub faced overweight kid who looks miscast and can't be taken seriously. In this version Azula is a spoiled whiner with Daddy issues and her character is completely unconvincing. The actress that plays her needed to spend a little more time in the gym/dojo and looks about as lethal as a girl scout.
The female characters in the original had depth and purpose and their character development along with their male counterparts is what made the animated series so good. But they've taken that all away in this version by powering up the women and weakening the men to make the ladies look better. I don't know how many more franchises will need to flop before more writers and producers realize this is a great way to alienate a large segment of your audience.
Speaking of which...let's talk a little about our boy Aang.
Problem #5 - Aang Sucks Aang is next to useless in this show. We never see him practicing or training and he only sticks with his air bending unless he's in the avatar state. Aang doesn't even try to learn water bending because God forbid he's shown as a natural and upstages Katara like the original show. Instead, Aang spends most of the time talking about how useless he feels and only does any serious bending in the finale. I did enjoy the scenes with Monk Gyatso, but beyond that I found the actor that played Aang annoying and missing the mark by a mile. And don't get me started on how they sidelined Appa and Momo...they're pretty much just props in this show.
To sum up, this show may look like the ATLA we know and love, but the heart and soul of the original show has been lost and replaced with nothing of substance. Only a handful of times did I feel drawn into the story but it just wasn't enough to hold my interest for more than a minute or two.
There's more I could rant about, but I think I've covered my major gripes. I can't see how anyone could call this show good with a straight face and shame on the writers and producers for making yet another terrible film adaptation of one of the best TV shows of all time.
Unfortunately, I was sorely mistaken. Like many of the older viewers, I watched ATLA when it first aired as a young adult. I loved ATLA then and still love it now. In fact, I consider it one of my favorite TV shows of all time. I wasn't a fan of Korra, but hey to each their own.
However after watching the entire first season of this new show, I can say with confidence that it is a stinking pile of hot garbage and an insult to fans of the original series. While there were a handful of good moments in the show, the vast majority of it was so effed up that I spent most of the time laughing and shaking my head in disbelief. This show missed the heart of the original by a mile and instead infused it with a hefty dose of modern politics which is unforgivable.
Let's start with the biggest problem of this show - the dialogue. As many other reviewers have stated this series completely lacks the pacing and complexity of the original show. Instead of a well crafted story that slowly unfolds, in this series the characters try to tell the entire story with words instead of actions. Gone is the mystery, well crafted story arcs and character development that made the original show so compelling and drew you into the world it created.
With very few exceptions nearly all of the characters speak without any sincerity or passion and are completely at odds with their counterparts from the original series. This show was so poorly written that I was able to guess lines before they were spoken which left me bored and waiting for each episode to end. Most of the dialogue was so flat and one dimensional that it didn't deliver even a fraction of the powerful storytelling that made the original such a beloved classic.
That brings me to problem #2 - Member Berries Overload. This show has so many references to the original series that it seriously made me want to vomit since it is shoved down the viewers throats over and over again. In some cases we were given poorly repeated lines word for word from the original show (aka Gran Gran), as well as exactly replicated scenes that were unnecessary. Hey kids, remember the flying ice disk from Katara that almost hit Master Paku? And hey looky there, it's a picture of Flopsy! Dontcha remember Flopsy? Weeee!
Problem #3 - Overweight characters and weak martial arts. Now maybe this film was shot in some wide angle format that made the characters look wider, but what gives with how out of shape the vast majority of the cast is? I know the original was a cartoon, but with the exception of Iroh the characters in that show were lean, toned and extremely athletic. But that's not the case in this adaptation.
It shouldn't have been too difficult to find actors who were in good shape with visible muscle tone...but most of this cast looks like they have 10-20 lbs of post virus weight to lose. Even the guy playing Zuko looks a bit chunky and doesn't have a super toned physique. Mai and Ty Lee are both short and plump with chubby faces...seriously what is the deal here? We also don't see them do anything but stand around and talk. The few exceptions are the guy playing Sokka who looks great, as well as Daniel Dae Kim as Ozai who also looks very fit and athletic.
