no doubt, james newton howards score lifted the film to a D+ for me.

C-


I didn't think it was flat-out terrible. Shyamalan has done worse before (The Happening). That said, it is pretty damn bad. I have never watched the manga series, so I have no point of comparison here. I just saw it just as yet another fantasy wannabe epic. Now the thing is that the visuals are often quite epic. The 3D didn't work because it was just converted, but that doesn't matter. The visual effects themselves (the water effects, the ships, the fights) were quite terrific. I really liked the art direction of the whole thing and the world they set up. That was quite impressive.

On the other hand, the movie must have some of the worst dialogue bits I have heard not just last year, but probably over the past five years. Sometimes I couldn't believe the shit I was hearing. Case in point: "Earthbenders! Why are you acting this way? You are powerful and amazing people! You don't need to live like this! There is earth right beneath your feet! The ground is an extension of who you are! " Seriously, what the hell were they thinking when they wrote this?!

It doesn't help that most of the characters are annoying and unconvincingly portrayed by the young actors. The entire plot was ridiculous (the water people cannot defeat the bad guys who come by ship? Gimme a break!) and whereas even in his bad movies Shyamalan has shown some directing skills proving that he knows a lot of the art, none of that could be seen in this film. The movie is pretty to look at most of the times, has some impressive money shots, but inside it is hollow, stupid and annoying throughout its running time.

The end credits were quite good and felt like they were taken from a superior film.

I'm probably Shyamalan's biggest defender and even I hated this piece of shit.