Is The New Avatar: The Last Airbender Series Worth Watching?
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1 is now streaming on Netflix. The live-action reboot of the beloved series seems almost destined to fail but I gave it a shot and was honestly surprised by the final product! Here are my first impressions on the first 2 episodes of the new series.
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Narrated by: Adam Olinger
Edited by: Adam Olinger
I think we can all agree that it's better than the live action movie that released years ago.
We shouldn’t even be comparing it to that. It should be judged against the show.
The bar is ocean deep
That's a low bar
That's the lowest bar there is. You can't compare it to the movie
Not by much
i feel like the show is so devoid of the energy that made the original series so captivating. Flat directing, flat performances, and exposition overload make for a disappointing first ep (thats all ive watched atm)
Watched this adaption twice, the second time with friends and it was great in our opinion. Definitely has a few problems that I can nitpick, but these are problems that can be fixed 2nd season. They hit all the right points to the story of book one while combining events in a smart way to fit the 8 episodes. Visually it's better than some of the acting, but ultimately it's faithful to the source material while being its own thing.
When they started Omashu I was a little perturbed to see Jett, the Air Temple, and the caves (with the annoying hippies) all crammed into one story, but I thought they did a great job of it. It's certainly possible to be turned off by so much happening at once, but if a critic can put aside expectations and enjoy it for being a decent effort with amazing visuals, it's enjoyable (and my 8 year-old who never saw the animated version loves it).
My biggest gripe was aang leaving in the beginning to clear his head, rather than abandoning his duty as the avatar. That seemed like an unnecessary change that cuts out his arc. Also him learning about the southern air temple through gram gram and processing it there…. He’s supposed to realize when he gets there and it adds weight to seeing the bones. But the first ep was decent, just missed opportunities.
I tried to watch the first episode and turned it off about halfway through. The acting of the kids just felt like an After School special; like Anakin in the Phantom Menace.
I've seen better acting in a junior high play. The acting was totally unacceptable
@@jadedspadesI don’t understand why people are saying to not hate on the actors because they are children.
I agree with your point, middle/high school students in drama class could give better performances than some of these actors.
His acting is terrible throughout, but becomes more tolerable as it goes along. After having watched the entire season I definitely wouldn’t call it good, but I would still like a second season
The acting is gutter trash
thanks
I too was very happily surprised with this adaption. It worked much better than I had expected. I too felt the emotional moments and exposition was clunky, but from what I’ve heard, it’s really just the first episode or two with that problem, and the show improves on that front quite well.
By the time they get to the spirit world / Blue Spirit episodes it's much better. Still the same problems, just not as bad. Plus the stuff going on is really enjoyable (they absolutely KILLED IT with Ko The Face Stealer).
We got sokka this time, not sowka.
The change of starting with the air benders genocide, to me was brilliant, as it immediately manages to do 2 things: 1, it tells you it's not a shot by shot remake, 2, it gives real weight to the lives and deaths in the show, it's not GoT gore level, but the deaths are real and tragic.
please continue reviewing, particularly if you are a fan of the original. It will be a refreshing take because most people who review things aren't necessarily familiar with source material. Keep up the great work Adam! 💯
I honestly didn’t like it. I really wanted to. I even liked the first couple of episodes, but I wasn’t a fan of the acting or dialogue. I also have to say that I didn’t watch the animated series, so I watched from a normie point of view. I wish I had liked it.
I love the original cartoon so much that I admit I'm biased against this attempt.
I'm also a huge fan of the original show, and I'm pleasantly surprised with how you made this adaptation sound. They have a shot at taking an amazing story and maybe adding new things to it as well, like maybe the Zuko's mom story. That would generate some interest.
Also, i think i recall you saying you went to Megacon this year. Would've been cool to greet you there. Picked up a good few Avatar related things from there.
Right on. Bummer I missed you!
I'm just going to watch the series over again with my kids in a few years. I'm not giving these live action remakes the time of day. Got too many other things to watch anyway!
I seen the rest of the show and honestly the changes they made to the original story form the cartoon just left me confused and angered but also I should've known they were going to do that from the very beginning but that's just my opinion.
Better than simply skipping huge chunks of the story to keep it to 8 of the original 20 episodes. I didn't find it confusing at all and I thought Omashu was absolutely stunning to see (although I was disappointed in King Boomie being too over the top).
@@SDesWriter I can understand that
I was only 2 when the original animated series came out and 4 when it finished. I did watch The Legend of Korra though and absolutely loved that show.
