Avatar: The Last Airbender

⭐⭐

I had high hopes for this show. It was an opportunity to expand on the original narrative, giving characters the depth and complexity you'd expect from a fantasy epic. Yet, to my disappointment they've managed the opposite.

What was once a critically acclaimed animated show has now been soullessly remade into an experience that feels painfully shallow, devoid of any imagination. The Worldbuilding is almost non-existent, it all feels so artificial. Especially the costumes, they look like something you'd buy off Amazon for Halloween. It's a bit like watching one of the live-action Disney remakes but in all the worst ways.

The exposition-focused writing rushes us through the overall narrative giving us little time to immerse ourselves in the story or even care about the characters on screen. The writers often reuse dialogue word for word from the original. While reusing dialogue isn't inherently bad. (This is a remake after all.) They fail to consider that they're adapting to a completely new medium. Lines delivered by energetic animated characters won't automatically translate well to live action. Lacking the animation's larger-than-life characters & slapstick humour, The fun the show once had is lost.

It's a shame as the casting is spot on. Gordon Cormier plays Aang brilliantly and looks the part too, as does the rest of the group. However, casting alone isn't enough to justify watching. Seasons 2 & 3 have already been confirmed so perhaps the show will improve with time, but so far I'm not impressed. I've watched as far as episode 3 with no interest in going any further. It's lazily made, neglecting the depth & personality it deserves, the result is a show that's big on spectacle but has very little substance.