Netflix’s live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender attempts to leave the same impact as the original but never does.
The show follows Aang, the avatar, as he tries to unite the world and stop the raging war between the nations. All the while, making friends and enemies along the way.
The original Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the highest-rated shows of all time. Praised for its memorable cast, fantastic story, and incredible music. It’s comforting and challenging but it never fails to keep the audience entertained.
So when Netflix announced they were remaking the show, it was met with a lot of skepticism from fans, as this would be the second time the show was brought to live-action.
The previous remake, The Last Airbender, is almost unwatchable. It’s a film that doesn’t justify its existence and makes no sense.
With all these factors, Netflix had a really difficult task on its hands.
Where Netflix Went Wrong
Netflix’s Avatar is an eight-episode series, each episode an hour long. This is a format Netflix uses for most of its original programs. It’s also in contrast to the original show’s 20-episode season, each episode being half an hour long. The format has worked many times before, but for a show like this, it doesn’t work at all.
The original was great at keeping a consistent tone. Having fun episodes coming before or after serious moments. It gave the show a nice sense of balance which is completely absent in the remake.
The remake attempts to keep a serious tone throughout for the most part. This difference is one of many but is easily, the worst of all. It’s almost impossible to tell who the show was made for because of this.
This serious tone ends up getting in the way of character development for characters like Aang and Sokka.
The story, because of its episode count, is cut down. Removing a lot of the small character moments and little adventures, you end up not feeling as connected to the gang as you do in the original.
The pacing is also an issue. The episodes have moments that drag on for a bit too long, and by having these scenes, the show isn’t able to include other important moments. The story never has any time to breathe, rushing from one conflict to another.
The dialogue is irritating, with characters tending to exposition dump about who they are or what they are doing. It’s like the show is holding the audience’s hand, and having no trust in them to understand anything.
Another issue (that is only obvious if you have watched the original), is that the show pulls in characters and stories from later seasons. The most obvious example is the inclusion of Azula, Zuko’s sister. She is the central antagonist in the second season and plays next to no role in the events of the first season. The remake doesn’t give her much to do either, she just pops up from time to time.
Moving away from the negatives, the show does have some good elements.
The actors do a great job of embodying their characters. The standouts are Gordon Cormier as Aang and Dallas Liu as Zuko.
The costume and set design are incredible. Many times they look the same as the original. Sokka and Kittara’s outfits are some of the best in the show.
The score is gorgeous, flowing from punchy and triumphant, to soft and gentle.
The fight scenes are choreographed excellently, mimicking the original most of the time. The CGI, during the fights, also looks great. Each element looks radically different from each other.
I wanted to love this show, just as I did the original. But, it didn’t have the same charm and had it too many issues for me as a fan, to enjoy this. For newcomers, it might be alright. But when the original show is also on Netflix, there isn’t any reason to watch the remake.
Avatar: The Last Airbender can be streamed on Netflix.
Featured image credit:thedailybeast.com
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