Water, earth, fire and air, those are the four elements that an avatar must be able to bend. What? Bending air? Just ask this question to a fan of Nickelodeon's animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender and you will get a comprehensive explanation about the phenomenal series.

Avatar: the Last Airbender, first aired by Viacom's cartoon channel Nickelodeon in February 2005, struck a chord with adults and kids alike, who are drawn to its quasi-mythological tale. The show, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, has become an international blockbuster and has been broadcast in more than 120 countries.

DiMartino and Konietzko spent six years constructing the whole fascinating series, tackling the subjects of water, earth and fire.

The familiar plot is that before long Hollywood adapted it for the big screen. And it was Indian-born director M. Night Shyamalan, who was up to the task. Shyamalan is responsible for some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters, including The Sixth Sense, Signs and Unbreakable, but in recent years suffered from a string of flops with his films Lady in the Water, The Village and The Happening.

For those of you who have not heard of it before, the popular Avatar series is set in a time when the world has become engulfed in a war started by the Fire Nation, which is bent on dominating the world.

The Fire Nation actually began as a tribal people, just like its fellow tribal nations of Air, Water and Earth, but gained more power, growing into a mighty empire through industrialization.

Only an individual, an Avatar, has the power to stop the inevitable destruction, but just when the world needs him, he disappears.

Around a century after his disappearance, the Avatar is back in the shape of little boy named A'ang.

In the big screen version, this main character is played by newcomer Noah Ringer, whose thin resume includes practicing Taekwondo since the age of 10 and winning several titles including champion of a contest organized by the American Taekwondo Association of Texas State.

The Shyamalan take on Avatar explores the first part of the animated series, known as "Book One", which revolves around the element of water.

This first chapter introduces Katara (played by Nicola Peltz) a character known for his ability to bend the water element, and her older brother Sokka (Jackson Rathbone) of the Southern Water Tribes. The pair has taken care of each other since their parents were murdered by people from the fire-bending nation.

While Sokka isn't gifted with any "bending" skills, he has the spirit of a warrior, protecting Katara from danger with his weapons of choice, a boomerang and a spear.

One day when Katara is training her water-bending skills and Sokka is hunting for fish, they come across a young boy named A'ang with a blue arrow mark on his forehead.

(Thanks in large part to the "pick-me" blue arrow mark) Katara and Sokka realize they have found more than just the last air-bender, but maybe one who has a shot at saving the world.

The only problem is that at that time A'ang can only exercise his airbending skills, while an Avatar must be able to master all four elements in his bid to restore balance to the planet.

The Last Airbender follows the adventure of A'ang on his quest to control the water element, in his journey from the South to the North Poles.

Throughout the journey, A'ang is also accompanied by his two best animal friends, Appa (a six-legged flying bison) and Momo (a flying lemur bat).

Somewhere, someone is at the ready to thwart his plans. The entourage Fire Nation, led by the Commander Zhao (Aasif Mandvi, the South Asian correspondent of the Daily Show), and who serve under Fire Lord Ozai (Cliff Curtis), is ready to stand in Aang's way.

Problems pile up for Aang as Ozai's son, Prince Zuko (Slumdog Millionaire's Dev Patel, a black belt in Taekwondo), is also planning to stop Avatar from regaining trust the of his father.

Zuko had been banished by his father after the young man suffered a defeat in a fight and he is determined to win back his father's love.

Throughout his undertaking, Zuko gets assistance from his uncle, Iroh (Shaun Toub), who also serves as his mentor.

As with other adaptations, there are only two options: success or complete failure.

As a fan of the animated series, I have to say this film is a failure. I expected to see some action scenes, of breath-taking element-bending and lots of martial arts. I saw the teaser trailer and it looked promising enough. But after only 30 minutes into the film I knew I had to leave my seat. And the only interesting thing to see in that 30-minute period was when A'ang fends off fire-benders and tries to drive them away with his water-bending skills.

Shyamalan, who developed the script, cut back on several episodes to make it work for the movie's screening run.

That would be fine, if only he didn't' "destroy" the main characters of A'ang, Katara, Sokka and Iroh in the process.

A'ang, portrayed in the series as a happy-go-lucky boy, becomes a gloomy and depressed-looking kid who drowns in his sadness, while Katara is not the strong character we see in the animated series.

The character of Sokka, described in the original series as silly boy who brings laughter and joy to his friends with his jokes, is literally butchered. In the film, he is a serious and boring young man.

Shaun Toub, who plays as Iroh, is also a big disappointment. He doesn't fit the role of one who is supposed to be wise and consoling.

And if Shyamalan plans to make sequels to this film, he has his work cut of from him. In the future, he should include more martial arts and make his movies more fun.

Verdict: Don't have high hopes for this film. For fans of Avatar, you'd be better off sticking to the original animated series than watching this movie version.

Popular

RI, Australia strengthen partnership on taxing crypto assets

Analysis: Indonesia denies normalization with Israel to enter OECD

Citroen to produce electric cars in Indonesia