Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action show on Netflix (now sans its creators).

[Werthead]

I'm not sure what happened with the "first episodes are the worst then it gets better," idea, so far it's the exact opposite. The first 2-3 episodes are probably the best.

They shot a lot of this on the Volume, but for some reason they have mobile greenscreen elements as well on the Volume which I've never seen before, I think for shots with bending. I'm assuming that makes it easier to integrate the CG foreground elements with the background.

I get the necessity of using this tech to shoot in the snow for safety reasons, with so many child actors around, but it seems weird when they used it to depict a generic forest.

 

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

4 hours ago, sifth said:

So watched the 3rd and 4th episode and my fears for this show seem to be right. They're basically treating Avatar the same way the studio treated The Hobbit. They're turning a children's story into a fantasy epic and in doing so completely destroying the spirit of the series.

I mean it is a fantasy epic, that’s not the issue . I saw the first episode, I think the biggest issue for me is that you can have a fantasy epic and still be light hearted and goofy, the Netflix showrunners don’t seem to realise this. 
 

Also I get this wasn’t shot on location but could the kids atleast pretend to look cold in all the snow and ice ? Again comparing this to the Iceland scenes in GoT there’s a world of difference not just in the look but how the actors were physically reacting to it…

Edited February 24 by Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II

[Rippounet]

So I was really pleasantly surprised by episode 2, and kept watching a bit to find that feeling again.
And... it didn't happen.
I wouldn't be too hard on the show, I feel that it does its best to live up to the original. But all too often, the scenes have made me think of the theater play in the final season.
The pacing isn't always great, but honestly, I'd say the main problem is that the acting is bad. The actors try so hard to stick to a cartoonish style that they never seem to be genuinely having fun (even in "goofy" scenes), they don't take ownership of the characters, and few moments land. Everyone seems super intense all the time.
The second episode stood out because the actresses playing Suki and her mother were better than the rest of the cast imho, but also because they spoke and behaved rather normally. By contrast, the rest of the scenes often feel like a school play trying to imitate the original cartoon instead of a professional show. The actors try too damn hard to emote all the time instead of just trying to be natural. Maybe Ian Ousley as Sokka is the closest to someone actually behaving like a normal person - which is really ironic, given that one of the main reasons ATLA was so good was precisely because the characters all felt like real kids rather than fictional characters.
I find it hard to pinpoint what doesn't work, whether the lines just don't do it for live action or whether it's the delivery that's the problem, or perhaps there's a lack of lighter scenes, but I'd say that, if anything, perhaps this adaptation takes the original too seriously - more seriously than it took itself - and it ends up going against the very spirit of the original. It would be easy to blame it on the child actors, but in truth Tamlyn Tomita as Yukari and Ken Leung as Zhao are the only adults that seemed to truly "embody" their characters - Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Iroh has his moments, but it's not quite there yet.
One good thing about the first episodes was also that they had some nice wider shots that gave a bit of life to the world instead of always focusing on the characters. It added a bit of wonder - though a memorable music piece would have helped.
I'm not sure whether I should go on, because I'm getting a bit too old for hate-watching ; perhaps I'll finish this season and ignore the next one.

[IFR]

Seeing the reception here, I'll probably not bother. It was always unlikely that this would be truly excellent, but one hoped that something interesting might be done with the live action adaption.

Not very surprising that it turned out to be a disappointment. Not a terrible tragedy either. I considered this show to be an appetizer to soften the wait for the shows with real potential for quality, like Shogun, The Three Body Problem, and Dune Part 2.

Instead of subjecting myself to the inferior experience of the live action version purely for the novelty value, I think I'll rewatch the animated version.

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

Ya watching this show is  really making me wanna rewatch the cartoon again 

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

Azulas face seems a bit too….soft and round ? Too kind looking ? I pictured her features to be sharper. It really stands in contrast to her appearance in the cartoon. Btw I’m not saying the actress is fat, she’s perfectly normal, but her facial features are a bit too round and baby faced to pull off Azula IMO..

 

okay I just  saw Mai and Ty lee…wow they really dropped the ball on the casting for this one didn’t they 

Edited February 24 by Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II

[ASOIAFrelatedusername]

So episode 5 and it is sad how little this episode actually accomplishes in its runtime.

Spoiler

The original Winter Solstice I (and there is strangely no mention in the live action of it being a solstice unless I missed something) managed not only to give us an insight into the workings of the (spirit-world) but also set up the rest of the series by introducing Sozin's comet along with great action and comedy in Zuko's and Iroh's B-plot.

Here we get only ONE short scene with Hei Bai with the Gaang running away and his pacification is an afterthought. Since the Iroh captured last episode, Zuko and Iroh instead meet and hire Jun, who although she and her monster look on point, is a prime candidate for being cut.

Instead of following the straightforward plot of the original, Katara and Sokka get pulled into the spirit world alongside Aang, get chased by Hei Bai and end up in the clutches of Koh and the Fog of Lost Souls  which forces them to experience their worst memories, where they apparently are the exact same age as they are now. Aang has a confrontation with Koh, which manages to be a lot less creepy and have a lot less tension than the original and then gets a meeting with Gyatso's spirit who tells he needs to go the Fire Nation and meet with Roku. Aang decides to just walk there leaving Momo, Appa and the comatose bodies of his friends behind.

