Critics and Fans Heap Scorn on M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Last Airbender'
Shyamalan Desperately in Need of an Ang Lee-Like Redemption to Stay in Hollywood
The Last Airbender has a 9 percent approval rating
Rotten Tomatoes, one of the best Hollywood barometers, shows M. Night Shyamalan's latest work clocking in at only a 9 percent approval rating. In contrast, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse currently has a 50 percent approval rating, which is logical, since the films are made for fans, not critics. Within hours after its release, The Last Airbender earned the dubious title of "Worst Reviewed Film of 2010."
Fans sound off about The Last Airbender
Twenty-four hours after the Twi-hards took over the Irvine Spectrum Mall, fans of the Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender, stood in long lines in Irvine to see Shyamalan's 3-D, live action adaptation. In at least one auditorium, derisive laughter and angry muttering could be heard from the audience. When the screen finally went dark, some fans even booed loudly.
Where did M. Night Shyamalan go wrong?
In 1999, Shyamalan became a Hollywood darling with The Sixth Sense, a brilliant ghost story with the ultimate twist ending. Shyamalan followed up that success with Unbreakable, a thoughtful look at superheroes and villains in the real world. Will Smith's Hancock explored this theme in 2008, but Shyamalan wrote and directed what can be considered the ultimate comic book movie.
Evidently, Shyamalan peaked way too early, because his later films have steadily dropped in quality. The Village, Shyamalan's 2004 release about monsters terrorizing an isolated village, failed to recapture the magic of The Sixth Sense. Two years later, his former fans were hoping that Lady in the Water would have stayed under the surface.
The Happening, a confusing 2008 thriller about a mysterious plague, was just plain bad. Shyamalan leans toward slow, plodding direction in his films, but when the material is this poorly written, sitting through the entire piece can be agonizing, which meant The Happening just wasn't a happening film.
The Last Airbender is an adapted work
For the bulk of his career, M. Night Shyamalan has written and directed his own screenplays. The Last Airbender, adapted from the popular Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender, marks a departure for the director. Shyamalan adapted the material for a live-action movie, and therein lies the problem.
The Nickelodeon series has a loyal, sometimes rabid fan base, and any director tackling the adaptation
must respect those fans. Directors can take some liberties with comic book films, making them palatable for mainstream audiences, but something like The Last Airbender must be handled with kid gloves.
Essentially, Shyamalan committed two big blunders with The Last Airbender: he crammed too much exposition and back-story into one film, and he did not shoot the story as a stand-alone movie. Robert Zemeckis, for instance, made the time-travel classic Back to the Future as a one-shot film, adding only a hook at the end for sequels. Shyamalan ends his film on a cliffhanger that pretty much requires a second movie, but that's not likely to happen now.
Can Shyamalan get an Ang Lee-type redemption?
In 2003, Ang Lee faced a critical backlash with his version of The Hulk. Lee's look at the popular Marvel Comics character was a muddled, confusing mess, prompting Marvel to release a second film five years later that was closer to the classic Bill Bixby television series. Hollywood was ready to throw Lee on the scrap heap after that disaster.
Lee redeemed himself, though, with Brokeback Mountain, a story of forbidden love between two men. Shyamalan has talent, but he needs to take a step back and find his own Brokeback Mountain,or Hollywood will close the curtain on him for good. His next film will be his last chance.
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Published by Steven Bryan - Featured Contributor in Arts & Entertainment
After writing professionally for more than 17 years, I feel lucky to be providing content for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Y!CN allows me to explore my love for movies, TV and all things dealing with pop... View profile
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13 Comments
Post a CommentI might have been ok with the new names, but the acting was terrible! I was really looking forward to this, Totally Butchered
The first place, who ever chose M. Night Shyamalan as the director of Avatar! When it was released that he will be the director, I had the feeling that the film will be a disaster and he'd force his "way" of doing his films into this beloved tv show! I was right! Hate him for ruining this for all, especially for the children!
The movie was ok. The boy playing Aang did well for his first time out. And thats about all the good I can say. MNS screwed up though and needs to get the boot but I dont think the fans should suffer and that a sequel should be made.
did anyone else not understand why the fire nation leader looks like an east asian person along with the prince...but his daughter at the end of the movie was an oriental asian? it doesnt make sence...and how saka ..katara....and their grandma were the only white people in the southern water tribe amongst all inuit people? the movie was a mess in everyway
Part 2 of comment
what the movie was about. there was no back tracking besides Kataras narrorations...which was rediculous and lazy!. he could have just cut the movie into two..im sure fans would have appruciated the movie just being done well even if they were in two parts. it would have been fine. but ya . this movie was left in the hands of the same person who created the village!!!!!!!! wow...anyway...all in all the effects were good.. the story was butchered.
i am a huge fan of the nick series. and though that M night completely butchered the story. Fans watched the last airbender series because of the story line and the way the characters acted....how they were created...who they were. But M Night stated how he felt that buy making ANG not ONG!!! a little happy...(like in the series where he would have moments where he was a child...and innocent) he made him and uptight worried child because HE the directer felt that light heartedness would throw off viewers. that all actors should have been worried and all had the same values. FANS DONT CARE what M NIGHT feels would creat a blockbuster...he should have kept the FANS in mind...and should have kept to the story that FANS WERE EXPECTING. he should have seeked more guidence from avatar creators...but he chose to be the way he did and do things the way he wanted too.....it was completely rediculous...the script didnt make sence. if i didnt watch the cartoon seires b4....i would have had no clu
This makes it sound like it's the fans fault that Shyamalan is incapable to writing/directing a decent film. Sorry, this film failed according the critics as well, many of whom never saw the series. So he was both unable to write a film that appealed to a built-in, sure-thing fanbase and the general population. Can we stop hiring him to ruin movies now?
a cult following of dumbasses.
Critics build their careers on the successes and failures of men greater than themselves, men who actually created something rather than sat behind a keyboard and talked about it. That goes for movie critics, sports critics, art critics, etc. Talkers, not doers. I'll see the movie for myself and judge it.
I took my daughter and a frined to see this movie 7/2 and they ar both huge fans of th nick cartoon...they can quote just about every episode...at 13 they both said that it should have been broken up in two moved and more backstory provided so that new viewers of The Last AB would understand how it all ties together and there needed to be more humor like to cartoon...But they both came out loving the movie and will surely go see the next book if hopefully that happens.....