Avatar the Last Airbender (live action)

[Drunk Monk]

This drops Friday. I’m in.

 
By Friday I meant Thursday (today). It’s 8 eps, each about an hour. 

After watching the premiere, my first thought was ‘well, it’s better the M. Night Shamalamadingdong’s version.’ That’s not saying much. I hated that film and that was before I fell in love with the original anime. It was making some of the same mistakes, losing the chemistry and the humor, racing to compress a whole season into one movie. 

The Netflix series is also racing to get through it. I’m 3 eps deep and they are already in Omashu, which doesn’t happen until the 2nd ep of the 2nd season in the original (the original series is 61 eps). Nevertheless, by e3, the Netflix series is settling into a rhythm. There’s some chemistry in the cast. The actors are well suited for their roles. The settings and costumes look good. 

There are some nice Easter eggs for us fans, like the cabbage man. In the original, the cabbage man was a reoccurring side character that kept getting his cabbage cart tilted during chase scenes. In the Netflix series, he’s teased twice, always getting cut off before he says ‘cabbages’ and the third time, when his cart is incinerated by fire nation, he finally utters his signature ‘my cabbages!’ line. He is also played by the original voice actor.

The Netflix series is darker. There are many live immolations. It has some humor, mostly with Sokka, who was always the comic relief. But it can’t get at that singular cartoonish humor that only anime can achieve, a sort of caricature absurdity that fully exploits animation exaggerated dynamics. The manifestation of Avatar Kyoshi in e2 is dark and terrible, which wasn’t something in the original but I liked how it came out.

I miss the Kung Fu. The fight choreo is basic superhero magic fights. The original was mo-capped off my KF cousin Kisu, who based each elements fighting method on traditional Kung Fu styles. He’s a Bak Sil Lum guy like me and the cfs and some of the forms of the fire nation are lifted directly from forms in our style. If you know Kung Fu, the original anime works on a completely different level. There’s even some full on opportunities to bring in my KF - like with Jet and his Tiger Hooks - but only one unique move of linking the two hooks together for more reach is seen. I’m particularly sensitive here because I luv tiger books - I still practice them but haven’t been able to do so lately due to rain and illness.

At the same time, some stuff like the cabbage man and the way that Azula (one of my fav characters) was introduced was great. Some of the twists on the original are well played.

It’s also preachy. There are a lot of gems of wisdom within the original, but here, the dialog is so forced that it sounds like mansplaining. Here, the morals are too heavy handed in their delivery. 

The original series is hard to live up to. It’s unmatched in what it achieves for so many reasons. I need to let go of that to enjoy this fully. I am enjoying it but I can’t help but compare. 

The most praise I can give it now is that I shall see this through. Perhaps that’s dedication tto the original. 

Not D00M recommended because none of you are in the ATLA fandom, although I would be curious to know how this works with the uninitiated. I suspect the characters will all fall flat. Knowing the show, I know the backstories so the characters seem full, well developed, but the live action left alone might not enough: 

More to come.

[Drunk Monk]

3 more eps deep and it’s gone from bad to worse. It’s lost all its sense of humor, instead going for this heavy handed life lesson vibe. The journey into the spirit world had one shining moment in how Koh, thr face stealer was actualized. Zuko’s Blue Spirit opened the opportunity for a prolonged fight scene but the lack of Kung Fu was glaring as it was reduced to a middling sword fight. 
I was mistaken about Omashu being in book 2. This series is only covering book 1, basically the same that M. Night’s film covered. 
Two more eps to go. I’ll finish it just so I can complain about it more accurately.

[Greg]

The show has been getting less than stellar reviews in the media.

[Drunk Monk]

I’m seeing some divisiveness in the fandom about reviews. Most of the published reviews are negative but there are some defending it. My beef is the lack of Kung Fu and there’s more issues for me. But Kung Fu absense is enough. 

The finale was weak. I wasn’t fond the finale in the original either. I went back to watch the original, just to remember it and it was fascinating to hear how they kept some lines exactly but changed a lot of details randomly. Netflix’s 2nd worst fail is that this series takes itself too seriously. There’s not enough humor, and without that, it loses so much charm. Ultimately the original was made for kids so it has an innocence while this Netflix version is over dramatic and likes to burn the crap out of victims.

I’m super curious about Tara’s take because she was far deeper into ATLA than me. She’s got some of the books and comics. 

Not D00M recommended although I’d be super curious how this plays out for someone who never saw the anime.

[Drunk Monk]

Two people (martial arts friends) have messaged me telling me that I look like Avatar Roku in this live action and that I should've had that role. I am bemused and slightly flattered - Roku was a cool Avatar. 

[Greg]

Avatar has been renewed for seasons 2 & 3.

[Drunk Monk]

Great. Now all I have to do is replace the dude who’s playing Avatar Roku now.

[Greg]

Great. Now all I have to do is replace the dude who’s playing Avatar Roku now.

Good luck with that.

[Drunk Monk]

[Drunk Monk]

TOMORROW!!!

[Drunk Monk]

S2e1 was disappointing. Lots of stilted talk and cgi effects but not much character advancement. Aang grew up and almost ages out already. I don’t like Azula - she should e skinnier and more evil. Uncle Iroh is ok, not impressive 

7 hour long eps -

[Drunk Monk]

S2e2 introduces Toph Beifong, one of the best characters of the series. Her live action incarnation is on point so far. Aang, the avatar, isn’t quite working for me. Neither is Katara. Sokka, who was the comic relief, is coming forward as the main character, which is odd. It’s staying relatively close to the original but there’s more with the Kyoshi warrior and Sokka, which is ok. The fights aren’t bad - fair for anime-to-live-action but it lacks impact. The races are interesting because in the original, the races aren’t clear.

[Drunk Monk]

I’m 4 eps deep and Toph & Sokka are now the main characters, upstaging Aang & Katara. There’s more new stuff that’s not quite working: Katara’s Batman-like avenger, Iroh’s regret, the Suki & Sokka romance. The most annoying thing is that they redid my fav scene from the original series - the cactus juice scene - into something totally different. Similar lines (Quenchiest) but a different context. Tara has a T-shirt from this scene that was gifted to her from a Kung Fu fan we met at Si Valley CC, who was trying to win favor with me (that worked - I am so easily bribed).

[Drunk Monk]

Seen. It was ok - not great but not terrible. There was a big payout in e6 when the foursome had their blowout fight. The actors got to show some range. It's a good cast of young actors and I look forward to seeing their future work. Also, the fight choreo isn't bad. It relies heavily on odd camera angles, like a lot of bird's eye shots, that covers for a multitude of sins. There's a dramatic shift with the death of Jet, which was implied in the original series but plays out differently in the Netflix take. S2e7 ends on a major cliffhanger, and an announcement that the series will end next season. The original only ran for 3 seasons, but it was 60+ 20+ min eps. Netflix is trying to do it in 15+ hour long eps. Actually, depending on how long S3 is, it could run for a similar time, especially if they pull one of those S3 parts 1 & 2 series. 

I'll watch S3 of course. Not D00M recommended because the easter eggs to the original are a large part of the fun.