REVIEW - The Last Airbender

Based on the successful (and by all accounts decent) Nickelodeon cartoon series, the film tells the story of the mythical Avatar who could unite the warring elemental nations of fire, water, earth and air by being awesome. And bald. And a kid who beats baddies up with air.

It's never a good sign when a children's film has to start with a screenful of text to get young 'uns up to speed and throughout Shyamalan takes extended time outs for laboured exposition and backstories. His writing and direction lack any kind of pace or vigour, relying on masses of close-ups and POV conversations which are simply out of place in a blockbuster adventure. The action when it comes is lazy, there's rarely any correlation between the frantic martial arts moves of the combatants and the flurries of elemental powers, while a few slow-motion 300-esque moments seem tacked on. In short; an attractive and utterly boring mess, with shoddy 3D and no sense of fun. Avoid.

1/5