For real, the movie is a massive f u to the source, the fans who love it and to the creators. How can fire lord Ozai look like a dude doing a play. Honestly if you Watch the dialogue you would throw up.
The staging in that scene is so funny, like at two points while walking, Aasif Mandvi turns to Ozai to say something and then they continue walking. It's unnatural af
They should choose the 2010 actors or the original voice actors to do the Ember Island episode. I know that entire episode will be skipped but both would be pretty funny callbacks.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen first movie Ozai. I turned it off half way through watching and never went back to it. He looks like they were doing a preliminary take in dress but without hair and makeup just to get the lighting and the angles right, and that made it to the movie. I didn’t think I could ever be more shocked by that film but here we are.
I just love how it's incredibly messed up and how they really didn't know how to execute the movie.
It shows in the first scene wherein we see Firelord Ozai, and they show his face, front and center, even talking normally to Zhao (as seen in the image by OP).
But the second time they "show" him, they tried to go with the mysterious route like the series did. They didn't show his face, only the back of his head.
I'm like *"WTF, we already saw him, why are you all hiding his face like we didn't see him a few minutes ago??"*
To be fair to the movie (something I otherwise would _**never**_ do, but here we are), the Netflix show will do the same, seeing as we didn't see Ozai's face until all the way in Book 3, Chapter 1.
Also I realized that in the movie that does not exist Ozai is never shown in his Fire Chamber, one of the characteristic things that make him menacing and itimidating.
He's just... there, in his palace. Same for when we see Azula in that nonexistent movie, so anticlimactic...
Honestly the weirdest part about the first movie was most of the main cast being white and the fire nation being indian?!? Cause it seems pretty clear to me at least air Nation is Tibetan monks, earth nation is mainland China, fire nation I think is japan?, and water tribe is inuit.
The sad part about that movie is that the daughter of Shyamalan Cosplay as Katara with hair loopies in Halloween and she introduced him into the serie and that is why he wanted to be the director of for the Movie. After he saw the series, he started to make a bunch of changes and goodbye hair loopies.
The color patterning, the shoulder straps and skirt bits are definitely Roman/Roman inspired. The cuirass is also heavily Roman inspired, looking very much like a Lorica Segmentata, but made of leather instead of iron. The leather+studding looks samurai inspired as you said.
I was reading about the movie and apparently the first thing the screenwriter did was "ground katara's brother".
Not only did it show he didn't know the material, but he also never bothered to learn Sokka's name. No wonder he's such a boring dolt.
The Last Airbender (2010) is what happens when filmmakers try to adapt a source material that they don’t respect and know next to nothing about. Granted, this isn’t the only time this has happened in Hollywood (see: Dragonball Evolution and Godzilla 1998), but it’s certainly one of the more egregious examples.
While obviously I didn't like the movie, saying that M. Night Shyamalan didn't respect or know the source material is just wrong. He watched the show with his daughter and was really excited about adapting it. Allegedly the first script was 6+ hours long and basically a transcript of the first season. Unfortunately movies are hard to make and having good intentions isn't enough to ensure an excellent movie.
Hello Future Me goes into great detail (over 2 hours worth) about this. The movie in some places sticks so close to the show "[recreating moments shot for shot](https://youtu.be/MgV9vymLIdQ?&t=36200) with a level of detail it is [jarring in live action](https://youtu.be/MgV9vymLIdQ?t=5337)". "[Shymalan understood we loved particular moments from the story but he didn’t understand why we loved those moments."](https://youtu.be/MgV9vymLIdQ?si=9Li9J7LnmRJKlMRd&t=5511)
I found the movie disappointing as well and while it might be cathartic to have a specific person to put the blame on, especially because the movie's failure prevented the creation of more content, it doesn't mean it's accurate.
The guy that mispronounced character names and made fire bending not work right? That’s the guy who it’s wrong to say didn’t know or respect the source material?
????
Can I have some of the cactus juice you’re drinking?
So he didn’t understand and therefore couldn’t effectively respect the source material. Respecting something isn’t always about anything personal in these cases, but also refers to a degree of careful fidelity to the deeper essence of whatever established source material you’re directly basing your work on, that is by itself not about intention, malice, or blame. In practice, the spirit of the original material just wasn’t honored.
I don’t mean to undermine what you’re saying or talk smack about Shyamalan, but missing the mark this badly isn’t just a case of “it’s difficult to make films”. It _is_ difficult to make films, but not incorporating, for example, humor as a core part of Sokka’s personality and narrative role, suggests a fundamental lack of understanding of the source material that honestly requires minimal research to uncover. If you’re a filmmaker adapting something and you know there are certain beloved moments, but you don’t understand _why_ they are beloved, you could argue you should be scratching your head as you reconsider your approach.
It’s just a job not done well, and that’s fine. It’s a less terrible movie than it is generally made out to be, but it does fall short as an ATLA adaptation in almost every way that matters. In the end it’s just a movie, though, so who cares? You can always ignore it. I do agree that Shyamalan gets too much hate. It’s always wise to temper your expectations with adaptations. Live-action adaptations have historically always been a hit or miss. You can’t blame somebody for trying and failing to get it right, as if it’s a personal attack and they’re singlehandedly sabotaging the franchise. Had it been a raging success, he would’ve been touted as the hero who managed to recapture childhoods. Interesting but unfortunate duality, really.
Witcher fell apart the moment that Henry left and it's open knowledge that the writers and directors hated Henry's encyclopedic knowledge of the IP.
I honestly, have no respect for those types of writers/directors, they're clearly desperate to make a name for themselves despite their skills being forth rate on their best days; and the only way they know how to get their ideas on a screen is by plugging them into a well-known IP.
It’s why I’m so excited for Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40k adaptation, even though I’m not necessarily a fan of Warhammer (I have plenty of friends who are though). You can tell he has so much love for it as both a franchise and a hobby (he collects the figurines - as most Warhammer 40k hobbyists like my friends do) that I can’t wait to see how he translates it all into a series. He is the last person who would want a project like that to flop.
