Somehow Avatar has returned - Netflix The Last Airbender Review
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- Опубліковано 25 лют 2024
- Netflix has taking the second shot at adaptating Avatar: The Last Airbender into live action, this time around into an eight episode series. The results are certainly something worth talking about. Some believe. This is a clip from our podcast The Weekly Planet which comes out every Monday, linked below. Thanks for the support
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Ironically, this adult version of the show feels way more dumbed down and childish than the kids version
"Hey guys, welcome to my speedrunning of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I've found as many mods to make it look photorealistic. Some look better than others."
Why so many shows for adults just feel stupider. Like it so much that when a show its actually good, it is talked about for years
new world order@@shawerful5209
If the writers aren't capable of intelligent writing the least they could do is run their scripts through an AI to fix it.
@@sleepforever3494 In this case they already had the magical sauce, one of the big reasons why Avatar is still highly regarded is because of the writing, characters have arcs and it's good... amazing in comparison to this series.
This was the most expensive ad they could make to watch the original show
Soooo true.
Worked on me. Starting from Season 2 with my hubby. We were adults without a TV when it originally aired, so missed out on the nostalgia. It's pretty good so far 👍🏻
@@hazardsignswatch season 1 of the animated even though it's technically the same story as the live action season 1. There are enough differences to justify watching it
Oh? And what streaming service can you watch this, that and Korra on? Almost like it was a comprehensive strategy with no downside.
@@damongnojek3912 I'm already paying my subscription, so no downsides on my side either 👍🏻
Aang's head tattoo is blue, the same color of the harvest which was the original working title of star wars.
Now that's some green trivia
@@stevenpaul1476Rodney
RODNEY!
🤯🤯🤯
That was ALSO the working title for the Movie Joker. How weird
these guys really have reached a flow state in riffing
like two peas in a pod(cast)
This is the best one sentence summary of how great it is to listen to them every week
It’s the Planetar State
Better than reaching their pro state
They’re the best lol
Someone pointed out that you can't see their breath in the southern and northern water kingdoms and I can't stop noticing it now.
Because it was all filmed on a lame stage and the special effects team didn’t bother to add it in post
@@narutobrokenthey didn't have to do that, this was filmed in Canada, they could have just let the outside air into the studio 😂
Not only that, but why is Aang not wearing a coat or something. If youve seen the M. Night version, at the beginning of the film in the Southern Water Tribe, he's wearing a hoodie, because they filmed it in Greenland. But when he gets to the north, he isn't. Why? Because they filmed it on a stage. I noticed that the first time I saw the film. And I never forgot that.
Quentin Tarantino sshot The Hateful Eight on a stage, yet they're all wearing coats. Why? Because he blasted the AC to the degree where you could see the actor's breaths. THAT'S how a real director does it. Not this laziness
@@treenincove1726tbf ang dosent wear a coat in the original so that point could be seen as actually decent attention to detail
@@treenincove1726Aang doesn’t need a coat, airbenders can control their body temperature
I look forward to you playing, "Guess the adaptation of The Last Airbender from the bad review" game - with of course a James Cameron's Avatar review thrown in as a trick question (and the Movie Joker)
Yes please
Yes but maybe Mason will ask James at the start if the movie Joker is included, and if Mason does that, James will have to say honestly from the start whether or not that's the case, it's the law.
probably also put a bad review of the original series in there for good measure
@@einootsporkNah, it'd be a good review
And High School Musical
Showing the attack on the air temple was an interesting choice. But my main issue with it is that firebending didn't look any more powerful with Sozin's Comet. In the original, the powered up firebenders in the finale, were creating jets of flames taller than buildings, in the live action, there is no distinction between Sozin's Comet firebending and regular firebending
Well, the army did "jet powered fly" to the airtemple to do the attack. Also, Sozin took at full force an attack from an airmaster and didnt even blink. Id say there were signs of the comet aiding them
@@claudegrenier3180 I mean, when you see how much firepower (heh) the firebenders have in the cartoon, I wouldn't at all blame anyone for being confused how exactly Sozin's comet powered them up.
It's almost like the stark difference between comet firebending and regular bending was created by having three whole seasons of the latter before they showed the former...
@@spartanB0292 Lol I see what you did there 😂 but one might argue that other then Iroh and the firebenders trying to cook everything, there really wasn't much to show the difference from one another. We never really saw Ozai firebend b4 so hard to compare to his usual power levels. Iroh and the cookers (heh) clearly have more "volume" (for lack of a better word) in their firebending but a lot of firebending feats during the first seasons are impressive enough to seem "enhanced" 🤷♂ Also, its a weird thing the comet unto itself... I mean, one could say that first Sozin attack was the first time firebenders used the comet to enhance themselves... maybe they lacked the experience 🤷♂ which is weird because I'm pretty sure this isnt the first time the comet is showing itself. So why didn't the fire nation ever used it for that reason? You would think there would be a history of the fire nation doing shenanigans every 100 years or so lol Take it as you will.
@DalePWhyte I was thinking the exact same thing. Maybe the surrounding himself with fire thing was and holding off Gyatso’s attack was something he could only do with the comet. But other than that, the flames did look rather small.
They really made it feel like a +3.2% power boost.
14:55 I find it hilarious that James did an "Um Ackutually, the Anime's Better!" To his own son.