Also Azula is there and displays some rather uncharacteristic outburst, showing again that it was a mistake to bring her in this early.

This episode might not have featured an atrocious character assassination, but it still manages to utterly waste precious elements from the original just to clumsily set up the next episode.

At this point in the original, we should right now be in the middle of The Storm with so much more having been accomplished and in a much more elegant way.

PS: Aang still has not made any attempt at waterbending and the mischaracterization of lieutenant Jee continues.

Edited February 24 by ASOIAFrelatedusername

[karaddin]

9 hours ago, Rippounet said:

I'd say that, if anything, perhaps this adaptation takes the original too seriously - more seriously than it took itself - and it ends up going against the very spirit of the original

Yeah I'm thinking along similar lines to this. I was really hopeful for this and was impatiently waiting for it to drop on Thursday only to stop after 2. I watched the 3rd tonight and it was a struggle again.

I can't help comparing it to One Piece and I think the difference can be seen basically at the start of the shows. One Piece is very faithful but also recognizes that it has to adapt the story, not just remake it and it has its own Identity as a show and this is demonstrated by doing a new score for the show. The music from the OP anime is great and for someone like me that's been watching it for 20 years it's got emotional weight that unmatched, the temptation to use it must have been strong but aside from careful utilizations of a couple of pieces in specific scenes they didn't. And even that wasn't the full piece, it's... The important pieces of the music incorporated into another... Melody or something. I don't have the musical vocabulary to actually describe it lol.

But this ATLA adaptation just did spruced up versions of all the songs and used them in the same context as the original. Too scared or reverential to truly be it's own thing. That comes up again with the incorporation of other details as well, the cabbage merchant, Jet's band feel like they're trying to be the cartoon character rather than a person based on that character etc.

And you're spot on about Suki and her mum, they were just acting normally and they felt so much better. The bad acting is pretty much everyone else so far, so I'm not inclined to blame the kid actors - it's got to be a deliberate style that they've been directed to follow. The writing of the dialogue also just isn't gelling for me and probably contributing to the acting issues as well.

On the whole it's not offensive, it's just... Not very good? I'll probably still watch the rest of the season and hope they get a second one to improve.

Oh Ripp - to answer your question about other animated shows being ambitious enough to tackle the themes that Korra does... One Piece haha. Its got the luxury of having the time and long term security though. I love Korra and am in the camp that thinks it lives up to it's parent.

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

Absolutely agreed that the actress playing Suki has been the best part of this show so far. She also looks exactly like how I pictured a live action Suki to look like. On the pentultimate episode now, must admit the actor playing Zuko is also finally growing on me. Probably helps that he has the best arc in the animated show. 

Edited February 24 by Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II

[karaddin]

Another positive thing relating to Zuko

Spoiler

As nonsensical as the fight between him and Aang in Omashu was, the choreography of the fight felt like it was actually finding itself as it's own show as it felt more like a 90s Jackie Chan movie than a pale imitation of the cartoon.

 

[ASOIAFrelatedusername]

Episode 6 continues to waste the source material. It's a combination of "The Storm", "The Winter Solstice Part II" and "The Blue Spirit".

The Winter Solstice II

Spoiler

So basically Aang just walks in the Fire Nation temple, meets the friendly Fire Sage and Roku. The meeting with Roku is extremely short with Roku uncharacteristically playful and is basically just there so Roku can give Aang something to trade with Koh for Katara and Sokka. Nothing about the comet or Aang having to master the elements. Roku contradicts Kyoshi and does tell Aang that he has the option to peacefully resolve conflicts, which Aang should not need to be taught.

The only positive thing is that Roku hints at his past friendship with Sozin instead of delivering a long exposition.

However instead Roku dispatching the Fire Sages, Aang leaves the chamber to find out that the Fire Sages have been taken by Jun who hands him over to Zuko and Iroh. Zhao then takes Aang from them and at the end he returns the item to Koh and apparently Sokka and Katara are totally fine and don't even need to go to the bathroom.

o basically the portion of episodes 5 and 6 that adapted the Winter Solstice Duology was pointless. An artificial conflict was invented that was unceremoniously solved. You could have easily cut the stuff

The Storm

Spoiler

So there's no storm, which means that it can't carry the same atmosphere as the original. Instead Zuko flashbacks are interspersed throughout these 50 minutes. No Aang flashbacks because the "creators" wasted them at the start of the series. So we don't get to see Aang and Zuko being contrasted naturally. Yeah!!!

The flashbacks also have unnecessary and dumb changes:

- Zuko not being visually younger despite the show itself telling us that it has been over 3 years

- Zuko not being advised to stay quiet in the war meeting

- no single spontaneous outburst from Zuko, instead he does and is allowed to present his case first and only when the general goats him, he lashes out

- Ozai trying to normally lecture Zuko before the Agni Kai. In general he does not have nearly the same menace

- Zuko actually fighting back during the Agni Kai. Fuck this shit

- Ozai being almost tearful as he burns Zuko's face. Fuck this shit

- Zuko's crew being to soldiers he tried to save.