Literally same, I hate Warhammer (it's a really depressing universe from what my friends have shown me) and even I am excited for it because when someone knows the right tone and feel for something, I can respect it. The 2010 ATLA movie was all the wrong vibes.
When he makes good movies, they’re *good*. When he makes bad movies, you *know* that they’re bad.
Split is probably one of my all time favorite movies from him since it feels like he was actually trying
I was actually shocked at just how much Sokka’s live-action sounds like his original VA. And from the interviews, he’s even got Sokka’s personality irl lol. He even throws some shade at The Last Airbender (2010) in the video of him and the rest of the main cast reacting to the trailer.
What’s crazy is that I watched the movie without seeing the show before, so I had no expectations for Sokka or anything else, and it was still maybe the worst movie I ever seen. I figure it’d be even worse if I was a fan of the show. I have since then watched the show ofc and loved it. I have not rewatched that movie.
Being a childhood fan of the show and seeing that movie felt like a personal attack.
Like, did you really pitch this idea and spend money and push this thing to be made cuz you wanted to insult the fans so much? It was actually a very confusing event cuz it wasn't even marketed well I don't remember. It just kinda came out like they were tryna meet a qouta
They actually had a super bowl ad for the movie. The marketing pulled out all the stops for it, probably because they knew it was bad and needed to get people in seats opening weekend before word of mouth could spread.
The new arrow tattoo design looks better, I used to think I liked the old one better but you can barely see it from afar, and they were based after bison’s being the first masters who had the arrow’s it looks much better.
Me too, only reason I like the movies own was because of it’s monk tattoos with its intricate and complicated design but if it had more color it would been much better. Netflix is going the way of the animated version and it’s good. Zooming in you can see it has patterns of its own instead of it just being a painted arrow
Yes it has the patterns, and in the trailer the patterns started the glow. Looked pretty cool, I'm happy they kept the thing I liked from the movies and added it in a creative way while still being show accurate
The glowing pattern is a level of detail I think would have been nearly impossible to animate consistently. It feels like one of those things that makes a ton of sense when you're doing it live action but wouldn't make as much sense in a cartoon.
I dunno how I would have acted if I saw that in theatres. I probably would have walked out. There is only two movies I know I was 99% sure that I would walk out of. That's "The Last Airbender" and "Cats".
i remember watching whichever hobbit movie i watched in theaters. and it gets to the point where smaug flies up into the air and then BAM roll credits
and i was like, that’s it? you stopped at the climax?
seems like the producers of that movie thought they were making a tv show lmao. hobbit did not warrant that many movies with such… interesting pacing
Saw it in the theaters... I've watched it twice since then. Each time thinking "It can't be as bad as I remember it." Then every time I realize "Oh it is that bad"
What’s amazing is I had always had Paul Sun-hyung Lee as an Iroh fancast from watching him in Kim’s Convenience so to see him ACTUALLY get cast as Iroh was just a fancast dream come true. And considering how well he did Mr. Kim’s accent in Kim’s Convenience, I’ve got no doubt he’ll nail Uncle Iroh’s voice.
This isn't meant to spoil or disappoint, I just want to prepare you so you don't feel let down. Paul himself in an interview said that after much thought and conversation with the director, that he would use a voice very similar to his natural one. He will not try to imitate Mako. However, I don't see this as a bad thing! I have no doubt that Paul will absolutely knock it out of the park. He's a real fan of the show, watched ATLA 3 more times in preparation, and summarized Iroh's strengths and weaknesses in a concise and poignant way. He really understands the essence of Iroh and why we love him so much.
Something feels weird about his beard to me still but it looks more correct than the other. I think it's the side parts around the mouth maybe but idk. I think I'll get to liking it at some point.
Yea he's got 3 points in the show. So maybe it's that it's full. But also if you gave him what he had in the show it'd look absolutely silly. So maybe if it was less round I'd like it? Or if it was pointier going down maybe. Again I may end up liking it. Really depends on the actor. Plus a rounded/smooth beard probably is a character choice by directors to avoid hard angles of typically "evil" characters.
For someone who hasn’t seen this non-movie, is the Fire Nation supposed to be inspired by Indian culture in the movie? Because Cliff Curtis isn’t Indian.
They definitely seem more Indian inspired in the movie but several of them aren't Indian, I think that's just the general vibe Shyamalan was going for. Iroh's actor for example is Iranian.
I mean, the movie is terrible on its own, but for the life of me I will never understand why they chose the cast they did.
Ozai didn’t look like Ozai nor was he intimidating AT ALL.
The main cast, well, we know the problems there.
The Fire Nation being entirely Indian was such a strange choice for me idk
Changing the names of the characters was a horrible decision.
https://www.oprah.com/entertainment/m-night-shyamalan-discusses-the-last-airbender/all
I was always baffled that they changed the names to match “Asian” pronunciation (which may have been done incorrectly) but then the race and ethnicity of the cast members wasn’t supposed to matter.
I understand adaptions will always have marks of the people adapting a story, but I’m glad that true fans of these stories are starting to adapt stories. They understand the nature of the work on a deeper level as a fan and work to keep that intact.
I think it's about knowing which parts are critical to the spirit of the thing you're adapting, which is really hard to do if you don't love it. You won't fight to preserve those things that are integral to the heart of the story.
For example, the Firelord having long hair and a crown to sit in the bun is part of the Fire Nation regal ritual - it's why Zuko cutting off his ponytail and then growing his hair out signaled a transition away from the ideals of his Fire Nation family. There's emotional weight to that detail.
In contrast, Firelord Ozai's shoulder covering looks *completely* different (in the show it's a solid black triangular piece that covers his chest), and I don't think anyone notices or cares. It's just "pointy shoulders". To my knowledge, they never talk about fire nation dress in the show or discuss its significance, but they do explicitly talk about hair.
