@thearmag3ddon here with yet another Netflix Original Series in Partnership with Nickelodeon Review that you didn’t ask for:
Kitara. Sokka. Appa. Aang. Momo too I guess. Eventually Zuko also. I’ll stop there.
Long ago Nickelodeon had one banger of a cartoon called Avatar: The Last Airbender. They had many adventures. Some small. Some great. It ended in maybe one of the greatest finales that an animated show, let alone live action TV or movies had ever seen. And then…it vanished.
But then came back as a live action movie that was overly serious as opposed to the light hearted cartoon it came from, with actors the director couldn’t even be bothered to match their ethnicity in the cartoon, and calling the main character Ong for some odd reason. Like why? And then…it vanished.
But then came back with a sequel series starring the next Avatar, Korra, which was pretty good, but sometimes not and made a lot of the original fans mad. I liked it mostly though. And then…it vanished.
But then came back as a Netflix original series that, unfortunately, is giving me a strong hint of the first movie’s overly serious tone. Which…something just feels off. Sadly, it too…will likely vanish.
Here at least they get a whole hell of a lot closer to the correct original series ethnicities so there’s that. And stand down person reading or listening to this who no doubt is grumbling because “why is that a big deal when ‘you people’ want to make James Bond or Superman black?” It’s because Avatar is one of the few franchises that features people of color in a world, literally the real world, and a fictional one, that has a cast of folks of color, so it’s noteworthy that they kind of get it right here. But that’s a whole other discussion for another time. But cry I guess. So anyway, they mostly got that part right. Mostly. Except for Katara and Sokka, which was kind of weird. There’s a bunch of discussion about that that you can find already so I won’t go into it much, but with the original characters being distinctly “coded” as more brown skinned Inuit people, using lighter skinned actors seems a deliberate choice, just as it was in the movie. And looking a bit deeper, choosing Mohawk and Cherokee actors to portray them gives me a big whiff of rubric “welp that’s close enough” vibes. I don’t know the intention nor decision making as to why that is, so I won’t go further in on that. But it is just one of many curious things that makes you go….hmmmmm.
I think the main reason why this feels so off is because mostly the characterizations of the people we’d come to grow and love almost 20 years ago now, doesn’t feel….correct. As usual I have to state that I’m not the person to get grumpy if one interpretation of one medium doesn’t align with another, simply out of hand because THAT’S NOT MY DOCTOR, but here at least in the first episode, it seems to miss the point.
Kitara is the closest to having the motivations of the original so I don’t have much to say about her, other than plot-wise, I would have rather had the reveal of her being a water bender come in the climax of the episode as they play the climax for shock value when there should be no surprise. See? I don’t care if it matches the original. I just want it to feel compelling with what we have.
With Aang, the source of his on the surface lightheartedness and free-spirit was that it was mostly a facade. A reaction to wanting to avoid this massive responsibility ahead of him. Kind of like Spider-Man in a way. Here, this Aang feels more like the Harry Potter Chosen One brand. A bit hapless and” I’m just a baby!” even if he ends up doing the same things he does in the original. And welp it’s just not as effective. Also, cartoon Aang was kind of a punk. LOL. But that’s why he’s so great. He wasn’t perfect. And I think the creators of this think our heroes need to be unblemished? Which…Sokka… .
Sokka’s is the biggest departure in this episode, and from what I’m gathering from articles I’m seeing and hearing about, he goes on to be almost completely unrecognizable motivation wise from his cartoon counterpart. I feel like Sokka is almost one of the most important characters to get right, because he serves an important function in the dynamic of the three. The only one without powers, he is actually deeply insecure because of this, and compensates by being over heroic, and cracking jokes. KIND OF LIKE ME I THINK. But as the comic relief character, we get an interesting look at the depths of what makes him tick and how he ends up growing. He is perhaps the most imperfect, therefore we get to see him be blemished and learn how to be a better young man. But here, the way he’s presented and introduced…as a matter of fact…the way they ALL are presented and introduced, doesn’t seem like there will be much room for Internal Growth. They all seem to be who they are already and that’s where they will remain. The external journey is there, but the internal one…I just don’t see it. Sokka is a big bad protector and hunter now. Fine. But what is there to explore from the depths of his internal character now. He reads as just another as you expect and are being delivered action dude.
