The Media Man Reviews: Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender

Now we're in for quite an interesting review for this post!

It's been quite some time since we've had a new piece of Avatar: The Last Airbender media, especially in the realm of animation. After The Legend of Korra concluded, we've not had any other animated shows or films from the franchise since then, though we DO have Avatar: Seven Havens coming up later this year. For now, we've got this brand new movie starring the original cast again and set sometime after the old show, but before The Legend of Korra. That film...is Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender.

Released on Paramount+ last month, this movie was originally going to have a theatrical release. Paramount decided (for some reason) to make it streaming exclusive. Cue the anger of the Avatar fanbase. It got so bad that some jerk decided to leak the movie online months before it was due to release, and when confronted about it, they acted like their actions were justified and that "Paramount deserved it". Yeah, because all the hard-working directors, writers, animators and producers who made the film as we know it today should have their hard-work undermined just because Paramount did something stupid and you think they "deserved it"... As you can imagine, I did NOT watch the movie ahead of time when it leaked. I was a good boy and waited patiently for it to release, like everybody else should've.

Oh and before you start wondering about how I feel about the Avatar franchise...put a pin in that for now. I have a review of the original series coming in a few weeks, so you'll get my full thoughts on the franchise there. For now, I'll just say I'm a fan too and have been eager to see this film.

So is this a movie that can bring balance to the four elements? Or is this movie going to bring an end to the Avatar cycle? Let's master the elements and review this film...

Section 1: The Story

Our story is all about Aang, who is feeling lost and alone in the world due to the fact the Air Nomads and his entire culture is all but gone with only him left to represent it. But after being attacked by the Deniers, Aang learns about a lost Avatar named Sonam and how she wielded a powerful staff that can grant powers to people. Seeing it as a chance to bring airbenders back to the world, Aang journeys to find the staff, but he makes an even greater discovery when he finds, of all things, another airbender...

Continuity wise, this film is set between Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. Why is this significant? Because depending on who you are, this might not mean anything to you, or it might be a dealbreaker since it pretty much means nothing in this movie really matters in the end. We know Aang will still be the last airbender until he has his kids and grandkids in the future, we know something will happen to Tagah that'll explain why he's not there by the time of Legend of Korra and we also know Team Avatar will make it out alive since Aang and Sokka die much later in life and Katara, Toph and Zuko are still alive during Legend of Korra, so there's no real tension to the situations they get in. If you're like me and can still enjoy shows like The Clone Wars, Rebels and Maul: Shadow Lord despite their endings being foregone conclusions, then this shouldn't be a problem for you. I went into this movie with the mindset I was seeing a brand new chapter of the story. So how was that chapter? Awesome! That's what!

For starters, the story feels very true to the spirit (no pun intended) and tone of the original Avatar series. It's an epic adventure story, much like the original series, that sees our heroes travelling to a new place and discovering something new while meeting new friends and dealing with dangerous villains. You can definitely tell that the original creators were involved in the creation and writing process of the movie, because it has that kind of quality writing that we know and love from the original series, the characters feel like their old selves and it's very much like what we would've gotten during the series. I could SO imagine this being broken down into episodes for a new season of the show and it wouldn't be out of place at all.

On the subject of feeling true to the original series, that mostly comes with the emotional aspects and the comedy. Avatar is practically famous for being silly and wacky at times, but knowing when to be dramatic and serious, thus the show could either make you laugh your head off or cry your eyes out, sometimes in the same episode no less. This movie is no different. There's a lot of that signature Avatar comedy that we know and love from exaggerated faces to witty dialogue to well-timed slapstick and even some popular gags like the foaming guy or the unfortunate cabbage merchant making a return here. And yet unlike some movies nowadays where they keep trying to be like the MCU and over-prioritize humour over story and characters, this movie is very restrained and doesn't overdo the comedy. It keeps true to the original series where it only used the comedy when appropriate and the jokes never overstayed their welcome. Thus in turn, the heart of the story, which is Aang's turmoil over being the last of his kind, hits as hard as it should and the more dramatic scenes are more powerful since we don't have a dumb joke to undermine them.