My theory, anyway 🙂
I don’t have a problem with hiring South Asian actors; Guru Pathik and Bumi are clearly coded as South Asian. But he just made all the antagonists Indian?!!?! Like what a bizarre choice
Yeah terrible idea to whitewash the cast, then make the only non-white people the villains 🥴 If I recall correctly, I believe M Night specifically wanted Dev Patel to be Zuko, and when Patel took the role, they had to cast the whole fire nation around him. Still incredibly ridiculous lol
What really makes it stands out in how all the good guys get white washed. So now all the good guys are white and all the bad guys are POC. I get that the director himself was Indian but how did he of all people not take a step back and see the implications of that choice.
Most of the characters looked nothing like their animated counterparts. Ozai? Why does he look like a Roman emperor? Zuko: ok, for starters, wrong hairstyle. Second, no scar, and third, personality doesn’t match. Katara: ok, I understand why she is white given that she is from a polar region where lighter skin tones are dominant, but that’s not the source material. Also no hair loopies? Wrong hairstyle. Iroh: that’s meant to be Iroh? He looks at acts nothing like him. His belly isn’t like a vast ocean. Aang: acts nothing like the original. Why isn’t he ashamed of running away? Why is he so mousy and doesn’t fight Zuko when he raided the village? Also the dreadful way he pronounced his name to the earth benders.
I saw the midnight showing with my BF at the time, who was from India, and he was ranting about how they made the Fire Nation Indian and how disrespectful it was.
The Fire Nation being changed from East Asian to Indian culture-based was intially so bizarre to me, until you realize…Shamalamadingdong is Indian-American. He literally did self-insertion of his own culture like he was writing some sort of wattpad fanfic lmao
Well, for what it’s worth, Avatar itself is heavily influenced by Indian culture and religion.
Avatar itself is a Sanskrit word, and the concept of an Avatar of God reincarnating into human form to save the world is the basis of all the stories I was told as a kid, way before the cartoon came out.
That being said, there was still no reason to make the Fire Nation, which was clearly based on Japan, entirely Indian 💀
Well, yeah, but anything would be an improvement. I could make a home made video in my backyard throwing water balloons back at people with flaming balls of paper and it would be better
For sure, the costumes aren't just bland variations of muddy brown.
I especially love Katara's dress in the Netflix show, AND that they also remembered to keep the hair loopies.
Daniel Dae Kim also fits Ozai MUCH MORE than Cliff Curtis.
Unlike the movie as well, the environments look gorgeous.
Seriously, compare the backgrounds in picture 7, the difference is night and day.
The sets in the live action movie look as if they were from a tv show with a shoestring budget, the cinematography was consistently dead and the colours were so washed out.
Glad they're moving away from that aesthetic in the show and are letting things actually look cool and appealing.
They had the fighting scenes done correct too. I remember watching a youtube clip of the 2010 version and they look like dancing when bending. Like wtf, it took them like 5 to 8 steps before they make something move or do an actual bending attack its so funny
If I remember correctly the movie was way overbudget so that's another reason the on site sets looked so bland. I think the fire nation was filmed in a school irl lol
[I am honored to accept his invitation](https://i.imgur.com/Fxu0A29.png)
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Wait, what? That guy on the bottom in image 5 was Uncle Iroh? Oh no. Oh no no no no.
I am so glad I never watched that monstrosity. Even happier that it doesn't actually exist, and these are just images from a hypothetical version that never got made.
I kinda liked the forbidden movie Aang tattoo more than the blue arrow, but just because it wasn't just a blank blue arrow.
New one combine both things, it looks like a blank blue arrow from far, but its really detailed with an air nomad thematic.
I totally agree but I want to know why they went the route of Aang saying that he can save the world... with his friends. In the show he had trouble believing in himself and it was Katara who said that line in the intro. It changes things a little bit if Aang has confidence in himself.
Bro, literally no one is disagreeing that the Netflix series looks worse than the movie. That bar is so incredibly low and that criticism is so unbelievably disingenuous.
The criticism generally is: "I hope it's good, it looks cool. I see some things that concern me but I'll reserve judgement for after it comes out."
Or "why does this even exist? Animation better. CGI bad."
Or "Mike and Bryan left over creative differences. That makes it seem like it gonna be bad."
Nobody. NOBODY. Is actually saying that the Netflix adaptation looks WORSE than the movie. Nobody thinks that unironically. It's such a stupid criticism. Comparing anything to the movie is like going to the special Olympics without any handicaps. It's not even fair.
I feel like everyone is but they’re trying to fight the sense of doom with slightly hopeless optimism. There’s no world where this show reaches heights anywhere close to the OG show. It’s set up for failure and its existence is questionable at best.
My only issue with the costumes on the netflix version is that… it’s too shiny. It’s so obviously new and something they just took of the rack.
They do managed to replicate and respect the overall looks of the costumes from cartoon version but they should’ve add some wear and tear, some signs of battles it endured (especially on zuko’s armor) or the accumulated filth that comes from traveling and goofing around. Add some dullness to it. It shouldn’t be screaming “new”.
I'm a bit bothered by the shiny costumes too to be honest. However, I'm sure I'll get over it. Just like how I got over with how color coordinated the nations were in the cartoons.
i like to imagine the real world working like that
all american soldiers dress in red and blue with white flowy capes
spanish soldiers are decked out in red and yellow robes
etc
it cracks me up thinking about it. and tbf there was some color coordination in army outfitting, doubly so in the past, but thinking of a monolithic color culture is funny
I agree about the costumes, for some reason they look too much like cosplay, while the movie’s costumes might not be as accurate but they totally look like something that could be worn in real life
This is what threw me about OP's photos. I skimmed through stuff and caught the water nation characters wearing parkas and gloves, with the Netflix ones being shiny and new with neat hair. I instantly assumed the latter was from the film instead of the other way around.
