On February 22, 2024, Netflix released the widely-anticipated Avatar: The Last Airbender television series which stars Gordon Cormier as the titular character, Aang. Based on the Nickelodeon television series of the same name, the show centers around Aang and his friends, Sokka and Katara, as they go on many adventures to end the war caused by the Fire Nation which is run by Fire Lord Ozai, played by Daniel Dae Kim.
Watching the show, the visual effects were phenomenal seeing all the elemental bending put into action. The costume department did incredible work of translating the characters’ clothing from animation to live-action seamlessly where it didn’t feel too campy but at the same time respectable. The writing, however, could’ve been better. It seemed the series was trying to be like the original while shying away from what made the animated version so loved by having some fun with it.
With the characters portrayed on screen, most of them were hit-or-miss. Personally, Cormier didn’t quite hit the character for Aang, who is famously known for his playful, free-spirited personality, but there’s room for development for future seasons to work with the character. Sokka and Zuko appeared to be the scene-stealers throughout the series, with both characters being cast perfectly to their animated counterparts while at the same time making them their own.
According to popular movie critics website, Rotten Tomatoes, the Netflix original series currently has a rotten score of 59% critics rating while having a fresh 76% audience score. One Entertainment Weekly critic, Devan Coggan, wrote, “The result is a charming but imperfect adaptation that vastly improves upon the 2010 film – but never soars as high as the original animated show.” Another critic, Laura Babiak, also said, “The Netflix adaptation is far from a disaster, but it doesn’t master the elements that made the original so good.” That being said, I agree with both responses as the first season doesn’t quite reach the same level that the original series had.