Honestly, these two ....have the most incredible chemistry. I don't think I've seen two people bounce off each other so well. James and Mason have next level banter, it's like they were born for this. Mason always has the best takes though. love how unapologetic he is. Been watchin this channel for 10+ years and wanted to share my love and appreciation!
The previous avatars have been turned from advisors to lecturers. I really liked that none of the avatars told Aang what to do, they just explained how they handled a similar situation along with the consequences, now they just openly tell him he's wrong.
Seems like some insight into the mindset of the writers
Aang doesn't water bend a single time in the entire season. BOOK ONE: WATER. He just watches Katara become a master without ever once trying, and at the end they leave for omashu (to supposedly find an earthbending teacher in Bumi), BUT HE DIDNT LEARN WATER FIRST
I watched the first episode and immediately felt something was off. When they changed Aang from being scared and running away from his responsibilities to was at the wrong place at the wrong time. When they took out Aang and Katara bonding and penguin sledding and replaced it a with a 2 minute puddle training. And made episode 3 which was a great buildup of an innocent child having his world taken away and being comforted by his new found family and had none of the buildup. It’s like they’re just following the story but aren’t putting in the characters or scenes that make it work
There were so many seemingly arbitrary changes that had a huge impact on character defining moments. If they do another season, I hope they just do a shot for shot remake and don't touch the original script
I agree, some moments are so cringe too, i think its from trying to directly copy the original, but some things just dont work the same in live action as cartoons.
There's just no reason for this to exist. Just watch the original show, why watch the inferior live action version? I can understand the existence of the One Piece live action show, but this? This is more like the Disney live action remakes, just downright unnecessary.
Well I dunno about this show but the reason for the Disney remakes is moneymoneymoney and money @@rifway22
It’s okay to change scenes to fit what works in live action as long as you’re staying true to the narrative and character development and that’s the problem with the show they do a completely a 180 on the character traits
Would love to hear Maso's thoughts on the original version
Same. I think it may skew a little young/ silly for him but id love to know his thoughts on the original story/ character journeys.
@@atticusstark5197I am doubtful thats his view. The only really “silly” episodes are a handful in Book 1
@@ISoundMasterBlasterII just watched the cartoon the past couple months for the first time. MOST episodes across all 3 seasons are silly.
@@ISoundMasterBlasterIAnd Avatar Day. But once Toph shows up...let's gooooooo
@@TheAndrewJohnBennett cant really think of one in Book 3 alone outside of the one where he has Nightmares. The show post book one is incredibly mature even if it has some humorous moments. Would def not classify majority of the show as “silly”
I will say that I don’t think the actors are the problem. They all do a really great job with what they had, particularly the actors for Iroh, Zuko and Sokka. They just needed better writing to work with.
Amen brother, for young actors they are giving it there all with what they were given, better actor direction and more takes would have been better as well imo
Tbh I think Aang was the worst actor by far (Logical, cuz he’s a child), but I still enjoyed the show, the costumes and some part of the cinematography (When it didn’t look like greenscreen).
Ive to say tho, that I’m not a big fan of the original either, so I’m not super drawn into the drama.
@@supergeeknation6015 it really makes me root for a season 2 cuz I wanna see these actors at their absolute best.
@@justinh4576kinda need writing that isn’t terrible first..
@@Nick-cs4oc Is that not what I said?
I feel like Remakes are for good concepts that weren’t quite executed properly. Avatar The Last Airbender is such a great show it never needed a live action remake
This version should've been Zuko's story and focused on his side 50% of the time, because we know Aang's story but they could have had him mirror Aang's. The only great moment this show has over the original is Zuko saving the lives of his crew and the moment they find out and show him respect. I like him having more of a team Zuko, but feel like they're going to scrap it for him and his uncle just going to Ba Sing Se.
If it had been made by talented writers it could have been amazing. I really wish hbo had gotten the rights to it because they seem to understand that the writing is the most important part of any production
I just realized how hard it is to adapt this show to live action. Even when it’s as close as you can get to the original. It still just seems like Santa clause 2 when they are at the northern water tribe
Katara seems like a throw-away character in this show, also when momo gets hurt and Sokka reacted like he lost a long time friend, it felt so inorganic bc i dont remember any scenes prior that could have built up that relationship like in the animated version
Sokka reacting and caring about momo is built up. They show how much sokka does care about others in general throughout this show and how his heart is what makes him a warrior. Starting of being annoyed with momo but ultimately did care in the end despite seemingly not giving a shit about him from the outside perspective is built up
@@97legomaniac but it feels forced because he never had any intimate moments with Momo like he did in the cartoon. Like how he has that forced outrage against jet even though he never spoke to or met Jet. It didn't make any sense
@@sydguitar99 jet is a different topic. I’m talking about momo. Doesn’t feel forced to me. The gang has been traveling for a long time and the rest seem to enjoy momo. So seeing how Sokka is a good person and it was told to us quite a bit with suki, yue, and others in the show, it’s no surprise he cares about momo deep down even if we didn’t see him care from the outside perspective. I’m sure there are plenty of media and stories in real life about one person who doesn’t seem like he cares for another friend but he does care when it comes down to it
@@sydguitar99 not defending the jet scenes in the live action remake because he wasn’t good at all but if I knew someone I know was hanging out with a random and it turns out he is a terrorist, i would also not like him too even if I never met him personally. Don’t pretend you have outrage against someone you never met before
@@97legomaniac but that's bc you've seen the animated show and you have that relationship build up but I was watching the live action with my nephews who never saw the animated show and so when they saw Momo get hurt, none of them cared bc they didn't make Momo memorable in anyway
Honestly, most of the stuff with Zuko and Iroh was pretty great and even expanded on their relationship in a meaningful way. Having Zuko’s crew be the people he stood up for in the war meeting was probably the best addition the show makes.
