[Spoilers] Avatar the Last Airbender Live Action on Netflix

[PaperBagger'14]

Has anyone been watching it so far? Impressions?

I’ve watched episode one so far and overall I’m quite happy with it. The aesthetic is quite dark compared to the cartoon but it works. The dialogue is adequate and stays true to the original, actor selection seems solid as well.

My only criticism is Irohs actor, he just doesn’t seem to give off the goofy side of Iroh as well as I was hoping to see but maybe that changes as the series goes on.


Edit: with all of the season being released at once I’m not sure there’s an effective way of keeping spoilers under control. From this post on assume everything including the finale is fair game.

If you haven’t watched the anime you may want to skip this thread until you’re ready for spoilers.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

Has anyone been watching it so far? Impressions?

I’ve watched episode one so far and overall I’m quite happy with it. The aesthetic is quite dark compared to the cartoon but it works. The dialogue is adequate and stays true to the original, actor selection seems solid as well.

My once criticism is Irohs actor, he just doesn’t seem to give off the goofy side of Iroh as well as I was hoping to see but maybe that changes as the series goes on.

Thanks for starting this thread, I like an area for specific show discussion, but we're going to need some spoiler rules since the whole thing was dropped all at once.

I'm only 1 episode in as well.

But I do agree with you on the Iroh actor, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee.

I dont want to be overly critical after a single episode, I like him, but he can do better.

The fact that I know he can do better kind of tells me that this is Direction. He's been told to play it this way, but I dont know why. Maybe he grows into it?

[Locke]

The other thing too is, I always chuckle a little at some of these shows.

Could you imagine being Firelord Ozai?

I mean he's got this gigantic palace, its got to be like 30 stories high and his office is at the top and they havent invented elevators yet.

"Who's idea was this? Bring me his head! Spend an evening knocking back Sake and then I have to climb all these stairs to get to my office? This is Bulls###! Why is my office not on the ground floor?"

[Locke]

Thanks insomnia, but I got to the 'My Cabbages' moment and thats really all I came for.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Locke

Thanks insomnia, but I got to the 'My Cabbages' moment and thats really all I came for.

That’s close to where I shut it down last night as well, the 3rd episode was interesting because it was a well done blend of 3 separate episodes from the cartoon series. Those 3 being the mechanist in the air temple, the omashu episode and the episode where they introduce Jet.

The directors really weren’t afraid to take this series down its own unique path and it still all works.

[photon]

I think this sums it all up for me.

EDIT: I guess it's long.. basically he gives it a 4-5 out of 10 except for the Zuko/Iroh stuff is good enough to bump it up to a 6.. but ultimately it sacrifices the heart of Avatar (probably to even get made) and is a poor imitation of the original.. just watch the original. But he goes into the stuff that does work and why it might still be worth watching, and then why it doesn't even need to exist but does because some execs thought there was enough demand to make some $$.

[PaperBagger'14]

Having watched the whole season now I’d have to give it a soft 7.

Pros:

-They stayed modestly true to the story, I enjoyed most of the changes they made
-Costumes and locations looked great, much darker overtones than the cartoon
-Seeing Ozai and Sozin burn people alive adds some depth the cartoon never had
-Iroh and Zukos storyline is quite good
-Ozai manipulating his children and the diving into that back story
-Liu Tens funeral scene was great, leaves from the vine playing in the background


Cons:

-Acting was quite rigid. Not terrible acting but yeah, not the best
-Irohs acting lacked the goofy element that the cartoon played well
-Bumi’s story and how he treated Aang was completely different and not in a good way


With all this being said, I’m glad for the news today that Netflix has season 2 and 3 officially on the books.