'The Last Airbender: 3D'

So, went and saw this on Tuesday night. Hmmm...where to begin?

Usually I like M. Night Shyamalan's movies - sometimes I just want to have a little bit of a different experience at the movies instead of just the usual Rom/Com I go for. I've seen 'The Sixth Sense', 'Signs' and 'The Village' - loved them all. However, there is something about this movie that I just can't find it in me to say "It's a great movie". It isn't. About the best feature of the movie that I can tell is that I was able to see it in 3D. Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration, but...

There are some good actors in this movie, including Cliff Curtis and Dev Patel. Noah Ringer, too, I think will be an up-and-coming young actor to be seen in the future.

A lot of the time you can sit back and enjoy the story. (I've heard that if you like the TV series then you don't enjoy the story, but as I don't know the series...) Seeing the movie in 3D, too, really let me enjoy many of the landscapes and the objects advancing towards the audience, as though coming out of the screen.

The story, at it's heart, is good. It has an interesting concept - people being able to control the elements of fire, water, air and earth. People in this movie are able to use them to help, protect and fight with them. This is one aspect that I enjoyed about the movie - watching the different things that the characters were able to do with their bending. This, of course, was all done with special effects - and they are really something, too. And, of course, the long held idea of standing up for one's rights is always good to see in movies.

However, the pitfalls of the movie outweighed the great aspects of the experience. No matter how spectacular the special effects are nothing can beat great editing and storytelling. This is not evident throughout the movie. At times one, as the audience, gets the feeling that there was more to certain scenes that got removed and left on the cutting-room floor. An example: when the Princess (of the Water City that comes under attack from the Fire Nation) gives up her spirit to save the city. What happens to her in the end? Why do we, all of a sudden, next see Sokka and Katara out fighting without some sort of transitional sequence? Why don't we see them make a decision to go and join the fight in honour of the Princess or something like that? This occurs at other points in the movie, so one is sometimes left piecing things together on one's own. Not good, not good at all. It leaves the audience feeling confused and unhappy with the final product. Hence another reason why many people are disliking the movie, no doubt.

One other thing I haven't mentioned is that, at times, the dialogue of the actors comes out as though they are trying to remember their lines - or else they were told to pause before they said their line. This is not effective in times of action sequences, or when quickness is the key to making the scene work. An example of this happening is when Kotara (with Sokka and the Princess in the background) tells Aang that they need to hurry to the wall of the Water City to look at what is occurring. Either the director told them to take a moment to emphasise their words, or the lines were being remembered, and the director ran with it. This isn't helpful in making the movie enjoyable - it just draws it out even longer. Yes...for the first time in a movie, I actually did look at my mobile, wondering how long I had left of it.

Overall, if you love special effects, go see the movie. Otherwise, dodge it. It's not worth it. Yes, I probably will see the sequel. I liked the storyline in general. I just hope that they learn how to edit appropriately beforehand, or else put scenes in that join the story together and make it something worth while spending money on.

One really enjoyable fact: I had my own private screening, in some ways. It was really good not having to listen to the rattling of plastic, or peoples comments, or things like that, while watching the movie.