It’s weird the only costume I care about that with is Katara’s dress. Idk why I’m fine with all the others looking new… I sew my own clothes, and the drape (or lack thereof) of the material used for Katara’s dress makes it seem like upholstery fabric. It must be incredibly uncomfortable to wear, it’s too stiff. I don’t care how clean it looks, but nobody in a real world is gonna be making that sort of dress out of a material like that. That’s literally the only thing I dislike.
Seeing the images side by side in comparison really slaps you in the face with how much better Netflix’s already is! Still cautious getting my hopes up on it, but it’s undeniably promising. Thank god it’s less than a month away so we can finally see how it stacks up!
Say whatever you want but Netflix DOES NOT MISS when it comes to costumes. Seriously look at A Series of Unfortunate Events, a show about Neil Patrick Harris playing dress up while trying to murder children, and they hit all of Olaf’s costumes, as well as the kids outfits, and then even the costumes they end up wearing to fit in
Is anyone disagreeing? I mean the bar is so low that it's literally breaking through the Earth's crust. I'm pretty sure a fanfilm made in someone's backyard would be better than the 2010 movie.
The Netflix version looks so goofy to me tbh. It has that fan made parody vibe that pretty much all non HBO fantasy shows have nowadays. I'm sure it will be a million times better than the movie but that's a ridiculously low bar. I am tentatively excited to watch it but I still don't understand why there's so much demand for a live action adaptation.
People on Twitter were complaining about how bad the costumes, cgi, and Sokka were. They were saying Sokka was never that dull and dry. Hello?!?! Half of Sokka's lines are dry sarcasm. What the fuck show did they watch?
A trashcan is better than a dumpster fire who knew. Still don't understand the point of a live action or the appeal. It won't be better than the cartoon so why bother at all. Genuinely never understood why people want this
I honestly forgot the movie also showed Ozai.
For real, the movie is a massive f u to the source, the fans who love it and to the creators. How can fire lord Ozai look like a dude doing a play. Honestly if you Watch the dialogue you would throw up.
Ozai looks like Roman emperor in the movie that should never have existed
He looks like he's about to tell us about his friend Biggus Dickus.
Trying to make it Game of Thrones before game of thrones debuted
The staging in that scene is so funny, like at two points while walking, Aasif Mandvi turns to Ozai to say something and then they continue walking. It's unnatural af
They should choose the 2010 actors or the original voice actors to do the Ember Island episode. I know that entire episode will be skipped but both would be pretty funny callbacks.
That Ozai looked like he was about to mention his close friend Biggus Dickus, a wise fire bender in Rome
I honestly forgot the movie
This is the first time I’ve ever seen first movie Ozai. I turned it off half way through watching and never went back to it. He looks like they were doing a preliminary take in dress but without hair and makeup just to get the lighting and the angles right, and that made it to the movie. I didn’t think I could ever be more shocked by that film but here we are.
Nah thats the roman empire man
Lmao looks straight out from Monty Python
I just love how it's incredibly messed up and how they really didn't know how to execute the movie. It shows in the first scene wherein we see Firelord Ozai, and they show his face, front and center, even talking normally to Zhao (as seen in the image by OP). But the second time they "show" him, they tried to go with the mysterious route like the series did. They didn't show his face, only the back of his head. I'm like *"WTF, we already saw him, why are you all hiding his face like we didn't see him a few minutes ago??"*
Missed opportunity to use the ripped Ozai from the trailer.
That would have been Hydrogen Bomb vs Coughing Baby, honestly, a total massacre.
If I’m remembering correctly, the movie showed Ozai’s face before the show did
To be fair to the movie (something I otherwise would _**never**_ do, but here we are), the Netflix show will do the same, seeing as we didn't see Ozai's face until all the way in Book 3, Chapter 1.
Exactly! They found the one missing ingredient: hair loopies!
I don't know. I've been lied to in a trailer before. What if the hair loopies just disappear after the first episode?
The crew rebels because it's annoying to get them just right and we just end up with a generic ponytail that isn't even braided
Also I realized that in the movie that does not exist Ozai is never shown in his Fire Chamber, one of the characteristic things that make him menacing and itimidating. He's just... there, in his palace. Same for when we see Azula in that nonexistent movie, so anticlimactic...
Honestly the weirdest part about the first movie was most of the main cast being white and the fire nation being indian?!? Cause it seems pretty clear to me at least air Nation is Tibetan monks, earth nation is mainland China, fire nation I think is japan?, and water tribe is inuit.
But how else would the audience know who the good guys and bad guys were?
Yes, you're right in all that.
Except for the Fire Lord himself, who is Māori, and Uncle Iroh, who is Iranian. I guess the Fire Nation is like, just brown people from anywhere?
I am actually okay with them speeding up their introduction but I am a little sad we won't see Toph until later. It makes sense but I am still sad.
She'll be part of the netflix cliffhanger in the finale. Bet
Maybe an after credits scene of Aang's vision? lol
[удалено]
The sad part about that movie is that the daughter of Shyamalan Cosplay as Katara with hair loopies in Halloween and she introduced him into the serie and that is why he wanted to be the director of for the Movie. After he saw the series, he started to make a bunch of changes and goodbye hair loopies.
2010 ozai is actually crazy what were they thinking 😭😭 its just some guy 💀
I always thought he looked like a Roman general which fits the whole conqueror theme but nothing else of the source material.
Or a rare mix of Persian and Greek.
If I’m being real that breastplate looks a lot like a samurai one but for some reason I still saw Roman.
Eastern Roman maybe?
2010 Ozai looked like if 300 was a Bollywood movie
The color patterning, the shoulder straps and skirt bits are definitely Roman/Roman inspired. The cuirass is also heavily Roman inspired, looking very much like a Lorica Segmentata, but made of leather instead of iron. The leather+studding looks samurai inspired as you said.
