I went in (2D) with extremely low expectations based on what I’d read, and came out not feeling like I’d wasted my money. Not a glowing review, but I’d rather not feel like I’d wasted my entertainment dollar than try to find satisfaction flaming it.
I wonder if the 3-d conversion has a major role in the horrendous reviews. It’s possible that the movie is barely passable summer fare with decent eye candy in 2D but the year’s big disaster in 3D which I suspect is how most reviewers saw it.
I have to admit that I like it. It’s not the greatest movie ever made, but it’s an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.
Psst. See my unspoilered comment in post 42. It would have been some serious eye candy; I can’t imagine why they left it out except for budget constraints. And since we’re spoilering . . . It’s also part of the comment I had about short-circuiting any arc Aang may have had. He had no trouble offing Zhao in the series ('Though it may have been La more in control at that point). It was only later that his ‘Buddhist’ training kicked in and he was reluctant to do the same to Ozai. Instead we get him showing pacifist tendencies straight away and the Big Bad for the movie is killed by four nameless waterbenders.How could anyone think that was a good idea?
Is it the worst movie evah? Naw; not even the worst of the summer. But it is a disappointment. I won’t be buying it unless the other two are completed. Maybe not even then.
I should point out that the review I posted was actually saying this is the first movie to be a possible “worst movie of this decade”, not the last 10 years.
I misspoke.
I doubt that – most of the reviewers were focusing their negative comments on the presentation of the story (writing, acting) and (correctly IMO) treating the SFX quality as a secondary issue.
[spoiler]Not really a spoiler but might be for some. Anyway, Aang’s ‘pacifism,’ is the one part of the original series that I find to be total bullshit. Sure he doesn’t want to kill the Fire Lord in cold blood, but his bending has already directly or indirectly killed at least a few tens of soldiers. Example 42a: the prison guards he air-blasts over the 30-foot wall in the episode ‘The Blue Spirit.’ (And which my cable provider mistakenly calls by its original title, ‘The Red Spirit.’)
OK so he can argue self-defense for that. Let me think a bit more. OK, the siege on the Earth King’s palace must have killed at least a few people. And that was pure offense.[/spoiler]
Oh, totally right.
Most reviews(if you read them) comment that the 3d is bad, but this movie could not be saved no matter what. It’s scripting and directing.
Here is a compilation of fan reaction:
Only because he quickly made a name for himself with his first few films. How many people would have seen The Happening without MNS’s name on the poster?
The more movies he puts out that are mocked more than lauded, the less effect his name will have. And if whoever greenlights his movies pushes things too far, his name might wind up being a reason to stay away from the latest movie.
Wait, are we counting decade as “2000-2010” or “2010-2020”?
If it’s the latter, I’d actually be pretty relieved. The next few years can’t be THAT bad, then!
(Unless this is one of those “our liners are unsinkable” type things. In which case we’re almost certainly going to get “Schindler’s List 2: Electric Boogaloo” before next christmas)
So, watching that clip, I’m curious about one thing:
What do they call Aang in the movie?
They rhymed it with gong. There was also times when certain characters would say “avatar” and others would say “ahvatar”. Momo was never referenced by name, and Sokka was pronounced So-ka instead of sah-ka for some reason too.
My WAGs:
- The Avatar!
- The Chosen One
- Get/Seize Him!
- Larry
I saw it today. My expectations were drastically lowered by all the reviews, but I didn’t think it was THAT bad. I mean, it wasn’t good, but hardly the worst movie of the year.
The acting was horrendous. I can’t decide whether the script or the actors were most to blame. Most of the dialogue was patently absurd.
It did seem to get better as it went on, though. The shot of Azula at the end may have been the best moment of the movie, but for the most part - what a waste.
I wonder what would have most improved it? A better script? Better actors? Or a better director?
Edited to add:
My husband and I were thinkg of a drinking game you could play during the movie - Drink whenever Katara says “We have to go,” or whenever someone mentions “a scroll from the hidden library.” Seriously, how many times did they have to mention that stupid scroll???
2010-2020.
It’s an early candidate for worst film of the new decade was the reviewers point.
Well, I rather liked the fact that Zhao got taken out by a couple of Red- or rather I should say Blueshirts. But then, I’d been hoping the fat guy they briefly focused on right before the battle would do something badass anyhow, and this was it.
As for worst movie of the anything? Nah, not even hardly close. I’ve seen FAR worse movies than this one.
[nitpick]In most common parlance, the “decades” would be 2000-2009 and 2010-2019.[/nitpick]
I know what you mean(and I know the new millennium started in 2001), but I think people do typically talk about the “80’s” and “90’s” and so forth. It’s quite common, perhaps most common.
It is a kids movie; the acting isn’t supposed to be good.
What’s the big deal about what race the characters are. Did everyone get this mad when they made Felix Leiter a black man?