It’s ok to give different looks and interpretations of characters. I’ve seen tons of takes on Batman or Wolverine, and Ironman that explore a character more in depth from where they began. But here, it isn’t going deeper. It’s missing the point. And in a way this live action take, which seems so serious and made for an older audience, is almost reductive in how they present to us, versus the cartoon that was actually made for children.
I actually love it when a remake nails it. I will sing the praises of Lost in Space to the end of time (even if the same writers are responsible for Madame Web. Hey they can’t all be winners. Even Shakespere had some issues.) But, If you’re going to remake something, you HAVE TO SET OUT TO DO IT BETTER. Not just different. I’m looking at you Colin Ferral’s Total Recall. But also shout out to Zak Snyder and James Gunn’s Dawn of the Dead. See? Here, kind of like in my last review for Madame Web, after the first episode it feels a little like, that’s Not Macdonnnlds. And it doesn’t bode well for the direction of the rest of the season since everything flows out from here with what has been established. And what has been established is competent of a sort but not amazing.
The ultimate irony here is that while the cartoon that aired on Nickelodeon was intended for an audience of children, it ended up being a compelling watch for adults as well because it didn’t pander, and the dilemma of the story felt epic and universal. I personally discovered the show while babysitting my niecey once and at first was dismissive, but then was like WHAT IS HAPPENING TO BA SING SAE. I noticed how it didn’t talk down to kids, it seemed to make them reach for concepts, and strangely as a result, it felt accessible to an audience of all ages. And while this Netflix version is live action and presented as a bit over serious, quite like the movie version in 2010, it seems more suited to the undemanding whatever of what perhaps an exec thinks children like, and as a result, I don’t think anyway, it won’t feel quite as accessible to that very same audience and if it does,not in the same obsessive way.
I think there’s a bit of a case study here, in that it feels like how DC approached making its movies versus how Marvel did. DC, it seemed, wanted to pretend that the roots of its world didn’t come from the absurd oddity of costumed heroes with tights and capes. It always felt like they were ashamed of that. While Marvel seemed to embrace it. Here too, Avatar: The Last Airbender is simply not fun. It wants to be epic, but it forgets that even Lord of the Rings was funny at times. And also the original Avatar series managed to be funny, but also serious when it needed to be, going back and forth, AND this back and forth often hinged on Aang’s need to run away from the seriousness of the future he knew awaited him.
See? That part matters. And yep, it’s actually that deep.
Again this is only my impression of the first episode, and I’m sure someone out there who has more time than I do and has watched the entire season can give a better impression. But when I think about another animated to live action series by Netflix, Cowboy Bebop, that show did, in my opinion, figure out the right vibe to hit…eventually. Unfortunately by the time it found that, it was too late as few stuck around to see that moment it happened.
So yep. It’s complicated but it just feels off. I’m rarely ever the person to harp on cgi, but in this case it did feel like a miss. And I think again, because the tone was trying to be so realistic and epic, that the fantasy elements felt out of place. Which, if you know this world, then that’s wild.
None of this is bad. I just can’t get with it. I’ll watch slowly. Very slowly. But I’m definitely not chomping at the bit to see what comes next. Instead, I’d much rather go watch however many hours of the original show to get the thrills I’m supposed to have here.
Who knows how Netflix decides to renew or continue shows, but I do think it will continue, come hell or highwater, even if it underwhelms. Which could be good, or could be bad. But officially, I don’t care either way.
And that kind of makes me sad.
I give Avatar: The Last Airbender 2 blue forehead arrows out of 5.
Until the next review no one asked for @thearmageddon, signing off.