It is very mid for me as of now on episode 4 way to much exposition the dialogue is just oof it feels like they are talking down to the viewers cuz we're too dumb to understand apparently 😑 the costumes look cheap especially Katara necklace it looks big plastic and chunky 😅 but I do like some of the stuff they added with Avatar kyoshi
Finally a well thought out review!
Tx Adam! Also a huge fan of the animated series and watched it with my kids when they were much younger (almost 20 and 22 now) who also loved it and i loved the messages and life lessons throughout that were noy shoved down your throat but were organic to the stories and characters . Excited to now watch this with them at an older age. Tx for the video! 😊👍👍
Even if was still paying for Netflix, I wouldn't care about this. I'd be getting hyped for Alice in Borderlands Season 3.
Stoaked when I got the notification for this vid!
I know it’s Adam does Movies but I really like your take on tv as well
One Piece was great so I will give this a chance despite negative reviews on many online outlets.
I'd love for you to continue taking about the live-action show since even though I have Netflix I don't ever plan on watching it. I love the original so I'm biased and also I sort of hate live-action remakes in general (there are a few good ones though). Great video, I found you through Cody Leach!
Hey Adam!
It's been a minute since I've been here. That's largely because there hasn't been that many movie's I've cared to watch. With that said obviously I did watch this video all the way through and my question is this: Like you I watched the entire animated series of "The Last Air Bender" So, why would I want to watch a live action remake? What is the purpose of live action remakes to begin with? Okay that was more than one question. Honestly, I would have preferred a continuation of the "Last Air Bender" series based off the comics where Zuko goes off to find his mother. I also would have liked to have seen something where they address the Air Bender tribe or lack there of. There were a few plot threads they could have pursued in a new animated series
I just finished episode 4 I'm not going to spoil it for you but wow what a episode it hit me in the fields that's all I'm going to say
Hey man, you think you’ll ever have a rating scale for your reviews?
I'm actually working on one.
@@AdamDoesMovies awesome
You are my fav UA-cam critic at the moment, I love ur brutal honesty cos this review was my exact thought on the show esp the over-exposition, casting, visuals and all. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
The show is good, it’s not one peice and it’s definitely not the dbz movie. Things can exist being enjoyable and pretty good.
Can wait for season 2
Adam does movies is da bomb y’all!
Don't give me hope , Yu Yu Hakusho already let me down , so yes I'ma keep my expectations very low.
BTW, if you've only seen the first couple episodes, I have a MILD spoiler for you that you'll love. They do a flashback later in the season of the Agni-kai between Zuko and his father. It is REALLY tragic and well done. They show how devastated he was to realize his father basically hated him and the way he got his scar is especially rough. Then they tie it up with a really great moment. It's one of the best moments of the 1st season. Really helps humanize Zuko for anyone who doesn't know where the show is going in a way the series didn't.
Good review. I'll check it out.
Hated the movie but actually enjoyed this series... it was also visually interesting.
Bro is in the middle of the video wondering if he's creating new words. 😂😂😂 Love it
I'll agree with a few things, character casting was phenomenal from what has been shown so far, I've seen the anime around 8 times, Korra twice and I've watched the Netflix adaptation twice.
I too was hesitant to see how Iroh would be portrayed, such an iconic character that really was a key part of Zuko's journey. Both the people cast to play Iroh and Zuko in the Netflix special play their roles very believably, the chemistry between them in some parts are way better than the anime.
They removed a lot of the childish antics from the show, which is present in the anime, for obvious reason, still I would love to have seen the Unagi, I think the line they went was far better though.
You mentioned about the exposition and how you want to be shown and not told, then complain about how he's talking to Appa telling him about his feelings. I think you should watch the anime again, because not only is Appa, Aangs best friend, but Aang is always treating Appa more like a person/family member and has vented to Appa before.
There is certainly things wrong with the show, nothing is perfect. I'd say it's easily a 9/9.5 though.
I do have reservations about Ty Lee and Mai as for now, Aang, Azula, Ozai and Zuko are perfectly cast, that's not to take away from the others, I'd say about 95% of the actors were great. I think I actually preferred this version of Sokka, he's an actual character from the start rather than a comic relief punching bag.
The CGI and visuals from the show are really well done, when we first get to see Omashu, it is a work of art and I didn't mind the exposition here either, rather than them showing us the city being built...
They removed some of the filler content and brought forward some later scenes from the anime, and introduced it in a way were it didn't feel forced or like a it was taking away from the experience, and you get a little nod and a wink about some of them.
Like you said, I can't think of it from a new person to the Avatar world, a family member did say she'd be watching it and she's not seen the anime before, so I guess I get her feedback.
