The Last Airbender (2010); fantasy adventure film review

Poster artwork for the fantasy adventure film The Last Airbender.

Airy Avatar by Linh

Director M. Night Shyamalan has not released a stand-out film since The Sixth Sense in 1999, but his film The Last Airbender might not attract enough audience attention to proceed with the second part of the projected trilogy. The Last Airbender is a film adaptation of the successful animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender which screened from 2005 to 2008. The decision to drop 'Avatar' from the title was to avoid confusion with James Cameron’s Oscar-winning box office behemoth.

AANG'S ANGST: Aang (Noah Ringer) is the last surviving Airbender and the annointed Avatar in the film The Last Airbender. Image: Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon.

The animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender was phenomenally successful due to its clever script, fast-paced action sequences and quirky characterisations, which have not transpired well into the film version. However, the film’s special effects are elaborate and engage the viewer enough to sustain interest. The scenes depicting the art of bending the elements are fascinating to watch, and assists in developing the storyline. The film requires some more humour, needs to move along faster and the characters need to be fleshed out further.

FIRE FEVER: Prince Zuko (Dev Patel) unleashes his fire-bending skills in the film The Last Airbender. Image: Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon.

The story centres on a young boy named Aang who is the last surviving Airbender from his Air tribe, and he also happens to be the Avatar, a special individual who can harness and bend all four elements and bring harmony between the four nations – Air, Water, Earth and Fire - and create balance in the world. The Avatar is born every hundred years to replace a previous Avatar, and in the film, a young boy is released from his sleep a hundred years later after a war where the Fire Nation has completely wiped out the Air Tribe and benders have all been killed or imprisoned. Benders are people who can manipulate and control their native element using martial arts and elemental magic. According to the story, all those born into the Air tribe will receive bending skills, but with the other three tribes (Fire, Water and Earth) it is a hit and miss situation.

MYSTICAL MANOEUVRES: Katara (Nicola Peltz) shares her water-bending moves with Aang (Noah Ringer) in the film The Last Airbender. Image: Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon.

The film opens with young water bender Katara (Nicola Peltz) and her brother Sokka (Jackson Rathbone) who come across a huge sphere of solid ice, which Katara breaks open. A young boy named Aang (Noah Ringer) tumbles out and a gigantic creature, half bison and half manatee named Appa, immediately appears beside the boy. Katar and Sokka soon realise the young boy is an Avatar after seeing the special markings on his body. Their village is soon under attack from soldiers of the Fire Nation led by Prince Zuko (Dev Patel), who unleashes his fire-bending powers on the villagers. Katara convinces Sokka to help Aang master all four elements and prepare for his battle against the Fire Nation.

LASTING LOVERS: Princess Yue (Seychelle Gabriel) and Sokka (Jackson Rathbone) rendezvous in secret in the film The Last Airbender. Image: Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon.

The acting and characters in The Last Airbender lack the emotional depth and humour which heightened the appeal of the television series, but the young cast puts in a great effort to be believable. Dev Patel, who starred in the multiple Academy Award winning film Slumdog Millionaire, portrays the hot-tempered, young Prince Zuko and fails to capture the complexity of his character; Noah Ringer, as the young Airbender Aang, has the martial arts ability for the bending skills but needs to give his character more vibrancy and energy as seen in the animated series; the main female role of Katara is supposed to be assertive but sensitive in the TV series, yet Nicola Peltz plays the character as too serious and subdued.

FRIENDLY FLYER: Appa the half-bison-half buffalo companion of Aang in the film The Last Airbender. Image: Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon.

Overall, the film is entertaining and watchable, although fans of the animated television series may be disappointed with this adaptation. The film is not at all faithful to the television series and has become darker and more sinister than the colourful and crowd-pleasing animated series. Director M. Night Shyamalan needs to listen to fans of the television series and maintain the series’ essence and the characters’ diverse idiosyncrasies. Perhaps that would entice the fans or convince more people to see the sequel - if there is one.

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

     

Writer: M. Night Shyamalan (screenplay) 

                     

Cast: Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Dev Patel, Cliff Curtis, Aasif Mandvi, Shaun Toub, Seychelle Gabriel, Summer Bishil, Katharine Houghton, Damon Gupton, Francis Guinan, Randall Duk Kim, Keong Sim, John Noble, Isaac Jin Solstein, John D'Alonzo

Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, Frank Marshall, David Midgen, M. Night Shyamalan, Scott Aversano, Sam Mercer, Jose L. Rodriguez

Original Music Composer: James Newton Howard

Cinematographer: Andrew Lesnie

        

Film Editor: Conrad Buff

Production: Philip Messina (Production Designer), Richard L. Johnson, Gerald Sullivan, Robert Fechtman, Patrick M. Sullivan Jr. (Art Directors), Larry Dias (Set Decorator)

Costume Designer: Judianna Makovsky

         

Running Time: 1 hour and 35 minutes

Slumdog Millionaire (2008); drama film review

Poster artwork for the drama film Slumdog Millionaire.

Mumbai’s Millionaire by Linh

Director Danny Boyle seems to enjoy challenges and is daring enough to take risks. His film Slumdog Millionaire, shows his willingness to surrender all his control to the unpredictability of Mumbai and its people, which gives his film a very refreshing look and feel. He was even using hand-held cameras to capture the beauty of the people living in the slums, its sights, sounds and the soul of Mumbai.

