Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
In a few words, what I can say is that this was a sneaky, wonderful surprise. You can hate on me all you want for liking this film, but I thought it was very good. I put it off because the critics slammed it and it didn't 'bender' the box office, but it just goes to show that sometimes, you're better off using your own judgment before forming an opinion by what you've heard. In other words, see it for your damned-self before you hate on it.
Now, this is coming from a dude who never saw one episode on Nickelodeon, but for those that don't know, this film is based off the cartoon series 'Avatar: The Last Airbender.'
As I understand it, the basic gist of the story is that the world is comprised of 4 Kingdoms: Earth Kingdom, Water Kingdom, Air and Fire Kingdoms. The 'Benders' that live in these kingdoms have the ability to 'bend' their elements accordingly. In other words, those that live in the Water Kingdom have the ability to manipulate water, or 'bend' it to their will. And so on with other elemental kingdoms. For a long time, each of these kingdoms lived in harmony with one another in peace. This is where the Avatar comes in. The Avatar was an individual who was instrumental in the maintenance of this harmony between the elements. He was also called the Avatar because he was not only able to manipulate air, but all the other elements as well. Sort of an elemental Jedi kind of dude. He is the little kid you see in the trailer with the tattoos. At one some point in history, the Avatar disappeared, and the Fire Kingdom wanted control of the lands. The Fire Kingdom spreads their empire throughout the neighboring lands, war ensues, cats and dogs live together and what was once a peaceful, harmonious world, is lost. How could anyone think that this idea wasn't cool? I wish I'd thunk it up. But I didn't. However, I can spread awareness.
The cartoon series aired from 2005-2008 in 3 seasons. Book 1 (Season 1), Book 2 (Season 2), Book 3 (You get the idea). Rumor has it they will be making the next two films and I really hope they do. The Last Airbender was Book 1 - Water.