I haven’t seen the live action, but I keep seeing people saying Zuko standing up for his crew is what led to his Agni Kai. Why is this a good decision? It just seems like a way to side step having the episode where his behavior of disrespecting the crew can be avoided. Wherein that episode of the animated show, showed how Zuko was honorable by prioritizing the safety of his crew after making the mistake of going into the storm. And that prioritization happens right as Aang is flying by.
Him standing up for random Fire Nation soldiers in the animated show leading to his Agni Kai/banishment also shows how honorable he is, how much he cared about the average Fire Nation soldier.
@@ForsakenKrios In the Netflix show, Zuko still speaks out against the military plan to sacrifice new recruits as a diversion. This still leads up to his Agni Kai with his father. But there is now a new scene post the Agni Kai where Ozai meets with the now injured Zuko, and Zuko reinforces his idea that sacrificing the recruits is wrong and that the weak can grow stronger if given a chance. This is when Ozai decides to banish Zuko and give him the task to hunt the Avatar, and that since he was so opposed to sacrificing the recruits that Zuko should take them with him as his crew, making Zuko's opposition responsible for also saving their lives.
@@ForsakenKrios “I haven’t seen the live action” fuck off then 😂
@@ForsakenKrios Zuko is just a good guy now basically, which is annoying honestly
@@martophrenia I get what you mean, but I wouldn't really say he's a "good guy" - he's still trying to capture the Avatar, and in this version he's even more strongly pro-Fire Nation than he was in the show
I'M GLAD SOMEONE ELSE NOTICED THE MAN OF STEEL LINE
It’s wild how people still remember that movie so clearly. Meanwhile I forget I own it on dvd
got 5 episodes in and just decided to go watch the original
Wise choice.
My fiancé and I dropped off after the first episode and are strongly considering a rewatch of the original as well. Glad to hear this seems to be a common response.
Same, I was waiting for my favourite moments from the original, but most of them got cut out for no reason, imo. Everyone is rushing from plot point to plot point, without having any fun on little adventures, which I loved as a kid. One of my favourite episodes was Boomie reveal episode, and when I saw they cut it out, I just turned off the show.
I only made it 35 minutes.
1:03 Mason does a pitch-perfect impression of our show.
Watch the animated show Mason.
I second this comment
It's a good show. I'd certainly recommend it.
I wouldn’t recommend it, not that great but people will inflate its greatness because of nostalgia
@@khhaos865brain dead take
When Ang said “can’t I just keep pretending I’m your friend” that was straight up theft from man of steel when Clark says “can’t I just keep pretending I’m your son” except in man of steel it made sense
That was my first thought! How did Avatar end up copying Man of steels homework??
Is corn of the coblin in this one
yes
Pay close attention, and you'll see what you're looking for.
*Cornofcobblin
The biggest missed opportunity was never having aang learning waterbending. Aang will visit the avatar once in a while especially avatar roku in the original show.
THIS. This was the biggest miss for me. He never waterbends in the entirety of book one: WATER. Ridiculous
It's weird that they decided that after season 1, Aang must still learn the other 3 elements.
Unless they're doing at least 4 of these, in which case, what was even the point. He learned nothing, really
@williamheller1362 I get it, but Book 1 was titled "Water" in the original show, not in *this* show. Learning Waterbending wasn't his aim in this iteration. He was going to the North to prevent a tragedy, not to find a master. Finding a master was a secondary thing, but not the priority. And since Katara is his master now, he didn't have to learn from Pakku.
They also never mentioned anything about learning the elements in the order of the Avatar cycle, so it's possible that rule doesn't exist either. We can't assume anything unless it's specifically said/shown in this version. So Book 1 was not water.
netflix book 1: gliding.
AAAHHHHHHH I GET IT NOW!!!!! GAWD how could I have missed that part??!!? The part about Aang not learning waterbending................. ITS THE AANG IM AFRAID TO FIREBEND ARC!!!!
Instead of having a weakly written trauma about Aang burning Katara (she was healed like 5 minutes after. CMON) They made that Aang has a trauma about WATERBENDING because he waterbended like for 5 seconds and lost 100 years!!!! NOW THATS TRAUMATIC. Also... he almost drowned. So there's that.
OH dang that's just literally better then the original series. Talk about being subtle
Why was Roku sidelined to promote Kyoshi? Kiyoshi does give him advice, but Roku is his spiritual guide.
I see now the creative differences the showrunner's and creators were adamant when they left.
because the avatar community has a weird obsession with kyoshi from the novels and people say “hurray” when she appears on screen
The way Netflix try to take away creative control from the orginal creators, to the point that they left is the ultimate reason this one is huge pass for me.
Same as Nickelodeon and M. Knight did before too 'n'
Yep exactly. I can admit that the show does look good and I like some of the casting choices, but the moment I heard the OG creators dipped, I dipped with them.
@@sain1536I mean they were at the premiere. Old fans are liking the show, no harm in checking it out.
If only it were so simple.
Literally the only reason One Piece turned out as passable as it did is because Netflix knew they couldn't wrestle control of the series away from Oda
I don't think budget is an excuse for not showing more of the animals. At $15M per episode, 2 episodes cost the same as District 9. That came out 15 years ago.
