Avatar: The Last Airbender

I haven't seen the original animated series (yet), nor the remake by Shyamalan, but because I couldn’t make any comparisons to those projects, and I also wasn't familiar with the story beforehand. The current version has a fairly slow start, but it picks up speed from the middle point onward, only stopping at the very end of the first season. Despite the child friendly concept (except perhaps for the last episode), the adventures of Aang and his friends managed to deliver some tension, but also to entertain, and at times even move me. I praise the technical aspect, which is on par with high-budget cinema films; it was a pleasure to see the various settings, duels of the elements and creatures – in this respect, I enjoyed the episode with the demonically multifaceted Koh the most. The cast was generally well chosen, though I have some quibbles, but the main character, Aang, is really likeable – and that counts. I hope that we will see a second season, for which the ending of the first one was enticingly "fiery". (03/09/2024)

I have to say, the adaptation exceeded my expectations. Visually, it's absolutely captivating, with top-notch effects The music sounds familiar thanks to the collaboration with Nickelodeon. The casting was spot-on for the most part; I had no trouble recognizing all the characters, despite some minor changes that were announced beforehand. These changes didn't hinder the final result at all. I was pleasantly surprised by some unexpected twists, especially the early introduction of a key character from the original animated series who didn't play a crucial role until later seasons. This adaptation gives us solid character development, moving away from the one-dimensional villain portrayal we saw in the original series. On one hand, this live-action version stays true to the source material, preserving the magic of the story. On the other hand, it weaves events together in interesting ways, placing dialogues in different spots than I remembered. Sometimes this worked really well, other times it didn't quite have the impact, possibly due to pacing issues. One standout example is the part around Omashu, where we see elements from about four different episodes of the original series condensed into two episodes. The storylines don't unfold sequentially as they did before, but surprisingly, it all holds together quite well. I found myself really enjoying this reimagined part of the series. In short, it's still mostly the Avatar that I loved so much, far better than the film adaptation from 2010. Yet, it also has its own identity with added elements, omissions, and rearrangements. Personally, I appreciate this deviation from a strict 1:1 remake; it keeps things fresh and interesting. Overall, I'm highly satisfied and eagerly anticipating the adaptations of the second and third books. 8/10 (02/22/2024)