The Last Airbender: Unfortunately, it won't be

As a homage to the cartoon series, The Last Airbender falls woefully short.

As a movie that stands on its own merits, M.Night Shyamalan's latest opus stands as a reminder to all budding film-makers as to how NOT to make a movie.

It all could have been so much better. The actors themselves show some promise. Noah Ringer does a decent job as Aang, the last airbender (his "Air Nomad" clan is extinct), the new avatar whose mastery of the mystic powers of "bending" make him the target of the imperialistic "Fire Nation", who are intent on conquering the "Water Tribes" and the "Earth Nation". Nicola Peltz is also authentic and believable as Katara, his "water-bender" companion.

And that's it. Jackson Rathbone's inability to deadpan his way through Soka's (Katara's brother) comedic antics surely left a lot of the humor on the cutting room floor and Dev Patel (Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation) looks unsure of himself in this role and lacks the intensity and fire required. A big shame, as this character is probably the true star of the cartoon series, more so in later seasons. It's an incredibly deep, complex and difficult role... and I wish Dev would grow into it.

Let's not blame them for all that is wrong with the movie. Clumsy narrative exposition interspersed with sporadic fight scenes and set-pieces fail to immerse you in the fantasy world that the design department so lavishly creates for Shymalan. At points, the movie presents you awesome vistas that show in short flashes between excrutiatingly long close-ups of actors looking dazed and confused. For a children's movie, the absolute lack of humor is a capital crime. Where the odd joke actually manages to avoid being cut from the final film, it falls flat due to the lack of comedic timing by both director and actors.

It's a shame that some of the fight scenes are so good. Because they merely serve to draw attention to the clumsy camerawork and cutting. There are flashes of brilliance, mind you, in the intricate choreography between Prince Zuko and Aang, but as these parts are lifted mostly whole from the source material and rely on excellent performances from the actors themelves, it's hard to credit Shyamalan with this feat.

Near the end, Shyamalan brings the move to a crashing close with a big set-piece battle. Hundreds of Fire nation ships sit idly by while dozens of extras flail their arms at each other in shots reminiscent of 70's popcorn Kung-Fu flicks. In the midst of this, we find Dev Patel looking perplexed in his final confrontation with his arch-nemesis, General Jao. Perplexed, surely, because the script asserts that this important piece of the story never actually happens... a change akin to having Gandalf face the fiery Balrog in the Mines of Moria and walking away while a wandering band of dwarves hack the hoary monster to bits.

At the end, Aang saves the day, in a display of power that promises much, but falls oddly impotent, washing away as the Fire Nation fleet and most of the audience flee in disgust. Some parents may leave with the feeling that they've given their kids a good show, but all the kids I've talked to so far hate the movie even more than I do.

As the movie ends with the half-hearted smirk of Aang's future antagonist, the Fire Princess Azula, who seems to be just as fearful as the audience at the thought of a sequel, we're left with the uneasy knowledge that it's a sure thing. And as Shyamalan is not only the director and writer of the film, but also the producer, it is almost certain that he'll remain be at the helm, to steer it even further off course than he already has.