Boyle’s direction is very different to his hit film Trainspotting with its mind-numbing surrealism, and he brings Slumdog Millionaire to a new level of euphoric pleasure. Boyle and his co-director Loveleen Tandan worked with a crew consisting mostly of locals and even included non-actors such as those who lived in the slums of Mumbai. Tandan’s distinct knowledge and understanding of the people, culture and surroundings help bring uncompromised authenticity to Slumdog Millionaire.

DESTINY DUO: Jamal (Dev Patel) believes he is destined to be with Latika (Freida Pinto) in the film Slumdog Millionaire. Image: Fox Searchlight Pictures, Celador Films.

Slumdog Millionaire is based on Vikas Swarup’s novel Q & A and tells how 18 year old Jamal Malik, who was born and raised in the slums of Mumbai in India, has made it onto the television show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? to win 20 million rupees. When Jamal and his brother Salim were young, they become orphaned after witnessing their mother’s death and during their escape from the slums, they meet an orphaned girl named Latika, to whom Jamal is instantly attracted. He believes they are destined to be together and continues to pursue her despite the obstacles keeping them apart.

The film opens with a Police Inspector torturing and interrogating Jamal about how he managed to win 10 million rupees on a TV game show, when he’s merely an uneducated boy from the slums. Jamal explains with numerous flashbacks, how every experience of pain, joy and love throughout his life provides a correct answer to each question on the show. The Police Inspector releases Jamal so he can appear on the show to try and double his winnings.

JAMAL'S JACKPOT: Jamal (Dev Patel) is in awe as game show host Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor) congratulates him in the film Slumdog Millionaire. Image: Foxsearchlight Pictures, Celador Films.

Eighteen year old Dev Patel makes his feature film debut in Slumdog Millionaire after making regular appearances on the provocative teenage drama television series Skins. Patel is adept at playing the goofy and naïve Jamal Malik, whose childlike wonderment and trusting manner endears him to the viewer.

Freida Pinto also makes her film debut in Slumdog Millionaire and is superb as the childhood sweetheart, Latika, who Jamal feverishly pursues throughout the film. Pinto is convincing and shows much sincerity as the indecisive but adamant Latika.

Madhur Mittal portrays Jamal’s older brother Salim with plenty of vivacious verve and energy - he’s definitely the raging Yang to Jamal’s gentle Yin. From an early age, Salim was the entrepreneurial and hot-headed of the two, using every opportunity to make money. Mittal even looks the part of a young, handsome thug and plays the role to perfection.

The ensemble cast, particularly the children who portrayed the main characters in the earlier scenes, are outstanding. Anil Kapoor is perfectly cast as the smug but charming host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Prem Kumar; Irrfan Khan is simply splendid as the suspicious Police Inspector; and Ankur Vikal is impressive as Maman, the corrupt manager at the Hope Orphanage.

Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy has cleverly adapted Vikas Swarup’s novel Q & A to the screen with a blend of humour, drama and a touch of intensity. Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, who worked with Boyle on his previous film featuring children and money, Millions, succeeds in capturing the breath-taking panoramic views of Mumbai’s sweeping landscape, from the poverty-stricken slums to the booming business district and even the nightlife of the city’s seedy underbelly.

Slumdog Millionaire's soundtrack is a powerhouse fusion of hip hop, dance, and rap incorporated with traditional Indian sounds of sitar, guitar and pulsating drum beats. Composer A.R. Rahman has effectively created a musical melting pot which instantly grabs your attention. Unlike most other films which use music as background noise, A.R. Rahman keeps the music in the forefront of the action and cleverly reflects the characters emotions and situations in the film. The inclusion of M.I.A.'s 'Paper Planes' and the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy produced 'Aaj Ki Raat' amongst Rahman's own compositions, give a wonderful diversity of sounds from Indian cultural and Western influences.

Slumdog Millionaire is an entertaining, thought-provoking independent film with plenty of exciting tension and performances to keep viewers captivated. Winner of eight Academy Awards, this little cinematic gem was previously rejected by many film studios before finally finding a home with Fox Searchlight Pictures.

TALENTED TEAM: Ayush Mahesh Khedekar (youngest Jamal), Rubiana Ali (youngest Latika) and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail (youngest Salim) on the set of the film Slumdog Millionaire. Image: Foxsearchlight Pictures, Celador Films.

Director: Danny Boyle

Writers: Simon Beaufoy (screenplay), Vikas Swarup (novel Q & A)

Cast: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Saurabh Shukla, Ankur Vikal, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Tanay Chheda, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, Rubiana Ali, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar

Producers: Christian Colson, Tessa Ross, Paul Ritchie, François Ivernel, Cameron McCracken, Ivana Mackinnon, Tabrez Noorani, Paul Smith

Cinematographer: Anthony Dod Mantle

Original Music Composer: A.R. Rahman

Film Editor: Chris Dickens

Production: Mark Digby (Production Designer), Abhishek Redkar (Art Director), Michelle Day (Set Decorator)

Costume Designer: Suttirat Anne Larlarb

Languages: English and Hindi, with English subtitles

Running Time: 2 hours