Critics say the 3-D epic will be a hit with the kids, but grownups may tire of its flashy effects. By Eric Ditzian Nicola Peltz as Katara in “The Last Airbender Photo: Paramount Pictures M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender,” adapted from the popular Nickelodeon animated series into a live-action, CGI-heavy, 3-D epic, arrives in a crowded summer movie season of “Eclipse” vampires and “Toy Story 3” playthings. Is there room for “Airbender” and its fire-throwing, water-controlling warriors at the cinema? It certainly seems that way, as the film is tracking to gross over $45 million across the long holiday weekend. And while the reviews are decidedly mixed, MTV News’ Kurt Loder reports that the movie’s target audience at one advance screening was nothing short of ecstatic. “Early reviews in the theater-full of little kids I saw ‘The Last Airbender’ with were enthusiastic: whoops and wows scattered throughout and a chorus of cheers at the end,” he wrote. “The movie is filled with heroic feats, high-kicking martial arts and elaborate digital imagery, and this is the audience it’s aimed at.” Indeed, the reviewers who pay deference to the film’s core viewers do offer the most positive reviews. “This is strictly for the preteens who like their heroes young, their morals simple and their villains clear,” writes Scott Bowles of USA Today. “And Shyamalan delivers. Credit the director for emphasizing the film’s multiple fight scenes, which crackle, particularly for a kids’ movie. This could have played like ‘Spy Kids Know Kung Fu,’ but [star Noah] Ringer is a real martial arts prodigy, and co-star Dev Patel (‘Slumdog Millionaire’) trained for months. It shows.” What of the film’s visual effects? Each of the nations in the fantastical world of “Airbender” has the ability to manipulate one element: air, fire, water or earth. With the help of the animators from Industrial Light & Magic, those powers come to fairly badass life. But not everyone remained impressed for the film’s entire running time. “[T]he bending of the elements is, I’ll admit, kind of, sort of cool,” writes Michael O’Sullivan of the Washington Post. “Walls of dirt rise up to repel fireballs. Oceans surge and turn to ice. And [Ringer’s] Aang rides around on a hang glider that unfolds from a staff he carries. After a while, though, all the fighting between people hurling rocks, flames, water balloons and blasts of air at each other starts to resemble, as a waggish friend noted, one long game of rock, paper, scissors. It gets real old real fast.” Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly sees parallels to previous epic films, but the comparison is not always a flattering one for “Airbender.” “The movie is ‘Star Wars’ with martial arts, plus a touch of ‘The Last Emperor.’ Technically, it’s not badly done; I enjoyed the physical clash of elements, the water balls rising like sculpture in the air. The trouble with ‘The Last Airbender’ is that Aang, as a character, is a saintly abstraction (Noah Ringer plays him with a sensitive pout that grows cloying), and he’s surrounded by generic young actors who are like place holders for real stars. Your eyes are sometimes dazzled, but you’re shut out of the spectacle because there’s no one of any force or charm or stature to identify with.” We’ll give Josh Tyler of CinemaBlend the final word: “[T]his is an achingly beautiful film full of stunning special effects, driven by a powerful score, and based on material so good that even the worst script of the year couldn’t entirely ruin it. It’s worth putting up with M. Night the writer to enjoy the work of M. Night the director.” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Last Airbender.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Videos ‘The Last Airbender’ Clips MTV Rough Cut: ‘The Last Airbender’ Related Photos ‘The Last Airbender’ Premieres In New York The Powers & Creatures Of ‘The Last Airbender’
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‘The Last Airbender’: The Reviews Are In!
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