Avatar: the Last Airbender live action (Netflix)

HareBrain

HareBrain

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I don't normally pay much attention to teaser trailers, and couldn't previously see much point in a live-action ATLA, but this got me excited. I can't fault anything about the look, and based on the good job Netflix did with One Piece, this could be amazing. (Of course, One Piece was an exception so far where live-action adaptations of animation are concerned.)

 
Live action adaptation do tend to be a mixed bag . But this trailer does look good. :)
 
It looks better n the the first live action film :)
 
Raised both my children on the animated series and though I don't see any real value in remaking this, I am still excited to see what they do. My family recently attended a fancy dress wedding and we all went as a character from Avatar. My costume was very much a last second DIY but I went as some version of Uncle Iroh. I am still baffled/curious about the fact that Amazon could ship Vietnamese fisherman trousers the next day. I would upload some photos but not sure what the current community rules are on that. Also personal shame.

PS Fills my heart that some of my favourite Chroniclers love this series.
 
Lacedaemonian said:
Raised both my children on the animated series and though I don't see any real value in remaking this, I am still excited to see what they do. My family recently attended a fancy dress wedding and we all went as a character from Avatar. My costume was very much a last second DIY but I went as some version of Uncle Iroh. I am still baffled/curious about the fact that Amazon could ship Vietnamese fisherman trousers the next day. I would upload some photos but not sure what the current community rules are on that. Also personal shame.

PS Fills my heart that some of my favourite Chroniclers love this series.
Click to expand...

The animated series was terrific and going to be hard to top.
 
I am just trying not to be tooooooo excited. And it is harder every day, but live adaptations hurt me before.
 
OK...

Coffee... check.
Nice slice of cake... check.
Stinking cold so I can justify watching TV all day... check.

Let's see what they've done with this.
 
First impression after one episode: hmm.

Visually, it's good. It has some effective moments.

But.

There are things an animation for kids can get away with its its plotting that a live action (especially one hoping to attract the same audience as Game of Thrones, as the showrunner said a couple of weeks back) cannot, and they haven't taken this on board.

It lacks the charm of the original.

The writing, again, has its moments, but isn't as strong, funny or efficient as the original. In particular, it's a strange decision to have a lengthy action-packed fight at the start (during a new twenty-minute prologue) which doesn't feature anyone we're invested in. This approach might just work on the big screen, but not here. The original was clever enough to start with character, not spectacle.

I don't know what the reaction will be from people who've never seen the original ATLA, but my guess is that those who have won't feel it really adds anything. I don't know if I'll carry on with it.
 
That's a great review, Bryan. I haven't watched it yet but the strength of the original series was the charm, comedy and strength of the characters. Spectacle is a hallmark of the wuxia cinematic universe but without character building (see Crouching Tiger) you end up with just a visual experience as seen in Hero or House of Flying Daggers.
 
Lacedaemonian said:
Aren't those sorts of people being slowly fazed out though?
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Good question. Personally, I think there is a general bias against animation. Otherwise, why all these live-action remakes but literally nothing in the other direction? Who are Disney making all their remakes for if not people they at least believe think live-action is superior? (Mind you, the box office for those hasn't been great, as far as I understand, so maybe they're got that wrong.)
 
I just think it's part of the financial culture inherent in the media world these days of taking zero creative risks. There are always great storytellers out there, they are just not getting platformed.
 
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