There is a lot of stuff that was added to the show that wasn't in the anime, and for the most part played out very well.
Something from the anime that always annoyed me was the fact that Aangs home had been attacked by fire nation and everyone has gone, yet there is almost no reason to think something bad happened until one small area is found, and also the passage of time doesn't seem to happen there after 100 years.
I'm really looking forward to your opinion about this show.
Also a big fan of this anime and many others but hate live action adaptations…I’m loving that you are digging this..I’m actually rewatching the original currently so I get my proper itch back before diving into the live action..cheers 🍻
I think they nailed it down pretty good. Hoping they get Toph right.
YOU STILL NEED TO WATCH ONE PIECE ADAM! It's much, much better than this, IMO. This seems to be mostly exposition with random changes that shouldn't have been made. One Piece has changes that actually make sense and might even improve the story (I haven't seen the anime, but I've seen that mentioned a bunch), and it doesn't just stand there explaining everything to the general audience who may not be familiar with it. It's a legit show in its own right, whereas this seems to be just another mid adaptation that could've been so much better. I think this was forced to be handled the way it was, for whatever reason, whereas One Piece was able to just focus on being a good show on its own.
I'm on episode 5 I think and I can say it's pretty enjoyable so far. Not great but pretty alright and feels like a decent adaption without being a 1 to 1 recreation that would feel repetitive. Just feels like they got the structure and key points and overall tone of the show but go in a similar but fifferent direction. A surprising win in my book
I wish streaming services had more nostalgic anime. What do you think bid Inuyasha, YuYu Hakusho, or outlaw star? Toonami was awesome back in the day. And all the dragon ball versions? Forget about!!!!!! Great review, Adam.
I'm pretty sure you can still get the complete series for cheap on DVD or Blu-ray!
@@Aaron.Rants.Reviews on eBay or other platforms? eBay can burn you bad especially with DVDs being scratched. Thanks for the recommendation!
@@bryandavismoviefanYeah, you kind of got to know what to look for. I tend to use eBay over Amazon because it's easier to check item descriptions and seller feedback. Try and look for items that don't use stock photos, as those are often bootleg copies.
Netflix has YuYu Hakusho and Slam Dunk
@@japhetaguirre4880 I was so excited and then realized it isn't the original series. Thanks though!
I watched it all last night, never before seen Avatar and i thought it was awesome!! Hell yeah keep reviewing this!
My take: having seen only the first two episodes... I feel like we got a really interesting adaptation that still hits the themes - guilt. shame. responsibility. fear. courage.
And we get scenes that played out, maybe, how we WISHED they did when we grew up watching it.
I felt like parts of my inner child were healed... but also, I felt like my (adult) heart got ripped out.
Plot aside -- the cinematography?! 😭❤️
I really enjoyed the first two episodes. I watched the animated series with my kids years ago. My wife had no interest then or now. I got her to watch them with me last night, and she's looking forward to the next episode. I didn't mind a little extra exposition (which usually bothers me), but I didn't have to explain anything to my wife so far. Also, it helped me remember some small details, haven't seen the animated series in a while.
I’m just saying make another avatar character they just abandon korra and the creative juices are running dry. They can expand on the world and introduce new tribes and benders. But I guess it’s too much work.
Yeeaahh, honestly, a live action story set in this universe could really work! Just not the same story from almost 20 years ago rehashed over again.
I agree, I made a comment on Adam's last video about how they should have come up with a new 'Avatar: The Legend of _____" instead of just remaking the Legend of Aang again.
When it comes to remakes ill always judge them off thier own work and im liking it so far the only problem I have is I lowkey think the actor for aang is kinda bad like bro needs some classes
I'm on episode 5....really enjoying MOST of it....but I really do miss those incredible voice actors
A lot of people are whining about it because the acting is stiff (really??? You get an Asian cast of teens who happen to be good enough at fighting to be convincing and they're surprised you're not getting Duvall level acting?) and the story is too compressed (20 episodes into 8 and that's a surprise too?). But the effects are GREAT, the locations are freaking amazing (Omashu was spectacular) and there's actual moments of real heart and dread in what should basically be a childrens' series.
I thoroughly enjoyed it but with the knowledge that it's not going to be as good or properly paced as the animated series. But it's certainly not bad and nothing like the complaints claim. Looking forward to season 2 and finally getting to see live action Toth. If you put the Animated series on one end of the spectrum and the movie on the other end of the spectrum, this is much closer to the former. I'd like to see it improved for future seasons, but even if it isn't I'll enjoy all 3.
