Alright, so it looks like M. Night Shyamalan is making a comeback with The Visit, so let’s celebrate it by taking one last look at this piece of shit. This disastrous excuse for an fantasy action-adventure film was initially released on July 2nd, 2010. Despite managing to double it’s supposed $150 million budget, the film received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics, fans of the show, and the creators. Let me just start off by saying that I’m a ginormous fan of the animated show; the characters and voice acting were unforgettable, the story and lore so complex, and the humor and themes were appealing to all ages. And I’m interested in the Legend of Korra sequel series which is supposed to be set in a steam-punk era. And what’s more, nobody was looking forward to the movie adaptation more than I was. I really, really wanted it to be good. And honestly, the intro is innocent enough where it presents the four major elements with choreographed martial arts. This is followed by a rather tedious screen crawl that explains everything happening in the world. Unfortunately, it only got worse and worse as the plot went on. Basically, there are four nations that each control the four elements; fire, earth, water, and air. However, the Fire Nation decides to conquer all others to assert the dominance of flames. Every generation, there is an Avatar, an individual who can master all four elements simultaneously and bring balance to the world, The series follows Aang, one such Avatar who has a lighthearted spirit and a destiny to stop the Fire Nation. The film follows the first season loosely throughout 103 minutes to make up for a 20 episode background. As a fan, you might get a kick out of this for a while…but that’ll soon fade. As you realize it’s not just the poor writing or directions of Shyamalan, but also the child actors are terrible, even by child acting standards. They show zero joy or happiness from the series, and what’s worse is that the ethnically diverse heroes are played by all Caucasian children and the complete opposite for the villains. Dev Patel gave the most try-hard performance in the movie as Prince Zuko, but even that is woefully pale compared to his work in Slumdog Millionaire. And the ending was one of the most shortcut, sequel-bait endings I have ever seen. And recent rumors have surfaced that Shyamalan is in pre-production with the second movie. I dare you; TRY to release this movie. Sadly, the visual effects aren’t much better. They look ugly and unfinished. It actually won an award for Worst Eye-Gouging Misuse of 3D. It deserves it. Perhaps the only redeeming quality of The Last Airbender is the orchestral soundtrack by James Newton Howard. With 12 tracks and a 119-piece ensemble it does its best to bring the movie to life. In conclusion, DO NOT see The Last Airbender. If you’re unaffiliated with the franchise, for the sake of all things holy go watch it from a DVD box set. There is no reason to watch this movie on DVD , streaming, or even pirating; you will hate yourself for life. Fun fact: like this film, I was stupid and white-eyed enough to purchase a tie-in game on the Wii. Guess which one was more fun and interesting.
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