This in turn brings us to the emotional core of the film. It's so easy to sympathize for Aang and root for him after everything he's been through from losing his entire culture, all his friends and family and being frozen for 100 years to nearly dying at Azula's hands and having to wrestle with his morals when faced with the fact he might need to kill Ozai to stop the war. Now in this movie, he feels like a loner despite being surrounded by friends and loved ones, due to there being no more airbenders. He is all that's left of the Air Nomads and all that's left of their culture. It's a deep rooted issue for Aang that makes his actions easy to understand and helps get us engaged with his journey. I know I felt happy for him when he finally found a new airbender and it felt gutting for Aang when the airbender turned out to be man consumed by rage and hate that is unable to let go of his past. The growing bond between Aang and Tagah and the tragic-but-inevitable fallout of that bond really made for a pretty emotional watch and thus it made the story all the more engaging and gripping.

And as expected from an Avatar project, the world-building is as intriguing as ever. We get to see what the world was like 13 years after the war with the Fire Nation was brought to a close and we see there's new a huge new city called Republic City (which foreshadows The Legend of Korra) where everyone, be they benders or non-benders, can live harmoniously, we learn of a forgotten Avatar named Sonam whom ends up being a critical component in the backstory of this film, we learn Aang wasn't the only airbender encased in ice years ago, we have the Denied, a terrorist group of non-benders who feel like the inspiration for the Equalizers in The Legend of Korra and we even get to see what is essentially a graveyard for Lion Turtles. Some of this new stuff might feel like retcons, but I can buy them easily and they don't feel like blatant contradictions or clumsily included new lore in order for the story to work. On the contrary, it feels closer to The Clone Wars in where that show was able to strengthen the continuity of the movies with some of its ideas and how it handled the characters. This movie is no different with all the new lore we get feeling believable and how some of it feels like it neatly segue ways into The Legend of Korra. Hell, the movie pretty much explains one of that show's plot holes by showing how Sky Bisons are back despite Appa supposedly being the last! You'll see what I mean when you see it for yourself...

But of course, it's not Avatar without some awesome action to keep our eyes glued to the screen, and this movie delivers on that in spades! I'll go into further detail during the animation segment, but I'm not kidding when I say this movie has the most incredible action scenes in the entire franchise, and possibly some of the best action scenes ever animated! They really go crazy with how epic they can make those scenes look and it makes for one hell of a viewing experience.

So yeah, this movie is great and another worthy addition to the Avatar franchise. It's easily a much better Avatar movie than that joke M. Night Shyamalan calls a movie, that's for sure! XD But is there anything to criticize about it? Sadly so, but no movie is perfect after all.

The big one for me is that the running time 1 hour and 40 minutes, means the story does feel a little hurried in places. I wouldn't say it felt rushed, but it does mean that some characters like Sokka, Toph and Zuko don't feel as important plot wise and the Denied especially feel utterly wasted. No joke, you could cut the Denied out of the story and NOTHING would change! I just don't understand why they needed to exist when this story works just fine without them.

Another big one for me is that Tagah literally KILLS Team Avatar...for all of two minutes and then after Aang meets with Sonam in the spirit world, it turns out they're all alive because they conveniently ended up in spiritually powered water that Katara is able to use to heal them all. Granted, they were in the resting place of Lion Turtles and the spiritually powered water makes sense, but it still felt a little too convenient for my liking and it diminishes the shock of the fact Team Avatar outright DIED since it was over with so quick. My guess is the scene is meant to shock the audience with the fact Tagah is powerful enough to do that rather than the fact Team Avatar die, but in order for it to land harder, they should've been dead for a few more minutes and we should've seen Katara get revived, not it happening offscreen and she explains and shows us via flashback.

Also, was it just me, or did that scene with Team Avatar going through the spirit world and some of them getting older while others got younger and they get help from the Gorillavark to be a bit of a Big Lipped Alligator Moment? It was the weirdest scene in the film for me, and maybe that was the point, but it didn't feel weird in a way that made sense for an Avatar movie. It just felt...weird and out-of-place.

All that aside, there's nothing seriously wrong with the movie for me and I feel its good points far outweigh the bad. This is a film that is more than worthy of the Avatar's legacy I say...

Section 2: The Characters

The highlight of the film for myself and many others I imagine was getting to see these iconic characters on another epic adventure, and it's so good to see them all again.

The star of the show here is of course, Aang (voiced by Eric Nam). I went over Aang's ordeal back in the story section, so I won't repeat myself too much. What I will say is that he's still as lovable as ever and that while he may be more mature now, he still has that idealistic side to his character that wants to see the best in people and he's still not afraid to have a little fun sometimes, even if he's better at remaining focused on the mission. It's easy to sympathize over him with what we know about the guy and it was genuinely touching seeing him and Tagah bond together...which only made it all the more tragic when his true colours were revealed. And yet despite everything, Aang still proves he won't be corrupted by anger, hate or the pain he feels from everything he's lost. It's no wonder this guy is the Avatar.