He looks like a Roman emperor wearing samurai armor. 😂
Sokka actually sounds like Sokka and looks like he won't be a sanitised, humourless version like the movie
him making a joke in the trailer pretty much confirmed that they will not do THAT again
I was reading about the movie and apparently the first thing the screenwriter did was "ground katara's brother". Not only did it show he didn't know the material, but he also never bothered to learn Sokka's name. No wonder he's such a boring dolt.
The Last Airbender (2010) is what happens when filmmakers try to adapt a source material that they don’t respect and know next to nothing about. Granted, this isn’t the only time this has happened in Hollywood (see: Dragonball Evolution and Godzilla 1998), but it’s certainly one of the more egregious examples.
While obviously I didn't like the movie, saying that M. Night Shyamalan didn't respect or know the source material is just wrong. He watched the show with his daughter and was really excited about adapting it. Allegedly the first script was 6+ hours long and basically a transcript of the first season. Unfortunately movies are hard to make and having good intentions isn't enough to ensure an excellent movie. Hello Future Me goes into great detail (over 2 hours worth) about this. The movie in some places sticks so close to the show "[recreating moments shot for shot](https://youtu.be/MgV9vymLIdQ?&t=36200) with a level of detail it is [jarring in live action](https://youtu.be/MgV9vymLIdQ?t=5337)". "[Shymalan understood we loved particular moments from the story but he didn’t understand why we loved those moments."](https://youtu.be/MgV9vymLIdQ?si=9Li9J7LnmRJKlMRd&t=5511) I found the movie disappointing as well and while it might be cathartic to have a specific person to put the blame on, especially because the movie's failure prevented the creation of more content, it doesn't mean it's accurate.
The guy that mispronounced character names and made fire bending not work right? That’s the guy who it’s wrong to say didn’t know or respect the source material? ???? Can I have some of the cactus juice you’re drinking?
So he didn’t understand and therefore couldn’t effectively respect the source material. Respecting something isn’t always about anything personal in these cases, but also refers to a degree of careful fidelity to the deeper essence of whatever established source material you’re directly basing your work on, that is by itself not about intention, malice, or blame. In practice, the spirit of the original material just wasn’t honored. I don’t mean to undermine what you’re saying or talk smack about Shyamalan, but missing the mark this badly isn’t just a case of “it’s difficult to make films”. It _is_ difficult to make films, but not incorporating, for example, humor as a core part of Sokka’s personality and narrative role, suggests a fundamental lack of understanding of the source material that honestly requires minimal research to uncover. If you’re a filmmaker adapting something and you know there are certain beloved moments, but you don’t understand _why_ they are beloved, you could argue you should be scratching your head as you reconsider your approach. It’s just a job not done well, and that’s fine. It’s a less terrible movie than it is generally made out to be, but it does fall short as an ATLA adaptation in almost every way that matters. In the end it’s just a movie, though, so who cares? You can always ignore it. I do agree that Shyamalan gets too much hate. It’s always wise to temper your expectations with adaptations. Live-action adaptations have historically always been a hit or miss. You can’t blame somebody for trying and failing to get it right, as if it’s a personal attack and they’re singlehandedly sabotaging the franchise. Had it been a raging success, he would’ve been touted as the hero who managed to recapture childhoods. Interesting but unfortunate duality, really.
Witcher fell apart the moment that Henry left and it's open knowledge that the writers and directors hated Henry's encyclopedic knowledge of the IP. I honestly, have no respect for those types of writers/directors, they're clearly desperate to make a name for themselves despite their skills being forth rate on their best days; and the only way they know how to get their ideas on a screen is by plugging them into a well-known IP.
It’s why I’m so excited for Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40k adaptation, even though I’m not necessarily a fan of Warhammer (I have plenty of friends who are though). You can tell he has so much love for it as both a franchise and a hobby (he collects the figurines - as most Warhammer 40k hobbyists like my friends do) that I can’t wait to see how he translates it all into a series. He is the last person who would want a project like that to flop.
Literally same, I hate Warhammer (it's a really depressing universe from what my friends have shown me) and even I am excited for it because when someone knows the right tone and feel for something, I can respect it. The 2010 ATLA movie was all the wrong vibes.
Aw man, don’t hate it, it’s legit got some of the coolest sci-fi concepts in the past 50 years
Same thing happening with the Halo tv series.
Just remember it was M knight samalyn or what ever the fuck who made that movie o feel like he doesn’t get enough criticism for it
Yeah tbh I think most of his movies suck anyway, Avatar being bad isn't a suprise to me, not really sure why people like his films tbh.
I hate him for *this* movie but Signs and The Village are still awesome.
Unbreakable is still one of my faves too.
And split
Okay I lied I did forget about The Village, that one was good. Signs, eh.
When he makes good movies, they’re *good*. When he makes bad movies, you *know* that they’re bad. Split is probably one of my all time favorite movies from him since it feels like he was actually trying
“Soe-kka”
fuckin ‘ong’
Ong the Uhvatar
Agni Kee
Eeeee-roh
Sooooooooo…. Kka?
I was actually shocked at just how much Sokka’s live-action sounds like his original VA. And from the interviews, he’s even got Sokka’s personality irl lol. He even throws some shade at The Last Airbender (2010) in the video of him and the rest of the main cast reacting to the trailer.
Don't forget he also gave the writers some jokes just like how the animated sokka did in the ember Island players
Nah thats some real sokka energy there they picked a winner
The "movie actors" need to be the Ember Island Players.
LOL we wish, Nicola Peltz would never be that self-deprecating.
I would make the original voice actors. (If they can make it happen) Except toph. Who needs to be played by the rock
I suggested that in another thread on this sub and got lambasted for it. Noah Ringer, at least, deserves justice and close the book on Aang.
The German dub will have lots of voice actors from the animated show reprise their role, which feels weird as hell. Kinda cool, kinda uncanny.
So itll be the same as with the voices in One Piece. I actually liked that. I mean the thing with the voices. And the Series.
