Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1 explores a visually stunning and intriguing world, with a story that will have everyone hooked.
Avatar: The Last Airbender boasts a visually stunning world, an intriguing and compelling story, great chemistry between the actors, intense fight sequences, and quite a bit of humor. As someone who has not yet watched the animated version of The Last Airbender, this serves as a wonderful introduction into the world of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water benders, and the war torn lands that they live in.
These four nations of the world once lived in harmony, with the Avatar, master of all four elements, keeping peace between them. However, the series starts out with the Fire Nation attacking the Air Nomads — the first step taken by the firebenders towards conquering the world. When the last airbender, Aang, reawakens to a world ravaged by war, he must work together with his newfound friends, Sokka and Katara, as they embark on an action-packed quest towards him becoming the next Avatar.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is a live action reimagined version of the popular animated series.
It doesn’t take long to become interested in this world when watching the live action series. Avatar: The Last Airbender season one is eight episodes, each about an hour long. While there are certainly episodes that are stronger than others, none of them are bad. The pilot episode is the weakest one, however that tends to be the norm as there is a lot of world and character building, as well as exposition, that needs to be put into it for new viewers.
The series is not made just for long time fans of the original series, which is important to note. It is there to usher in new Avatar fans, and so it is important to explain things in enough detail so that they will understand exactly what is happening.
Every actor that is a part of Avatar: The Last Airbender very clearly has taken it into consideration to honor the animated series and to do it justice. It seems as if they have all done their research so that they can bring the characters to life in a way that they deserve. Thanks to incredible costumes, as well as hair and makeup choices, so many of the actors closely resemble their animated counterparts, making this series even more fun and exciting for fans of all levels.
The world itself is stunning. Each village is detailed and layered, and simply stunning to look at it. When it comes to Appa and Momo, the adorable and fluffy animal sidekicks of Aang’s, they look pretty good as well. For the most part anyways. There are certain scenes that don’t work as well as others, but overall they bring the lovable creatures to life in a way that fans will be excited about, as well.
When it comes to the actual bending of the elements, these look amazing as well. Water, fire, and earth bending always looks great on screen, while the air bending does come off a bit strange at first. However, it is surely to make it look like the air around Aang truly is being moved by him and his efforts. It doesn’t take long before it feels like second nature, and you won’t even notice when it looks off.
The villains of Avatar: The Last Airbender are very much the Fire Nation, if it wasn’t obvious enough. Elizabeth Yu (Princess Azula) and Dallas Liu (Prince Zuko) do a wonderful job of bringing a glimpse of likability to their characters, every once in a while, to keep them from being so one note. It is easy to latch onto their stories, and feel some kind of way about their pasts and how they were raised. At the same time, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is hilarious as Uncle Iroh, while also bringing a lot of heart to the story.
As far as chemistry goes, however, it is the three main cast members that stand out – Ian Ousley as Sokka, Gordon Cormier as Aang, Kiawentiio as Katara. Not only are they friendship goals, they are really funny as well. It is easy to see that the cast became their own little family on set, as their chemistry is unmistakable. During the fight sequences, they all shine, but it is also during the more subtle moments of the show that they prove they are able to do these well loved characters justice.
Overall, Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1 sets up an amazing story. It is the perfect blend of suspense, action, and comedy. Every actor that is involved in this series leaves it all out on the table. With the pilot being the weakest of the episodes (but still a great episode!) we encourage you to not give up after it. There is a lot of heart, adventure, and fun to be had with Avatar: The Last Airbender, for new and old fans alike.
Rating: 4 out of 5
NEXT: One Piece Live Action Season 1 Review: Over The Top But Fun
About Avatar: The Last Airbender
The four nations of the world once lived in harmony, with the Avatar, master of all four elements, keeping peace between them. But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked and wiped out the Air Nomads, the first step taken by the firebenders towards conquering the world. AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER, follows a young Air Nomad named Aang, as he reawakens to a world ravaged by war. Together with his newfound friends Sokka and Katara, he embarks on an action-packed quest to take his rightful place as the next AVATAR.