I gotta say that depicting the genocide of the air nomads is one of the worst decisions they could have made narratively, let alone depicting it as a cool last last stand action sequence. Not only does it rob the moment of Aang finding Gyatso's body of any emotion but it also manages to be infinitely more immature about the subject of genocide than the 20 year old children's show its purporting to be more mature than.
Yeah, I was baffled that they started with this. Feels like they did it because the creators thought most people know the story anyway and so didn't put any effort into good storytelling.
My only observation is that Aang sounds like Dewy from Malcom in the Middle
Bruhhhhhhh
Funny that you said that, in germany they shared a VA
A very specific and very correct observation.
It’s like we had a wish granted by a genie that all of our favourite books/comics/animated shows/video games would get live action adaptations but the twist is they’re all made in the most soulless way possible
Goddamn Monkey's Paw
It's incredibly poorly written considering the show already exists and they aren't making it up from scratch
No, but guys, you have to understand that clunky exposition is an artistic choice!
...because that's what all the characters are doing all the time. We here at Netflix have no idea what "organic" means, so we're going to assume that means "clunky expositional dialogue nonstop."
"Tell, don't show" is our proudest motto.
@@mallios13 😂😂😂
Aang in episode one being like “I don’t want this, I’m just a goofy kid who likes to play around, and I’m super scared.” 😂
Am I the only one who thought it was weird that they focused more on Kyoshi than Roku? Like Roku was the last avatar the world had seen, and was a huge part of the first season guiding Aang, yet they almost treated him as just another past avatar. He had less screen time than both Kyoshi and Kuruk (who wasn’t even in the first season of the animated show to begin with). They definitely need to change that season 2.
Hmmmm no I think that makes some sense. I'm sure the world of Avatar was more than willing to forget the last Fire Nation Avatar, given he more or less allowed all these shenanigans to happen.
Showing how the world prefers to remember Kiyoshi and Kuruk but shun Roku is an interesting idea, and still gives you room to have the whole "Oh actually Roku was a pretty great dude but flawed, just like you Aang" thing. That said, do the writers have the chops to pull that off?
And maybe I'm just reading into things but it feels like Kiyoshi is the annoyingly popular past Avatar, and that's why she gets to be the opening narrator.
@@spartanB0292 No that’s still stupid as she lived hundreds of years ago and Roku was the last avatar who was very popular by the way. Idk where you’re getting this idea that he was hated. Also I mean it for Aang as well. He should’ve been the one guiding Aang, not these random Avatar’s that lived hundreds of years ago. It’s an example of sacrificing story for fan service.
They focused on each of them evenly. Aang isn’t trained hard enough to simply call on the others without being in their shrine. Kyoshi seems to be talked more because she was the first stop since kyoshi island is closer than the fire sage temple. And after that aang talks about her a bit until he sees roku and he talks about them both. After that he meets kuruk and aang talks about all three. Makes sense for the show to talk about previous incarnations as much as possible instead of sticking to one to show how important each past lives are
@@spartanB0292
Tf?
Roku destroyed Sozin’s literal throne room and said ‘don’t come at me with this shit again’ and Sozin made sure he didn’t up to Roku’s actual death
It’s not like he just let it happen. Shit only popped off after his death.
Yes it was a weird take, undercuts the aspect of the previous Avatar guiding the next, just having Kyoshi explain everything and spoiling the ending, they weren't going to the north to train but to prevent the moon killing (something bad happening).
The lesson is stop remaking animated shows. Animation is a legitimate art form.
Is it ok to make animated versions of live action shows/movies?
@@null6634 Yes I’d say so because animation gives You so much more possibilities than live action. You can expand when You go in that direction. Also, turning live action into animation isn’t done out of belief that it’s a superior medium. The reason you see so many animated movies/shows turned into live action is because animation is perceived as “inferior genre for kids”. Even though it isn’t just for kids, inferior not just a genre.
And maybe how about more animated adaptations? I watched the Supernatural anime the other day it was great.
@@highvoltage7797
If adaptation to a different medium is considered a slight against the original medium, does that mean that live action is not a legitimate art form?
Edit: I forgot to add comic books. That's silly considering what channel this is. Batman started as a comic. It's also been novels, a live action TV show, several animated shows, a few movies, video games. I bet it's even been a radio drama and probably a play or an "on ice" version. So there's no reason an animated show can't be adapted to live action.
What about movie adaptations of books, or plays to movies, the novelizations of live action movies? The Muppet version of A Christmas Carol is a Muppet adaptation of a novel, a novel that has been adapted a million times. Yet the Muppet version is the best.
What I'm getting at is, I disagree. If done well, an adaptation can stand on its own and it is no insult to the original work. Each medium has their strengths and weaknesses. In love action, if done well, you can have more realism and the weight of real physics. The crutch of CGI for everything has ruined that aspect.
The biggest problem with things like Air Bender is, they're trying to condense a whole season or series into a few hours. They should tell a new story, maybe an adventure that would take place in the fourth season. Have a little bit of back story, but allow the viewers to figure it out for themselves. This could have been done, but it would take some creativity by the producers and the studio.
@@li-limandragon9287
Since Disney is intent on mining their own back catalog for remakes that no one wants. And they own the Muppets. Then make Muppet remakes of everything. Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs would certainly be less problematic if they were various Muppets.
