Well, the excellent news is the brand new live-action TV collection of Avatar: The Last Airbender is getting higher critiques than the final live-action adaptation of the beloved cartoon collection. (That one was a movie, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, launched in 2010.)
The unhealthy information is the critiques for the brand new present, which is streaming on Netflix, nonetheless aren’t so good.
As of this writing the present has a 60 p.c on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s adequate for a “fresh” rating … however solely by the thinnest of margins. (In truth, whereas I used to be placing this submit collectively it briefly dipped into “rotten” territory earlier than extra critiques got here in and it crept again up into optimistic territory.) So at finest, the critiques are blended.
READ MORE: The Worst Live-Action Anime Adaptations Ever Made
So what are the critics saying? Well, I’ve form of already summed it up: This new present isn’t as unhealthy because the Shymalan film, however that’s probably not saying that a lot, on condition that The Last Airbender film is commonly referred to as one of many worst films of the 2010s. No matter whether or not the critics you learn are somewhat extra or rather less optimistic on the present general, all of them largely agree that Netflix’s Avatar can’t maintain a candle to the unique.
Here’s a choice of the critiques of the live-action Avatar thus far:
Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge:
Avatar: The Last Airbender is all the pieces that’s disappointing about Netflix’s live-action cartoon reveals
Maya Phillips, The New York Times:
The streamer’s newest huge cash, live-action adaptation that proves simply how tough it’s to seize the magic of a beloved unique.
Coleman Spilde, The Daily Beast:
The beloved Nickelodeon cartoon doesn’t deserve a crappy live-action adaptation—not to mention two of them.
Kambole Campbell, Empire:
Sadly, the brand new live-action take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, developed by Albert Kim (after the unique creators stepped down, citing artistic variations), principally sheds the unique’s cartoonish allure and dynamic presentation in favor of extra self-serious fantasy.
Jeremy Mathai, /Film:
Despite its apparent good intentions, “Avatar: The Last Airbender” finally lets itself down via essentially the most predictable of points: a medium that does not match the story, a wildly uneven grasp of pacing and tone, and a nagging sense of soullessness the place the unique’s coronary heart and spirit used to reside.
Aramide Tinubu, Variety:
A superbly crafted disappointment.
Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, TV Guide:
This Netflix remake is an insult to everybody concerned.
Therese Lacson, Collider:
Struggles with time constraints resulting from a shorter season and loses out on the depth of the unique present.
Rollin Bishop, Total Film:
Netflix’s live-action take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, for all its foibles, seems like an earnest try at a harmonious center floor that by no means fairly leaves the unique behind nor faithfully recreates it sufficient.
Belen Edwards, Mashasble:
The new present is nowhere close to the failure of the movie, nor as spectacular because the collection.
Elijah Gonzalez, Paste:
The animated model remains to be undeniably the definitive one, however there are sufficient attention-grabbing additions right here, particularly within the last stretch, to make issues worthwhile for individuals who already know the way this journey goes.
Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender collection is now streaming.
The Best Box-Office Bombs in History
These movies flopped in theaters — however they’re price watching now.
Discussion about this post