I’m not a big UA-camr and my editing skills are not that good. However I just made a video dropping soon (1-2hrs) that’s more entertaining than this show.🤷🏽♂️
I loved the original, and it was a (multi-time) shared experience with my sons. I don't think this was needed, and regardless of how good it is, I will direct people to the original. That said, I am 3 episodes in and really enjoying it, and I'm as surprised as Adam is I think.
I support what you're doing!!
I thought it was so bad. i was so excited for it and it was terrible!
I thought this review was based on all 8 episodes. I'll wait for your review after you've watched all 8 episodes. If you even make it that far. But I will say that it is worth the watch.
it's watchable but there are too many flaws. The dialogues made me roll my eyes and because everything feels rushed (8 episodes arent enough to tell the plot of book 1) most emotional moments fall flat (like are we supposed to believe sokka really cares about yue after only 1 day of meeting her?) But there's one change that wasnt in the original cartoon that really left me speechless because of how good it came out with a little foreshadowing here and there, is the relationship between zuko and his crews. This was a huge change from the cartoon. Here in the live action we can see zuko being abusive toward his crew and his crew actually resent him for that, thinking they were given the short straw of being banned from home along with zuko. And then...SPOILER ALERT....when we see why zuko was banished, there's a little bit of foreshadowing about the 41st battalion being used as sacrifice...and then the fall : we learn that the 41st batallion was the crew chosen to be Zuko's, and that zuko actually saved their lives. And it made them completely change their view: now they know that zuko's sacrifce saved their lives. And now they become 200% loyal to him. That was such an epic moment! but unfortunately, it was the only thing that made me feel something in the whole 8 episodes. The rest just fell flat to me.
It’s not looking good and I’m on episode 4
Oh no...
Yea I started dozing off after the episode with the warrior women with the fans, that was cool.
Idk. The first ep started off strong -REALLY strong, and was interesting. Earth bending got a major glow up -like MY WORD, Earthbending was cool there. The backstory stuff was all interesting, very interesting, but.. was it a good choice? Hm. Regardless, after that, the first ep kind goes downhill. Its not bad perse, but the first ep is boring, dreadfully boring, it felt like rewatching the m.n. sham version. Its SO exposition heavy, most scenes were just expo after expo after expo dumped. And frankly speaking, the show doesnt get much better at that after that either. Characters are also just kinda eh, most are changed, and not for the better, most are changed for the worse. Roku was destroyed. Kyoshi was "cool", but NOT Kyoshi. Kyoshis not a murder-hound that yells at 12 year olds lol like she did in the show. Shes firm, strong, stoic. Stands her ground, you have to move her, like Earth. Shes not gunna yell at a 12 year olds face who is asking for advice. Sokkas.. actually fine, his actor is good too. Actually speaking of actors, I think the actor for Aang while not the "same Aang" as the animated show, is actually good, and doing his own thing. Hes at least elevating the material, and WHEW BOY, are they like... ruining the material. Aang is SO RUINED in this show. He DOESNT DO ANYTHING. Just watch it, youll notice, he doesnt do anything. He doesnt learn, doesnt really change, and worst off, doesnt GROW. Aang in the original, grew A LOT by the finale of Book 1, in this.. he doesnt grow at all. Things are changed, just to be changed, and not for the better. I HATED the Omashu episode, I thought it was TERRIBLE. Easily the worst ep, and its NOT EVEN CLOSE. It mixes Jet, Mechanist, and Omashu stuff all together. And does ALL of them poorly. Especially Bumi. Bumis character isnt just changed its assassinated. Even the animated fight was better, and... they shouldve at least made this fight good. And frankly, by the end of this show, even M.N's version did things better... Thats not good at all. But, I dont think this show is bad, or anything, so eh. Its mostly mid, which.. is basically bad, but I digress. Oh and another thing I think Katara's actor is easily the weakest on the show. Where the actor for Aang is trying to salvage his character and bring it up (despite the script trying to do the opposite), Katara's actor is the opposite, Katara is actually written mostly fine (her preachyness is through the roof tho, theres an entire episode.. its 3 or 4.. maybe 5 I cant remember, where every spoken dialogue from her is preachyness and "OHHH HOPEEEE!"-filled, that I was legitametly telling her to shut up lol, and the original cartoon actually MADE FUN OF THIS IN THE SHOW, but anyway, regardless) Katara's character is written fine. Its just the actress is like, bringing down the performance and the character. So yeah. lol
Other characters are changed, or worse than the animated show. Some are fine, like Zukos fine, Sokkas fine, but Roku was destroyed, (which spells doom for the rest of the show going forward.. since Roku's so pivotal, and Lol Kyoshis not. What in the world did they do. Wanting to girlboss up Kyoshi and make her "COOL" ruined a lot of the cool stuff from the show going forward.. uh-oh, anyway), Kyoshis changed and worse, even another avatar that shows up was basically ruined, and we only got a small snippet from him from the animated show. Aang's char is SO BAD in this show (his actor is good tho). Azulas kindof a joke. Even Mai isnt the same. And Mai's one of my fave chars so this personally ticks me off lol. Iduno. Its.. its honestly not great, but whatever lol
Sorry for wall of text!