As a fan of the original series, while watching the remake I noticed that, big or small, there were details that they changed for seemingly no reason. Whether it was why Aang left the Air Temple, Sokka’s initial attitudes towards women, Katara’s emotions, Zuko’s temperament, Roku and Kyoshi’s roles, Bumi’s character, Cave of Two Lovers, Aang not waterbending at all, changing why he needs to go to the North, all those things and more made me question if the creators really understood the original series. The best way I’ve seen it described it that is looks good but lacks the soul the original series had, that those changes gave it.
Agree. I stopped on episode three when Uncle Iroh kept exposition dumping about Zuko’s reasons for searching for the avatar. They could have let the show explain it naturally episode by episode but no they need you to know Zuko must talk about his honor every time he is on screen. I loved Zuko’s room they show he was really researching the avatar and had more knowledge than anyone else on him. Which is an interesting idea the original never explored. But other than some flashy fights I just wonder why even make this show. They could have used the IP and made a story about new characters. Or a different time in team avatar’s lives.
I tend to disagree and don't believe they made changes seemingly with no reason. The why Aang left the Air temple is close to the original AND incomplete anyways. We saw him leave to vent a little but when we went back to him, he was at an ocean thinking it would be good to go back... no reason to not think he HAD decided to flee. Might get a better idea next season. Sokka's initial attitude towards women is literally something in the first four episodes and then it never really comes back. So not a big thing. Unless you consider Sokka a one dimensional character. Katara's emotions seem pretty intact. Zuko has more depth and isn't one dimensional so thats good. Bumi's character is pretty close but they added the angish of a 100 years on his shoulders...again more depth.
Aang not waterbending is kinda weird but I'm curious to see where that goes. I'm personally very impressed how they managed to maneuver some key points of the story in an inventive way while maintaining the essentials of the characters developments. They've also made some fascinating choices that does enhance certain parts of the story. But there are some "victims". Theo was kinda obliterated if you ask me lol but it aint that bad. We didn't get the earthbenders prisoners storyline but we might get that season 2. The fog of lost souls seems WAY to early but they made it work well so im ok with it. All and all, I think it shows , these guys have MAD respect for the original.
@@claudegrenier3180 I would personally find it hard to believe they had "mad respect for the original" when the original creators left the project...
@@beardedbear9901 Well one of them was there at the premiere. He seemed ok with it. And there are plenty of signs of it within the series. Personally, I saw it clearly while watching the series.
@@claudegrenier3180 Being at a premiere doesn't mean they suddenly didn't leave the project...
I just dont understand why they made sure to touch base on almost every episode of the original if they were just gonna mash plot points together in a way that removes any character development or world building. Things like jamming many of the spirit episodes together along with the Blue Spirit ep really didnt work for me, but the escape scene was kinda cool.
I think that has entirely to do with the episode count being so low compared to the og animated show (8 for live action, as opposed to 20 for animated). Cuz the live action Season 1 is only about an hour shorter than the animated Season 1 (which had some obvious fat that could've been cut), but the issue is having hour long episodes makes it so you have to have one big arc throughout the episode, while the OG had shorter episodes, but more arcs. So trying to get all those arcs into longer episodes is where it kinda fell apart. Could it be done? Maybe. But not by Netflix lol
It just felt wrong. Like it was almost right but everything was just slightly off. I think if they get to finish it they can do better and tie it all together but if they don’t I won’t really care
The point about Appa and Momo being too expensive to keep on screen for too long really highlights how pointless this whole venture was. If the absurd amount of money they're spending still isn't enough to properly render every element from the animation, then why bother making it at all? Why spend millions of dollars to make a lesser version of something that already exists?
Though I suppose Disney's been doing exactly that for the last twenty years to massive financial success, so what do I know.
Definitely agreed. Given the sheer amount of CGI required to do what this world requires, you either prepare to do that in full, or you don't do it at all.
What gets me is that CGI cost aside, this show still feels really bad. The writing is abysmal, the directing is so lacking that they could've promoted this as the first production without any director at all, the cinematography feels cheap, etc. The actors would probably excel with better guidance and material, and at least the costume department did their job well.
My issue with it is that it has no reason to exist.
Remakes and reboots can be good and have artistic merit, The EVA Rebuilds and the Scott Pilgrim show are my go to examples but there should be a reason for this show to exist beyond “its live action therefore more accessible”.
Why should I watch this over the original show? I shouldn’t.
With One Piece I gave it pass because it was a miracle to pull off, but seriously execs need to learn live action isn’t the seal of quality and if anything more live action stuff should be animated.
Yeah. They could've made something like this set in Aang's teen or later years. Or a story centered around a different past Avatar i.e. Kyoshi or Kuruk.
@@STARK0181there are animated coming out next year about exactly those stories: one about Aang, Katara and Sokka in their 30s, one about avatar Kyoshi, and in 2026 there's one coming about Zuko
@@STARK0181that’s my thought as well they clearly want Kyoshi more involved in this story and what not so why not just make her show
It's an ADAPTATION NOT A REMAKE.
This show's visuals are so uncanny that I had trouble buying the fact that its supposed to be real.
I get that they want it to be visually faithful to the original animation, but does anyone think they may have gone a bit too far with it??
There were points where the show looked and felt way too cartoony to be a live action interpretation of the original.
Everyone looks like cosplayers
@@Funkeyman EXACTLY!!
and even the objects look cartoonish. For Example: Aang's staff looked like it was made by a Cosplayer using DIY arts and crafts, instead of a magical instrument used by a monk.