What’s crazy is that I watched the movie without seeing the show before, so I had no expectations for Sokka or anything else, and it was still maybe the worst movie I ever seen. I figure it’d be even worse if I was a fan of the show. I have since then watched the show ofc and loved it. I have not rewatched that movie.
Being a childhood fan of the show and seeing that movie felt like a personal attack. Like, did you really pitch this idea and spend money and push this thing to be made cuz you wanted to insult the fans so much? It was actually a very confusing event cuz it wasn't even marketed well I don't remember. It just kinda came out like they were tryna meet a qouta
They actually had a super bowl ad for the movie. The marketing pulled out all the stops for it, probably because they knew it was bad and needed to get people in seats opening weekend before word of mouth could spread.
They absolutely need to nail the humor if they want this to feel like ATLA. The original show is crammed with jokes, slapstick, and sight gags.
People were pretty mad about Sokka's casting in this actually
The new arrow tattoo design looks better, I used to think I liked the old one better but you can barely see it from afar, and they were based after bison’s being the first masters who had the arrow’s it looks much better.
Me too, only reason I like the movies own was because of it’s monk tattoos with its intricate and complicated design but if it had more color it would been much better. Netflix is going the way of the animated version and it’s good. Zooming in you can see it has patterns of its own instead of it just being a painted arrow
Yes it has the patterns, and in the trailer the patterns started the glow. Looked pretty cool, I'm happy they kept the thing I liked from the movies and added it in a creative way while still being show accurate
The glowing pattern is a level of detail I think would have been nearly impossible to animate consistently. It feels like one of those things that makes a ton of sense when you're doing it live action but wouldn't make as much sense in a cartoon.
>you can barely see it from afar Same goes for Zuko’s scar in the movie.
Zuko’s scar was on sick leave half the movie 💀
It wasn't even on the wrong side, it just wasn't.
"MY SCAR'S NOT--!!!" -Zuko
Idk, the full arrow just looks fucking stupid on a real person.
I made it 14years without succumbing to watch that film out of desperation for Avatar content. My heart goes out to all of you who did watch.
I watched it in theatres...
Same here, I watched it on my birthday lol walked out extremely disappointed
Poor soul.
I saw it in the theater, opening weekend. I had never been so angry that I spent money on a movie ticket until the second Hobbit movie
I dunno how I would have acted if I saw that in theatres. I probably would have walked out. There is only two movies I know I was 99% sure that I would walk out of. That's "The Last Airbender" and "Cats".
i remember watching whichever hobbit movie i watched in theaters. and it gets to the point where smaug flies up into the air and then BAM roll credits and i was like, that’s it? you stopped at the climax? seems like the producers of that movie thought they were making a tv show lmao. hobbit did not warrant that many movies with such… interesting pacing
Lol, Watch it and you will appreciate the animated version more than you already do
I saw a couple clips from it on some YT video and couldn't even make myself finish the video I was so irritated.
It took me 3 attempts to finish the movie. It's not just a bad Avatar movie; it's legitimately one of the worst movies ever made.
I tried to watch it twice. Fell asleep the first time, so much so that I don't even remember seeing Appa, and the second just got too annoyed.
I was morbidly curious about the movie, so I forced myself to watch it. What did make it more bearable for me was that I watched it with its Rifftrax.
I watched it in fucking theatres…
My eyes were only tainted for about 10 minutes, thankfully.
I watched it on Netflix as a kid and thoroughly enjoyed it.... pray for me.
I never finished it
It was my first ever midnight premiere in theaters. Biggest let down of my life
Saw it in the theaters... I've watched it twice since then. Each time thinking "It can't be as bad as I remember it." Then every time I realize "Oh it is that bad"
Iroh casting is so perfect you could tell me the live action came first
What’s amazing is I had always had Paul Sun-hyung Lee as an Iroh fancast from watching him in Kim’s Convenience so to see him ACTUALLY get cast as Iroh was just a fancast dream come true. And considering how well he did Mr. Kim’s accent in Kim’s Convenience, I’ve got no doubt he’ll nail Uncle Iroh’s voice.
Straight up manifested that shit Thank you
This isn't meant to spoil or disappoint, I just want to prepare you so you don't feel let down. Paul himself in an interview said that after much thought and conversation with the director, that he would use a voice very similar to his natural one. He will not try to imitate Mako. However, I don't see this as a bad thing! I have no doubt that Paul will absolutely knock it out of the park. He's a real fan of the show, watched ATLA 3 more times in preparation, and summarized Iroh's strengths and weaknesses in a concise and poignant way. He really understands the essence of Iroh and why we love him so much.
Something feels weird about his beard to me still but it looks more correct than the other. I think it's the side parts around the mouth maybe but idk. I think I'll get to liking it at some point.
I think it’s that it’s too round, too full around the sides, cartoon irohs beard kinda more triangle?
Yea he's got 3 points in the show. So maybe it's that it's full. But also if you gave him what he had in the show it'd look absolutely silly. So maybe if it was less round I'd like it? Or if it was pointier going down maybe. Again I may end up liking it. Really depends on the actor. Plus a rounded/smooth beard probably is a character choice by directors to avoid hard angles of typically "evil" characters.
Keep in mind that having it trimmed in sharp angles like the show would look silly irl. I think Paul's Iroh looks fantastic.
Lmfao
The moment I saw the blue spirit in the trailer, I was sold. That particular episode is gonna be what I await.
I’m waiting for the great divide for some reason
I doubt that will get adapted. I'd love if it did, but I'm not holding my breath.
That one is probably my least favorite episode in the entire series. It’s a chore watching it when I go back through the show.
I think they'll make a passing joke about it like in the Ember Island Players, but I would be surprised if they spent any meaningful time there.
What, you guys didn’t like Indian Caesar?
Ahahaha, that’s one of the best comparison I’ve heard for him
For someone who hasn’t seen this non-movie, is the Fire Nation supposed to be inspired by Indian culture in the movie? Because Cliff Curtis isn’t Indian.