That brings me to another related point which is the poor quality of the fighting and martial arts. The original show had each element based on a specific martial art and they had the animators actually study the arts they were drawing. This attention to detail combined with the power of bending made ATLA really come alive.
But in this adaptation, most of the characters are simply waving their arms around and that attention to detail of their movements resembling specific martial art techniques is inconsistent at best. Most of the bending looks like dancing instead of fighting and is augmented through CGI, green screens, odd camera angles and an overuse of slow motion. It quite simply looks horrible and the vast majority of the actors simply aren't up to the task of making the fighting scenes convincing.
Which begs a serious question...why did they pick so many actors with poor physical conditioning and lack of martial arts ability? Funny thing, after watching the show I learned that the actor who plays Sokka is actually a skilled martial artist in real life. But instead of showcasing his ability he's outshined by the women at just about every turn and whines about his lack of skill as a warrior? No words.
The most egregious example is their casting choice for General Iroh. Paul Sun-Hyung Lee was great in Kim's Convenience, however no pun intended, he's way out of his element here. Paul is completely miscast and I would've loved to have seen an older and seasoned martial artist such as Sammo Hung or Jackie Chan take on the role. Instead of a thoughtful, wise and powerful old man badass like the original, in this series Iroh barely does any bending and spends most of his time talking about his feelings. To make matters worse, he even gets beat up several times which was cringe worthy to say the least.
The CGI on the bending is also a mixed bag. While the fire and earth bending looks great (air bending is also decent), the water bending is just missing something and looks weak and ineffective. Not sure what they were going for here, but in my opinion the water bending just plain sucks.
Problem #4 - Super Boss Girl Power and Introducing Katara - The Last Waterbender If the above examples weren't bad enough, the writers also turned our favorite headstrong and lovable Katara into a soulless girl boss. Her dialogue is some of the worst in the show, and she has such a bad case of power creep she could give Rey Palpatine lessons. In just a matter of weeks with just an old scroll and some pep talk from Jet she becomes a water bending master? Seriously?
And don't get me started on the scene where she gets all of the women from the Northern Water Tribe to join in the fight against the Fire Nation. Funny that we don't see any of them lying dead after the fight, do we? Katara also heroically saves the day in several scenes, including one that was done by Aang in the original series when she's just barely able to water bend. This version of Katara steals the show from Aang at every opportunity and is about as interesting as a plank of wood.
The same goes for Princess Azula. Instead of a lean and mean ass kicking machine, she's another cherub faced overweight kid who looks miscast and can't be taken seriously. In this version Azula is a spoiled whiner with Daddy issues and her character is completely unconvincing. The actress that plays her needed to spend a little more time in the gym/dojo and looks about as lethal as a girl scout.
The female characters in the original had depth and purpose and their character development along with their male counterparts is what made the animated series so good. But they've taken that all away in this version by powering up the women and weakening the men to make the ladies look better. I don't know how many more franchises will need to flop before more writers and producers realize this is a great way to alienate a large segment of your audience.
Speaking of which...let's talk a little about our boy Aang.
Problem #5 - Aang Sucks Aang is next to useless in this show. We never see him practicing or training and he only sticks with his air bending unless he's in the avatar state. Aang doesn't even try to learn water bending because God forbid he's shown as a natural and upstages Katara like the original show. Instead, Aang spends most of the time talking about how useless he feels and only does any serious bending in the finale. I did enjoy the scenes with Monk Gyatso, but beyond that I found the actor that played Aang annoying and missing the mark by a mile. And don't get me started on how they sidelined Appa and Momo...they're pretty much just props in this show.
To sum up, this show may look like the ATLA we know and love, but the heart and soul of the original show has been lost and replaced with nothing of substance. Only a handful of times did I feel drawn into the story but it just wasn't enough to hold my interest for more than a minute or two.
There's more I could rant about, but I think I've covered my major gripes. I can't see how anyone could call this show good with a straight face and shame on the writers and producers for making yet another terrible film adaptation of one of the best TV shows of all time.
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