I love Avatar but Samurai Jack and BTAS will always be the best animated series
muh muh excitement… muh muh Adam do the Avatar series.
I havent watvched the animated series. And im not watching it to compare. As a stand alone series i feel they did an amazing job compard to the movie that i watched that flopped years ago.
Never liked the anime but i like seeing live action kung-fu and magic hense why i might like this show.
Binged it in 1 day…now what do i do 😢
I'll stick to the original animated show.
I have no interest in Netflix's version once I learned they destroyed Sokka's character arc and the original creators walked away from this trash.
The Katana actor was absolutely atrocious. She's a cute piece of wood.
Man, I thoroughly enjoyed Rings of Power. So much so that I was shocked to hear it wasn’t universally loved. lol. I actually started questioning myself
If you can handle boredom, green screens, and unlikeable characters cosplaying as LOTR characters I'm sure it would be enjoyable.
Excellent video as alway. Avatar the last airbender is my favorite anime show of all time as well. I also had concerns
It’s not an anime.
@@roberttrevino62800 I didn't mean to say anime, it autocorrected from animations.
I just finished the series there somw things I likes and somethings I didn't. Overall the cartoon remain far better witch is the case with most live action adaptationa.
I guess they could have added 2 more episodes otherwise i liked it and hope there will be more.
Great opening episodes but by the end they Fuc*ked it up.
I don’t understand how anyone even made it past episode 2 🤦♂️… the acting was horrendous and every interaction just felt like a stale joke … I’m literally baffled… is everyone just lowering their expectations?… do most people enjoy brain dead shows??… or am I just growing up and things that I used to like doesn’t catch my attention… I LITERALLY CANT TELL with how many people are praising this adaption 🤯🤷♂️
I grew up on shows like The 3 Ninjas. Let me tell you, that wasn't high art either. This is a family/kids show so I keep my expectations realistic.
@@AdamDoesMovies YOU A DAMN LIE! 😂😂😂 …. Take it back!….3 ninjas was PEAK CINEMA! … but I get where ur coming from saying that the live action is more geared towards kids now … but it’s just mind blowing because from what I saw it seems like they took out all the comedy that made the series so popular 🤷♂️
I wasn't angry while watching it, but I felt like I had to force myself through to the end. Story is everything, characters are everything, and although I thought Sokka and Zuko were incredible here, and the visuals were mostly great minus some of the distracting CG aang moments, the fundamental changes they made to so many plot lines and characters were almost universally worse than the animated show.
The cast should have been aged up, and the runtime should have been doubled. Invest in something incredible, if youre going to adapt one of the greatest shows ever, don't half ass it. The animated show told twice the story in half the time.
I was waiting for this now I can watch it.
It was good
I had to agree
I like it. Not perfect but just good enough.
Nostalgia critic said Iro was good in this version, why is your opinion wrong?
Go Team Azula!🔥🔥
check out that one love (Bob Marley).
The original cartoon was fine, but not what i would call consistently good.
Exactly! It's a greeeat show.
You hate wasting your time but you saw and reviewed Madam Webb 😂
I couldn't even make it 5 minutes in it was SO BAD
Gotta disagree about The Rings of Power. Lord of the Rings is so great that bad Lord of the Rings is better than no Lord of the Rings.
if u giving a review after the 1st 2 episodes ur not a fan
This series was terrible!
Turned off after the 20 minutes into the second episode, the acting is crazy bad, the actors look way way to polished its almost laughable. Nothing seems realistic or in line with the last movie, from what I've seen so far its utter garbage, the list of things wrong or poor is literally huge after watching 1 and half episodes. If you love then great but certainly not for me.
the most overrated netflix series
terrible acting and casting. Dissapointed
So sad to see Critical Drinker and Adam get bribed to shill for Netflix.
From the trailer, I could see that the visual effects look like shit 😂