@@STARK0181 I'm happy someone agrees. Seeing people talking about how great the show looks has been making me feel like I'm on crazy pills.
@@STARK0181I didn't like that their clothing is just so clean all the time, it just doesn't make sense
@@nsbm159Yes! This! The problem is that the world doesn't feel lived in. The obviously sculpted cartoonish bones on the gate, the vivid colors on the Airbender and Water Tribes. It just looked so polished.
I think everyone would love it if you guys did an hour log caravan of garbage for each season of the animated show. That would be prettyyyyyyyyy cooool
For perspective, the live action's runtime comes out to roughly about 1 hour (or 16%) shorter than the first season of the animation after you remove the credits. I think it's important to keep that in mind when people give it a pass because they "had to condense so much". They didn't. They had 84% of the runtime and the animation's first season has some very obvious fat that could be trimmed. But instead of doing that and keeping the stories and characters intact, they did... this.
True, though the animated version has that runtime split into 20 EPs, as opposed to 8 EPs. That's 20 arcs for the characters to go through rather than 8. You would have to combine stories from multiple animated show EPs into one episode if you wanted to cover all the same ground (even without the mid stuff). That's why I think the new show is forced to condense.
Even if they just had the animated EPs adapted back to back in one episode, you would have to change a few things to justify it being one episode, like having a seamless through line and theme between the multiple arcs.
They opted for the "mix it all together" route instead.
I guess my point is, it would be near impossible to keep the characters and stories intact because the OG uses the time it has waaaay more efficiently, though they went with a very unfaithful approach anyway.
Maybe if the adaptation was 20 20min long EPs it could be more faithful, but that comes with its own set of problems.
And the writers have to solve all these problems to adapt a show that already exists, and is in the best medium for its story??
It was doomed from conception
Mason needs to watch the original show, it truly is a masterpiece.
James you’re right about the fight where Roku takes control of Aang. It was in the same place where Aang meets Roku in this adaptation, but Zuko and Zhao have captured/ been captured the heroes and then Roku frees Katara and Sokka as well as Zuko… because Zuko is a special to the last Avatar… no spoilers for the non animated series fans.
I say spoil away.
The live action version is kind of like if someone who watched the original series recently gave a detailed cliff notes. They mention a lot but miss a lot of details and subtleties
There’s nothing commanding the viewer’s attention, and it feels like the shooting script is postcards not pages: the first (2) episodes cover ground of what shoulda been (6), but need people putting pens to paper to deliver dialogue; Netflix is apparently fine releasing their very own “Book of Boba Fett”: 1/3 the writing compensated with expensive CG
"Everything is made in the volume now and some of the time you can really tell. It's the same thing we saw with Ahsoka, which is three people standing shoulder-width apart and they're like 'that'll do, just a sort of medium shot of that'" holy shit took the words right out of my brain
I love the cartoon series, I really do, and honestly, I am more concerned about how the next two seasons of the live action series would/will hold up to the original than the first, because as much as I love the cartoon, the first half of the original first season feels like it is written for a much younger demographic than the second half of it, and the writing tone for the next two seasons is more consistent throughout, but they also feel more mature than the entirety of the first season. Due to the season length's of the cartoon, it works.
Not only do I agree with the decision to shift the tone of the live action series from the start, as it is clear to me that this series is more for people who couldn't get in to the cartoon because of it initially being primarily written for a pre-teen demographic, but I also understand why that will rub existing fans the wrong way, even with changes to divisive characters from the original like Jet.
Unfortunately, I actually agree with a number of the contentious changes in the live-action series. Sokka not being a toxic sexist teen allowed for the toxic Master Pakku to hit harder. Again, this is a side effect of contracting the first season from 20+ episodes to 8. Had we had a "overcome misogynistic patriarch social norms" in both episodes 2 and 7, people would've been rolling their eyes and complaining about theme fatigue, "woke agenda overload", and making the Northern and Southern tribes feeling too much alike (even though the issue with Sokka in the original series was not the same as the issue with how the Northern tribe functions.
I also agree with combining various stories together to avoid other repeated elements, such as when Sokka and Katara fall ill and Sokka being lost to the forest spirit. What I am not ok with was pulling Koh so far forward and failing to handle the purpose of the forest spirit and essentially turning that part of the story into a fetch quest which made the world feel too small by having Aang travel to the Fire Temple so quickly. This is the real negative side effect of story contraction. Shrinking the world.
I found it interesting that they put more emphasis on violence on the show. Especially at the beginning and even in episode 3 which is where I currently at. They show the firelord burn some resistant fighters. It’s like the directors want us to think that they are being cool and edgy.
Why/how the FUCK are there still resistance fighters?? It’s been three generations since the start of the war????
@@shooterDisease exactly, just feels like an excuse to have the firelord in it
The replies just show that yeah, burning ppl alive is a cool addition but the reason to show the cool in the script was flawed.
@@rubydoo3307 yes!
7:27 😂 " my favourite child massacre" i love these guys lol
I think we're kinda suffering in a lot of ways these days from a lack of episodes. It feels like over time both animated and live action series have been kinda shortened.
They needa all be “bingeable” now which sucks
Gone are the days where we get TV Shows that are 40 minutes with 20 episodes a season 🕊️
@@wtech758rip 💔
Now I would really love to hear your opinion on the One Piece Netflix show (where the original creator was heavily involved and every change was approved by him)
They liked it
I think they reviewed it and said it was good?