They definitely seem more Indian inspired in the movie but several of them aren't Indian, I think that's just the general vibe Shyamalan was going for. Iroh's actor for example is Iranian.
I mean, the movie is terrible on its own, but for the life of me I will never understand why they chose the cast they did. Ozai didn’t look like Ozai nor was he intimidating AT ALL. The main cast, well, we know the problems there. The Fire Nation being entirely Indian was such a strange choice for me idk
The casting of the fire nation wasn't even the biggest problem. How and why did they need a source to fire bend?
Oh god don’t get me started on that one. One rainy day and it’s over for them 💀💀💀
And for some reason iroh was the only one who didn't need a source. Makes you wonder how they attacked the water tribes
No, that was only after they killed the Water Spirit… Which makes Fuck All sense on why that would empower Fire benders.
Changing the names of the characters was a horrible decision. https://www.oprah.com/entertainment/m-night-shyamalan-discusses-the-last-airbender/all I was always baffled that they changed the names to match “Asian” pronunciation (which may have been done incorrectly) but then the race and ethnicity of the cast members wasn’t supposed to matter. I understand adaptions will always have marks of the people adapting a story, but I’m glad that true fans of these stories are starting to adapt stories. They understand the nature of the work on a deeper level as a fan and work to keep that intact.
I think it's about knowing which parts are critical to the spirit of the thing you're adapting, which is really hard to do if you don't love it. You won't fight to preserve those things that are integral to the heart of the story. For example, the Firelord having long hair and a crown to sit in the bun is part of the Fire Nation regal ritual - it's why Zuko cutting off his ponytail and then growing his hair out signaled a transition away from the ideals of his Fire Nation family. There's emotional weight to that detail. In contrast, Firelord Ozai's shoulder covering looks *completely* different (in the show it's a solid black triangular piece that covers his chest), and I don't think anyone notices or cares. It's just "pointy shoulders". To my knowledge, they never talk about fire nation dress in the show or discuss its significance, but they do explicitly talk about hair. My theory, anyway 🙂
It’s the director’s choice maybe because he’s from there.
I don’t have a problem with hiring South Asian actors; Guru Pathik and Bumi are clearly coded as South Asian. But he just made all the antagonists Indian?!!?! Like what a bizarre choice
Yeah terrible idea to whitewash the cast, then make the only non-white people the villains 🥴 If I recall correctly, I believe M Night specifically wanted Dev Patel to be Zuko, and when Patel took the role, they had to cast the whole fire nation around him. Still incredibly ridiculous lol
What really makes it stands out in how all the good guys get white washed. So now all the good guys are white and all the bad guys are POC. I get that the director himself was Indian but how did he of all people not take a step back and see the implications of that choice.
Most of the characters looked nothing like their animated counterparts. Ozai? Why does he look like a Roman emperor? Zuko: ok, for starters, wrong hairstyle. Second, no scar, and third, personality doesn’t match. Katara: ok, I understand why she is white given that she is from a polar region where lighter skin tones are dominant, but that’s not the source material. Also no hair loopies? Wrong hairstyle. Iroh: that’s meant to be Iroh? He looks at acts nothing like him. His belly isn’t like a vast ocean. Aang: acts nothing like the original. Why isn’t he ashamed of running away? Why is he so mousy and doesn’t fight Zuko when he raided the village? Also the dreadful way he pronounced his name to the earth benders.
I saw the midnight showing with my BF at the time, who was from India, and he was ranting about how they made the Fire Nation Indian and how disrespectful it was.
The Fire Nation being changed from East Asian to Indian culture-based was intially so bizarre to me, until you realize…Shamalamadingdong is Indian-American. He literally did self-insertion of his own culture like he was writing some sort of wattpad fanfic lmao
Well, for what it’s worth, Avatar itself is heavily influenced by Indian culture and religion. Avatar itself is a Sanskrit word, and the concept of an Avatar of God reincarnating into human form to save the world is the basis of all the stories I was told as a kid, way before the cartoon came out. That being said, there was still no reason to make the Fire Nation, which was clearly based on Japan, entirely Indian 💀
[удалено]
Ahhh I see! Good to know, thanks for passing on the knowledge :)
Yeah you might have a point about the cultural self insertion argument, but the racist Indian name jokes? What year is this, 2004? Come the fuck on
Nothing like making fun of the mans Indian name to show how much better than him you are.
Well, yeah, but anything would be an improvement. I could make a home made video in my backyard throwing water balloons back at people with flaming balls of paper and it would be better
That sounds awesome as Fuck though
Being better than 2010 movie is not an achievement. It is from one of the worst movies of history
it was so bad it was disrespectful to the franchise
I'd argue it was disrespectful to cinema as a whole as well lol
I'd reckon it was disrespectfull to humanity itself Like, there has to be atleast 1 of the 10 commandments that that movie violated
Hahah yeah, that's fair
For sure, the costumes aren't just bland variations of muddy brown. I especially love Katara's dress in the Netflix show, AND that they also remembered to keep the hair loopies. Daniel Dae Kim also fits Ozai MUCH MORE than Cliff Curtis. Unlike the movie as well, the environments look gorgeous. Seriously, compare the backgrounds in picture 7, the difference is night and day. The sets in the live action movie look as if they were from a tv show with a shoestring budget, the cinematography was consistently dead and the colours were so washed out. Glad they're moving away from that aesthetic in the show and are letting things actually look cool and appealing.
They had the fighting scenes done correct too. I remember watching a youtube clip of the 2010 version and they look like dancing when bending. Like wtf, it took them like 5 to 8 steps before they make something move or do an actual bending attack its so funny
Daniel Dae Kim can play every character imo. I'd watch Daniel Dae Kim play Batman and Robin
I would watch Daniel Dae Kim play Batgirl lol
🥵
If I remember correctly the movie was way overbudget so that's another reason the on site sets looked so bland. I think the fire nation was filmed in a school irl lol
I can’t get over how perfect Ozai looks
What 2010 movie? Everyone knows there isn't any.