The sheer hubris pisses me off. They had the perfect and didn't need to change anything, but they still did.

The Blue Spirit

Spoiler

Zhao's potrayal and the escape scene with Aang and the Zuko might be the highlight of this season, but they still mess it up in the end by replacing the short and poignant interaction between Aang and Zuko at the end with a long conversation where they bond. It's too early for that.

Summary: The creators really had the opportunity to reach the greatness of the original here, but messed it up.

PS: Since the next episode takes place at the Northern Water Tribute, maybe Aang will actually start to learn waterbending.

[sifth]

So funny thing happened this morning. I've been playing Persona 3 Reload this month, since I'm a huge fan of the series. Now Persona 3 has long segments of the game, where the main characters must climb up several dozens of the 264 floors of Tartarus, through which the party has to fight wave after wave of shadows. In short, these segments of the game, usually eat up several hours of the game and the story stops dead, whenever the game forces you to deal with them. They're basically a form of power leveling.

So to make a long story short, during these segments of the game, I usually listen to podcasts, episodes of The Daily Show and other things I like, just to help the time pass. Anyway, just for the hell of it, I choose to watch episodes 5, 6, and most of 7, while climbing floors 155 to 172 of Tartarus and something crazy happened. The half of my brain that was watching the Blue Spirit episode really liked it. I wonder if that's the key to enjoy watching this show to me; to play a video game while watching it, lol

[IFR]

3 hours ago, sifth said:

I wonder if that's the key to enjoy watching this show to me; to play a video game while watching it, lol

You mean distract yourself so you aren't thinking about what you are watching?

I think this is the key to enjoying a lot of these adaptations (The Witcher, Wheel of Time, and I suppose Avatar, though I haven't watched this particular one).

If you put minimal thought into it - which is more thought than the writers bother with - than the flaws will become immediately apparent.

It is telling though that this show is currently the most popular show on Netflix worldwide. I'm willing to bet it will have a high completion rate too. The popular attitude is "hey, I recognize that property! They're making it again? Well I have to watch it then. Oh, the dialogue, plotting, and entire show is intellectually vacant and an insult to the themes and ideas of the original? Well, it's still familiar property so I might as well keep watching it, and the familiarity of the property alone will give me my dopamine rush."

As long as this formula works, studios will keep applying it. Quality is irrelevant if it's not something your audience requires to keep watching your shows.

Edited February 24 by IFR

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

To be fair @IFR  we don’t know how non fans have reacted to this show. They might just find the story telling and world interesting on its own, just like how The Witcher brought in a lot of non fans into the franchise, despite also sucking as an adaptation.

[ASOIAFrelatedusername]

I am sure that Shyamalan also brought people to the franchise

[IFR]

30 minutes ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

To be fair @IFR  we don’t know how non fans have reacted to this show. They might just find the story telling and world interesting on its own, just like how The Witcher brought in a lot of non fans into the franchise, despite also sucking as an adaptation.

The Witcher isn't just bad as an adaptation, it's bad as a show. The problem with these adaptations is never that changes are made. The problem invariably is that the changes are poorly thought out, which itself is a microcosm of the overall issue that the show itself is poorly thought out.

The non-fans of the original work were brought on board for the same reason the fans were brought on board: because they did not demand quality in what they consumed. They did not demand nuance or thought, or depth of plot and characters. They demanded whatever flashiness and low grade CG action the show provided.

[polishgenius]

Is the whole show like this?

The infuriating thing is that it's perfectly possible- not easy, but possible- to recreate the kind of feel that moment had in live action. Steven Chow could have done it, as someone in the replies pointed out- so could Edgar Wright or Kim Jee-woon. 

[A True Kaniggit]

I finished it yesterday. 
And of course the original cartoon is far superior..

I’m sure I would have enjoyed this first season more if I had never watched the cartoon.

But everyone commenting so far seems to be cartoon watchers. 

Have we had a not-cartoon watcher’s reaction yet?

How are they responding to it without having to compare it to the source (better) material?

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

44 minutes ago, A True Kaniggit said:

I finished it yesterday. 
And of course the original cartoon is far superior..

I’m sure I would have enjoyed this first season more if I had never watched the cartoon.

But everyone commenting so far seems to be cartoon watchers. 

Have we had a not-cartoon watcher’s reaction yet?

How are they responding to it without having to compare it to the source (better) material?

Yeah I’m curious about that myself, I suspect they would’ve enjoyed it a whole lot more. I did like a couple changes they did like tying Zukos crew directly into his backstory. 

[sifth]

9 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

Yeah I’m curious about that myself, I suspect they would’ve enjoyed it a whole lot more. I did like a couple changes they did like tying Zukos crew directly into his backstory. 

I liked that change as well. Though like stated above I was only using 1/2 of my mind while watching that episode, lol