@@JustWanderingoh must have missed that one! gonna search for it rn
The scene where Kataras mom got roasted alive in that flashback was so jarring I actually laughed and had to do a double take
There were a lot of roastings alive in this one... probably too many.
@@jussts some of the violence was shockingly juxtaposed by the kids show style of writing, it was very tonally strange
@@benhutchinson8020 How could they pretend they're making it more mature without needless egregious edgy violence?
@@beardedbear9901they also said ass though. Isn't that good too?
@@Muppet567 True. Swearing and violent scenes do a mature adaptation make.
I love hearing about James using Avatar as a way to connect with his son. When the original show was coming out, I was only 7 but I was able to get my dad into watching the show with me. It was a huge point of connection in my childhood and I’m glad other kids get that same experience
Yup. I watched the show with all of my kids and they just love it.
Adding Zuko's relationship to division 41 (his crew) was brilliant and the best thing that was added to the live action.
I agree 100%. But also, I never once found myself pulled in emotionally. And I've never been _wowed._
I liked it but ngl iroh and Katara were my two biggest problems. Katara wasn't given the edge she had in the show. From the very first scene where she gets mad at sokka she is established as such a strong character, to not have that hurt INSTANTLY. Plus iroh and zukos relationship was good but iroh didn't feel as kind, as skilled or as funny as he should've. Idk if I can blame the actor though as I do agree the voice actors might've been impossible to follow.
Blame the actor, when you are the actor and ask "what is my motive" with the answer of "wise old man" and you get the stereotype racist "wise old asian". . . then yeah, that's the actors fault. You ABSOLTELY can give the EXACT same lines with more emotion. With laughter, with joy, with hurt, with sorrow. The actor chose not to do it that way because the racist stereotype doesn't depict it that way. He was acting out of habit on what that "kind of role" tends to be like. That much 1000% is actor interpretation.
I'm sorry, but it should be a rule, ALL actors must go over the main source material for all big name adaptations before they are allowed to shoot any scenes. >_>
Ok, maybe not "all" the actors, but atleast all the main cast.
This show gave me Aangxiety
So I'm a huge fan of the animated series, and I found myself being very nit-picky about the live action. They changed some things and nailed other things, so I agree with you guys on that point. The acting is solid, the emotional weight of the emotional moments come through for the most part. Graphically, you're getting $15M worth of effects, which sounds insane, but that's nothing today. The Bumi episode was told out of sequence, and I don't understand why. I wished they kept Ozai hidden longer, but I'm ok with what they're doing with him. The biggest issue I have with the show and its a gripe I have with a lot of streaming service adaptations is that they try to condence a huge story into 6 episodes for MCU shows and 8 episodes for this. Granted, not all of it can be translated 1 to 1 because of the medium being different, but some of those episode moments in the cartoon are intergral to the evolution of Aang as a character. Idk if I'm being unfair about it, but I think all of these shows would benefit from having 2-3 extra episodes to tell the stories properly. I think the last 3 episodes were fantastic and I think the best thing about the show is the gravity of what Aangs role is as Avatar is to him. It's the seriousness of it that grounds the story for the live action.
I think you were being more critical because you could see a good adaptation in there, but it didn’t present itself
The show was fine but I was a little bummed with the changing of how/where characters were introduced, Aang not learning waterbending at all, and Azula’s flame color & personality.
I feel bad for Netflix. Because they spent all this money making that show and the only thing it made me do was remember I had to rewatch the actual show. Which was on another streamer in my country. So... Sorry Netflix.
Back to that bit with the Last of Us, that show only had a few differences, it was pretty well an exact adaptation
It’s incredibly frustrating how mediocre this ended up being. I mean it makes sense on paper, live action is significantly more expensive and more limiting than animation, so unless you’ve got 10 years and a billion dollars, you’re gonna make a worse product. But there were flashes of a good show in here. A lot of the stuff they added, like lore from the books/comics, expanding on Kyoshi, painting Azula more sympathetically before she becomes a serious villain, expanding on the Air Nomad Genocide, they’re all really interesting ideas on paper. But the writing just isn’t good enough to execute those ideas very well.
If you want watch the Last Airbender film UNIRONICALLY, my advice is to watch the Rifftrax version 😂
Zuko: bring me, ALL your elderly!
Mike: I need their preparation H for my face owies!
All I’m saying is if I don’t see appa and momo dressed as samurai I will riot
As a super diehard fan of the animated show that ruled my childhood, I was grading this live accent Netflix to the core. Some changes did leave me scratching my head and I’m not sure why they combined so many storylines because I’m confused on what they are going to do for Book 2 but I’ll give this 7/10
The title and thumbnail is so A tier, that even though I'm going to the podcast version of this, I had to stop and laugh at the surprise clowning on that special rise of skywalker line 😂 poor Po.
If they do a season 2 they need to put more money on the script and have more practical sets
But season 2 is even harder to adapt now due to changes they made.
@@rubydoo3307 i haven’t watched it all yet, but I’m assuming it’s because some characters are already off the there character arch from episode 3
that and some strange choices (as in aang hasn't even practiced waterbending yet)@@RedFrog_191
I don't think I've ever heard Masao sound more tired of a series than when he was talking about the moon bit.
I actually liked it. It had issues, but I did enjoy it. It'll never replace the original series (obviously), but I enjoyed it.
The problem with the show is that they shorten and consolidate a lot of stuff, but the time they gain from that they kinda just waste.
