Airbending? More Like Nerve-Wrecking

It's official: M Night Shaymalan is destroying children's and fans' dreams of watching their favourite TV series become a reality on the movie screen. Thank goodness that James Cameron stole the title rights to Avatar, or else that name would stick as a permanent flop. Effective CGIs and graphics sometimes aren't enough to cover a storyline so full of holes; you'd think the whole plot was cheese(y).

So what exactly makes The Last Airbender so nerve wrecking?

1. It is almost impossible to cram 20 episodes of Season 1 to make a 90 minute movie. So much of the essence and quality that made the original TV series so enjoyable to watch is suddenly lost.

2. The most obvious failure of The Last Airbender is the lack of humour found not just in the movie, but what define the characters. As a child, Aang is lively, a bit childish and just wants to have fun, which doesn't happen. Not even one smile from movie Aang. And we all know Sokka with his sense of dry wits. Ok, so we see a little of that in film, but Sokka is supposed to be over-the-top with his 'The earth is doomed!' attitude.

3. Katara dear, it's nice that you're giving us the introduction to the movie just like you do at the beginning of every episode. But you don't have to tell us what's happened or going on every 20 minutes. That's the main point of any form of entertainment: show, don't tell.

4. There's a reason why Fire Lord Ozai's face is kept hidden until Season 3. Just like Darth Vader, we want to get that impending presence of a partially-known villain who reigns havoc on the screen. (Ironic, since the voice of Ozai is Mark Hamill a.k.a Luke Skywalker) Plus, the film version of Ozai is far less from looking authorative and demonic.

5. Why are all the Firebenders freaking out when Iroh is able to manifest his own fire? That's supposed to happen in the series! And why is Firebending reduced so degradingly to the fact that you need an external source of flames? It's called harnessing the power of the sun, morons.

6. To heat things up a bit, there should have been a duel between two masters of the same element. And there were two important duels of the sort in Season 1. Zuko fought against Zhao in an Agni Kai because the latter insulted the former about being a disgrace to his father. Katara duelled Master Pakku to prove she could fight as equally as the men in the North Pole (you see, there is a point of degrading feminism). Besides, such scenes could have added an extra 10 minutes or more.

7. Shortage of time also means lack of expansion for the characters. Iroh was more fun to watch in the series (he was always the Mr. Miyagi type!). And Zuko isn't as hot-tempered and arrogant as I remembered him in the series. At least his portrayal of a tortured soul looking for redemption is something you can see in Dev Patel (who did the same with Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire).

Having said that, I need to re-watch the entire first season to clear my mind of what was tarnished in an epic masterpiece. Damn you, Shaymalan.