And now we have our main antagonist and kind-of secondary main character, Tagah (voiced by Dave Bautista). The best way to describe this guy is that he's a perfect mirror image of Aang. He loves his culture, he wants to do good for the world and bring back the Air Nomads so that the world may be whole again with airbenders back as a part of it. But where Aang learned to move on from his past and was motivated by the tragedy he's been dealt with to be a good person and save the world, Tagah is consumed by his past and has allowed the pain of what he's lost to drive him forward to achieving his goals, which aren't as noble. I loved the scenes with him and Aang bonding together as it really showed what a noble guy he can be, but once his true colours were revealed, he became a pretty scary villain who is ruthless to the core and so powerful that even Zaheer from The Legend of Korra looks like an amateur by comparison! I did mention he literally killed Team Avatar briefly, didn't I? Tagah was the complete package for me: a wonderfully complex character who was a strong villain with a sympathetic backstory which, while it doesn't excuse his actions, it does explain them and makes it easy to understand why he's driven to do what he does.

Of course, where there's Aang, there's the rest of Team Avatar with Katara (voiced by Jessica Matten), Toph (voiced by Dionne Quan), Sokka (voiced by Román Zaragoza) and Zuko (voiced by Steven Yuen). While Aang and Tagah are the primary focus and get the lion's share of the story, the rest of Team Avatar do feel a bit like afterthoughts. Katara does have a bigger role to play than the others due to being Aang's girlfriend and she's also the heart of the team, so she gets some lovely scenes with Aang and a wonderfully tense moment with Tagah that forces him to reveal his true colours. Toph, Sokka and Zuko by comparison feel like glorified extras for they have no real stake in the plot and no real emotional connection to Aang's goal. But they thankfully get their time to shine when battling in the climax and even during the storm scene, they get to show off their skills and what they're capable of. Even Sokka manages to get a shining moment when he gets to show off a new invention that was cleverly foreshadowed earlier in the movie. So while these characters aren't as important to the story as Aang and Tagah are, you'll still be satisfied with how they were handled given they got to kick some ass and show their awesome bending abilities. Plus they all feel like their old selves, so that's a plus.

Aside from this lot? There's not much else to talk about in regards to the cast. As mentioned earlier, we have a second group of villains known as "The Denied", which to me feel like the first stepping stone towards The Equalizers from The Legend of Korra. Unlike The Equalizers however, the Denied were pointless villains. They're set up as if they're the primary antagonists our heroes have to face at the beginning of the movie, but once Tagah enters the picture, they have no further purpose in the story and essentially become mooks for Tagah to empower and fight Team Avatar with. The only member of the Denied who has any semblance of character to them is Kallik (voiced by Geraldine Viswanathan) due to her growing a conscience after Aang saves her life. It's an interesting arc...but it has no business being in THIS story. The Denied were just nothing characters and should've been dropped entirely.

We also get Sonam (voiced by Freida Pinto), a forgotten Avatar who is a key component in Tagah's backstory, and the plot of this film since she invented the staff that empowers others. That's kind of all she is really, just background detail to explain why this plot is happening at all and how Tagah turned out the way he did. Nothing more to say here.

Before I finish off, I also want to add that the voice-acting is genuinely excellent, ESPECIALLY from the actors for Team Avatar. The actors actually convincingly sound like Team Avatar, but older, and they match the mannerisms and delivery of the original voice actors to a tee. Jessica, Dionne and Román deserve the most praise for me as they really sound spot-on to what an older Katara, Toph and Sokka would sound like. Dave Bautista also deserves a lot of praise too for he's pretty intimidating as Tagah, and he also captures the man's broken side perfectly. It's so refreshing to see the guy being given actual material to work with after Drax the Destroyer stopped being a character after the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie and just became an annoying joke.

Aang and Tagah carry the movie while the rest of Team Avatar, while not as important, still get their time to shine. It's a pity the Denied were so wasted as the cast could've been even stronger if they weren't. Still, we came for Aang and his buddies and I was satisfied with how they were handled here...

Section 3: The Animation

If anyone deserves the most praise of the crew who worked on this film, it's unquestionably the animators. I might even go so far was to say this might be the most incredible animation I've ever seen in my life, and that's saying a lot considering we have the works of Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks and many more to compare to!