And they still took out a bunch of stuff: Kitara stealing the waterscroll, the earthbender prisoncamp, the firebending master, which (if you notice) is all character building stuff.
I think this is fanservice gone wrong. They were afraid to make these beloved characters flawed and so they cut out all this character growth.
Also people love Azula, so lets give Azula a bunch of screentime, even though she can't really do much yet. very odd fanservice.
Also here is how you fix Azula. Cut out everything but the resistance that want to kill the firelord, but don't reveal that the traitor was actually Azula.
Then just have her stand next to Iroh during the agni kai without explanation. Then at the end, after Zhoa reveals that she helped him, let Zuko say to Iroh "It was all my sisters doing!".
Cut to Azula in front of burning Omashu, soldiers chanting her name. Do some quickcuts of the aforementioned scenes of her and zoom on her face while she starts her evil smile.
On the continuum of the animated series to the 2010 movie, this new adaptation sits way too close to the 2010 movie for the time and money that went into it.
Are you high?
@@davidblank420 No. Would that have helped my enjoyment of the new series?
L take, you're absolutely wrong...... just look at the massive gap between the 2 on rotten tomatoes....... cope harder.
@@gammareviews8519 The animated series has 100% certified fresh.
The new live action series is 60%
Clearly the new series isn't universally loved.
@@gammareviews8519you do realize that appeal to popularity is a formal fallacy right? Is that really the best counter you could come up with, a fallacy? lol
I think the biggest problem with these types of remakes is that they can only aim to be as good as the original show which really makes the remake pointless. Unless the new show actually changes the story or adds to it significantly, which is a huge risk, there isn't anything for people to praise or really talk about with the new show. If anyone does talk about it then its usually going to be the same as here where it is just to recommend the original version instead. Companies really need to figure out that you can't just copy a masterpiece and get rewarded for it. These companies would be better off investing in shows or movies that failed the first time around, if they really can't find any new ideas. Find a property where people were excited for it but the original failed to deliver and then remake that but hopefully better, at least with those type of properties they actually have the chance of doing better. Like Spawn, Max Payne, or Catwoman. Or find a property where remaking it shot for shot makes sense to just make the original look better. I love the original RoboCop movies but VFX in those movies could really use a makeover. Or remake a franchise that needs to have bad squeals ret-conned away, like Starship Troopers, The Mask, Screamers, or Highlander.
Wasnt a fan of it...
I’m only on ep 4 and it looks good, but there are things I’m questioning.
Damn this Netflix Avatar show was awesome. I was so swept up in its epic story. Can’t wait for Season 2!
I love the remake of the Matrix 4 thumbnail. Never gets old
It amazes me that neither of you pointed out that "Three-Inch Spike Guy" is a recurring character. Good to see him back on screen 🫡
I thought it was ok! I'll watch season 2.
I did revisit the original cartoon though and wow it's so dang good.
My whole take away from this was I need to see this clip with the Pig in a Nixon mask xD
I liked it. It made me want to binge the OG to see how much they changed.
I'm starting to seriously question the necessity for such massive budgets as it pertains to streaming shows. It feels like less and less of the money is going towards the actual shows themselves, and more to the "creatives" who run them.
That thumbnail is SOLID GOLD. I love my kids but it totally reminds me of when they come up behind me asking the same damn due to that they always ask when I already gave them an answer as if it never happened.
Between this and Percy Jackson adaptations have burned me out. I’m sure some people enjoyed them but all the change for no real reason other than because the creative (and money) behind the show want to.
The creative behind Percy Jackson was the book author.
I actually think the Percy Jackson one was a good idea
Question I have a 8 and 9 year old … suitable for them ?
Do you want them to see people burned alive? If not, avoid.
Yes ,just a bit violent ,no blood tho
Thanks
Depends on how you want to parent, a faster method is to skip through alone. I presume you'd be on Netflix, so it's not like you'll pay per viewing.
Genuinely don’t know why you wouldn’t just watch the original show.
I loved the part where Avatar said "I'm Billy Borderlands" to Airbender, 10/10, would watch for free again
Zuko aang having a longer seen together AMAZING. Ozie banishing zuko after burning him. AMAZING. Zuko saving the 41st soldiers AMAZING.
And all the time Netflix expands the plot Amazing.
I love lamp!
Guess the live action anime by the reciew
If I want to rewatch the show I'll go watch the animated series, I don't know why many people are crying just cause its not shot frame by frame
I really liked your guys’ point about Sokka (sorry European Association Football) and how the writing staff seem scared to write a flawed character that learns a lesson. I think that was something that was great about the original show and is lacking in a lot of modern media.
The point of any remake should be to expose people to why the OG is so beloved. I feel this one has achieved that. The actors in this all did an amazing job!
Amazing thumbnail and video title
I heard Master Kiyoshi talking about the Avatar State. I’ve been wondering, what is the Avatar State? Iykyk
Honestly, I quite enjoyed myself. Don't get me wrong if I was going to watch Avatar again. I would watch the original, but I wouldn't tell people not to watch the show.
Maso’s breakdown of what happened sounds like a deleted scene from Rick and Morty interdimensional cable!
I liked it. It’s not the anime, but that’s ok. It’s impossible to make a true adaptation of an anime. That being said I’m excited for the next season, I hope they do the entire anime
I am a big fan of the animated series. I liked this adaptation a lot!
I am once again on my knees, begging for the fifth element caravan of garbage!!!
I second that ❤❤❤