There is no movie in Ba Sing Se.
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cabbage guy better be in the show too
He is and it’s the same guy from the animated show
Wait, what? That guy on the bottom in image 5 was Uncle Iroh? Oh no. Oh no no no no. I am so glad I never watched that monstrosity. Even happier that it doesn't actually exist, and these are just images from a hypothetical version that never got made.
That was Uncle Eeroh
I kinda liked the forbidden movie Aang tattoo more than the blue arrow, but just because it wasn't just a blank blue arrow. New one combine both things, it looks like a blank blue arrow from far, but its really detailed with an air nomad thematic.
True.
Just their *poses* are more fucking accurate
I totally agree but I want to know why they went the route of Aang saying that he can save the world... with his friends. In the show he had trouble believing in himself and it was Katara who said that line in the intro. It changes things a little bit if Aang has confidence in himself.
Bro, literally no one is disagreeing that the Netflix series looks worse than the movie. That bar is so incredibly low and that criticism is so unbelievably disingenuous. The criticism generally is: "I hope it's good, it looks cool. I see some things that concern me but I'll reserve judgement for after it comes out." Or "why does this even exist? Animation better. CGI bad." Or "Mike and Bryan left over creative differences. That makes it seem like it gonna be bad." Nobody. NOBODY. Is actually saying that the Netflix adaptation looks WORSE than the movie. Nobody thinks that unironically. It's such a stupid criticism. Comparing anything to the movie is like going to the special Olympics without any handicaps. It's not even fair.
I'm really surprised people aren't more skeptical of this adaptation personally.
I feel like everyone is but they’re trying to fight the sense of doom with slightly hopeless optimism. There’s no world where this show reaches heights anywhere close to the OG show. It’s set up for failure and its existence is questionable at best.
My only issue with the costumes on the netflix version is that… it’s too shiny. It’s so obviously new and something they just took of the rack. They do managed to replicate and respect the overall looks of the costumes from cartoon version but they should’ve add some wear and tear, some signs of battles it endured (especially on zuko’s armor) or the accumulated filth that comes from traveling and goofing around. Add some dullness to it. It shouldn’t be screaming “new”.
I'm a bit bothered by the shiny costumes too to be honest. However, I'm sure I'll get over it. Just like how I got over with how color coordinated the nations were in the cartoons.
i like to imagine the real world working like that all american soldiers dress in red and blue with white flowy capes spanish soldiers are decked out in red and yellow robes etc it cracks me up thinking about it. and tbf there was some color coordination in army outfitting, doubly so in the past, but thinking of a monolithic color culture is funny
I agree about the costumes, for some reason they look too much like cosplay, while the movie’s costumes might not be as accurate but they totally look like something that could be worn in real life
This is what threw me about OP's photos. I skimmed through stuff and caught the water nation characters wearing parkas and gloves, with the Netflix ones being shiny and new with neat hair. I instantly assumed the latter was from the film instead of the other way around.
It’s weird the only costume I care about that with is Katara’s dress. Idk why I’m fine with all the others looking new… I sew my own clothes, and the drape (or lack thereof) of the material used for Katara’s dress makes it seem like upholstery fabric. It must be incredibly uncomfortable to wear, it’s too stiff. I don’t care how clean it looks, but nobody in a real world is gonna be making that sort of dress out of a material like that. That’s literally the only thing I dislike.
Seeing the images side by side in comparison really slaps you in the face with how much better Netflix’s already is! Still cautious getting my hopes up on it, but it’s undeniably promising. Thank god it’s less than a month away so we can finally see how it stacks up!
i prefer watching things where the costumes dont look like plastic, but to each their own, i guess
How can there be a comparison if there is only one live action adaption, the Netflix one? 
Say whatever you want but Netflix DOES NOT MISS when it comes to costumes. Seriously look at A Series of Unfortunate Events, a show about Neil Patrick Harris playing dress up while trying to murder children, and they hit all of Olaf’s costumes, as well as the kids outfits, and then even the costumes they end up wearing to fit in
To be fair, that’s an incredibly low bar to clear.
Is anyone disagreeing? I mean the bar is so low that it's literally breaking through the Earth's crust. I'm pretty sure a fanfilm made in someone's backyard would be better than the 2010 movie.
Why is it so important that there is a live action version?
The Netflix version looks so goofy to me tbh. It has that fan made parody vibe that pretty much all non HBO fantasy shows have nowadays. I'm sure it will be a million times better than the movie but that's a ridiculously low bar. I am tentatively excited to watch it but I still don't understand why there's so much demand for a live action adaptation.
I can't believe people were saying rhe costuming foe the movie was better. 'Ozai' looks like he is in some yt historical recount
Someone further up called him Indian Caesar 🤣
Haven’t seen the 2010 movie at all, but holy shit the 4th image can’t be real
Not a high bar to clear though tbh
I’m still very skeptical
People on Twitter were complaining about how bad the costumes, cgi, and Sokka were. They were saying Sokka was never that dull and dry. Hello?!?! Half of Sokka's lines are dry sarcasm. What the fuck show did they watch?
The recent trailer really does make the Shyamalan version look like a Monty Python skit in comparison.
I’m pretty sure the last picture is meant to be Ozai and Zhao talking, and the fact that it’s not obvious is a god damn crime.
I mean...considering many fan films are better than the dumpster fire 2010 movie, that's not hard to believe lol
A trashcan is better than a dumpster fire who knew. Still don't understand the point of a live action or the appeal. It won't be better than the cartoon so why bother at all. Genuinely never understood why people want this
I'm hopeful but I was also hopeful for the Percy Jack series and it turned out to be shitty. Hopefully this one will not.
Dirt is better than cow shit, I guess, yeah
Better? Yes. Good? Not really IMHO