I barely even know where to begin! OK, let's try the art-style, that'll be a good place to start. The art-style of the movie is very close to the original Avatar art-style, yet is noticeably different in some way. It's a bit hard to put my finger on it, but I'd probably say the art-style is more detailed compared to the animated series. Then again, this is animation for a movie and movies always have a bigger budget than a TV series does, so that will allow for a more detailed art-style. The character designs are one such example. You see more detail in their eyes, maybe a few more wrinkles in their skin in places and you definitely see more details in their clothes. The backgrounds themselves are equally as lush with detail from Republic City to the Lion Turtle's resting place and much more. This is a movie where it feels like every frame was carefully drawn and painted, and it's pretty impressive to see, as well as incredibly refreshing since we have FAR too many CGI movies these days. It's about time we had more hand-drawn animation again...if only Paramount put it in theatres. But that's another story. The animation also looks very colourful, which makes it even prettier to look at. The colour palette here really is gorgeous with the prettiest and most colourful scenes being the scenes in Republic City, the Lion Turtle's resting place and the climax when Tagah's trying to bring his old temple through to the real world.

The revised art-style also paves the way for great character designs. Every character looks great here from Team Avatar to Tagah and more. While Appa and Momo look the same as ever, only more detailed now they're in animation with a bigger budget, Team Avatar have new designs to fit their age lift since these aren't children anymore, they're adults in their early-to-mid 20's given 13 years have passed. They look believable as older versions of these iconic characters, especially as they still have some of their trademark design features from Aang's arrow tattoos to Karata's hair-loopies to Toph's large bun and Zuko's scar, but it's easy to tell they're older now. I love the design of Tagah too as his large, muscular frame makes him look suitably powerful and imposing and his tattoos that are incredibly different to Aang's emphasizes the fact he's from a much older time of the Air Nomads. I'd also say Tagah looking bigger and stronger further strengthens my point on him and Aang being mirror reflections of each other. You have Aang who is lean and isn't physically imposing, while Tagah has a much bigger muscle structure and looks very powerful.

The character animation is equally as top-notch too. Everyone's personalities are perfectly captured through the animators with some exaggerated faces during the comedic scenes, strong facial expressions during the more emotional moments and a lot of the character's idiosyncrasies being displayed through body language. I especially love how Team Avatar and a lot of background characters will get the more exaggerated and silly faces whenever there's a comedic moment, yet Tagah and the Denied never get anything like that to show how they're more serious villains and don't play around. While we're talking about movement, it is noticeable that this film doesn't have a super smooth framerate, but I feel it was still good enough to make the character animation look great. At least the framerate isn't as low as it is in the Spider-Verse films or K-Pop Demon Hunters where those films end up looking like a video-game being run on a system too powerful for it to handle. Here, the framerate never looks choppy and during the action scenes, it does get noticeably smoother.

Speaking of the action scenes, those are the absolute visual highlights of this film. I'm still in utter awe that the animators pulled this off! Seriously, you have to see the action scenes for yourself, words can't do them justice! They're incredibly fast-paced, they're full of creative choreography and use of bending, they impact feel like they really hurt and pack weight, the animation gets really fluid during these battles, they get bigger and crazier as the film goes on, it's just an absolute visual spectacle! Imagine how awesome it would've been to see this incredible animation on the big screen? The standouts for me in terms of the action scenes include the chase through the storm and the climax. I loved how the chase scene got creative with Team Avatar having to fight to keep Zuko's airship flying while Aang and Tagah clear a path for them and the climax was the best show of everyone's skills and abilities with everyone getting their time to shine, bender or not.

This really is some of the best animation ever created, and it yet again has me scoffing at those that think AI is the way of the future. AI couldn't produce visually gorgeous animation like this! When Avatar is given a movie-sized budget to work with, they really put that money to good use...

Overall

THIS FILM WAS INCREDIBLE!!!

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender is the best thing to come out of the franchise since the original series. The story is engaging, it's very true to the original series, the comedy is effective, the emotional core is even more so, the characters feel like their old selves in the best way, Tagah was an awesome villain and the animation is utterly peak! If you're a fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, then you NEED to see this film! You're in for a real treat! It's a pity Paramount just unceremoniously dumped it on their streaming service instead of putting it in cinemas, but I'm just grateful I got to see it at all, and I didn't need some asshole leaker on the internet to do so...

So that's it for my review of Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender. I hope you enjoyed it and I invite you all to share your thoughts down below. Did you enjoy the movie as well? Did you not enjoy it? Do let me know.

Next week, I'll be going back to Pokémon as I talk about Ash vs. Cameron!

...

Oh f**k me!

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