Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Writers: Tim Hedrick
Stars: Eric Nam, Dave Bautista, Jessica Matten
Synopsis: Avatar Aang, the world’s last Airbender, learns of an ancient power that could save his culture from extinction. With the help of his friends, he embarks on a global quest to find it before it falls into the wrong hands.
Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender took the world by storm in 2005 and has been revered ever since as one the best animated shows of our time. Rooted in martial arts fantasy, Asian culture, and a captivating lore at its center, The Last Airbender provided us with four remarkable seasons exploring a young Airbender taking the mantle as the Avatar and mastering all four elements in his quest to end the war and bring peace to the world. All while navigating Aang’s emotional baggage of running away from home because the pressure of being the Avatar at such a young age was too much for him. It’s easy to see why a whole generation fell in love with the show (myself included).
The brand has become so popular that Nickelodeon formed Avatar Studios back in 2001 to oversee the franchise and its new projects. Born out of that was its first feature in Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender. Set some odd years after the Hundred Year War, Aang (Eric Nam) is now an adult Avatar as the Four Nations live in harmony, realizing his dream when the war came to an end. There is one thing, however, that runs deep and has always been the main thing for Aang; he is the last Airbender. During he show’s initial run, he was forced to grapple with his decision to run away, which, in part, is the reason the Air Nomads were destroyed. Now, as an adult, he is feeling even more pressure to keep his culture alive.
In the early scenes of the film, we catch up with Aang as he finds himself back at the air temples, reminiscing on his people, the history of the place and the memories that define his childhood there. His partner, the Waterbender Katara (Jessica Matten), warns him that he is neglecting his duties as the Avatar in Republic City, but Aang realizes what’s at stake if he were to die as the last Airbender. So, naturally, during a visit to the air temples he is attacked by a non-bending group known as “The Denied,” who are searching for something in the temple ruins. They might not have bending powers, but they are formidable warriors and come close to taking down the Avatar.
Once Aang realizes where The Denied are headed, he assembles his group of Avengers, if you will, to hunt them down and stop them before they start another war. Joining Aang on his mission is the aforementioned Katar, her quirky but lovable brother Sokka (Román Zaragoza), the cheeky Earthbender Toph (Dionne Quan) and the once villain but now good friend to Aang, Fire Lord Zuko (Steven Yeun). After 20 years since we last saw them together like this, the nerd in me did geek out a little bit as they began their journey to the mountains. There they find something very unexpected, a person bound in a magical sphere similar to how we found Aang in the original series. It’s another Airbender by the name of Tagah (Dave Bautista), who was trapped in the mountain for thousands of years.
We soon realize that Tagah is a powerful Airbender who was once the signature sidekick to the Avatar Sonam, who has seemingly become lost to time. Aang can’t even find her in the Spirit World, a dimension that Avatars can use to speak to past Avatars. Tagah is able to help fill in the gaps for Aang while also teaching him new things about airbending that even he wasn’t aware of previously. It’s in this where the film’s irony and paradox becomes vital; Aang is no longer the last surviving Airbender. This forces him to ponder even harder about the future of his people/culture. An idea that even more complex once Aang learns of a staff that Sonam hid from the world because it became too dangerous. This staff is what gave Tagah is bending powers. With it, Tagah and Aang could resurrect the Air Nomads and bring their culture back in a real way.
Of course, it’s never that simple. After the group make it through a harrowing storm, while being chased by The Denied, they find an island where the staff may reside. The group also unearth Tagah’s real motives, which are rooted in a deep pain and trauma, that fostered an uncontrollable anger in him.
This central conflict creates quite the emotional teetering for Aang. The only other airbender he ever knew is now someone he has to stop before another war breaks out. His existential crisis is heightened to new degrees that put him at a crossroads. But as the Avatar, he has to do what’s right by the people, regardless of the cost to him personally.
Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender is going to be a struggle for those who never watched the original series. Tim Hendrick and Christopher Yost’s script offers very little in terms of context and character development. Avatar: The Last Airbender does most of the heavy lifting emotionally and psychological. But that’s not a bad thing. This is a movie for the fans. It expects you to have seen, and loved, the original series. It is gorgeously rendered in its animation. Originally slated for theaters, Paramount pulled the plug after the entire film was leaked online, forcing the studio to drop in Paramount+ instead. While understandable, the animation and sound design soars and would have been quite the treat on the big screen.
Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender might not have broad appeal, but Aang’s existentialism is still resonate despite packing a lot of story into a compressed timespan. There’s a more mature tone here that also gives the film a different edge. Aang’s survivor’s guilt is amplified in a new way that we hadn’t seen before and that alone makes the experience worth it. The stunning visuals are a great compliment, though. And that’s the big difference between this and something like Moana 2 (for example). Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender was made for the big screen. That is very clear in the craft and how the film is made. Could it have worked better as an 8-episode mini series? Probably. Most likely. But still, it’s a good time at the movies. Or, in this case, on Paramount+.
