For most of my thoughts about Airbender I think of it as Pacific Rim more than strictly asian.. although the sand folks could be central asia... or the mid-east.
I also think that most folks ought to watch the series first (and check out the research the creators did) first. Because that helps put things in perspective a lot.
I think they had the chance to make an excellent multi-racial children's action film there and they failed. And that's what is sad. Because there was such potential to knock down some of the stereotypes. I also think they made a bad director choice and someone like Ang Lee would have been better. But I know I'm biased because I love his work. It's also hard to translate to film.. to make it commercial, you want to make the kids older, but then you have to add on storylines and deal with the romance more, which is NOT the point of the series. It's just a little detail and is handled quite well. I think the series finale would make a great movie.. or the beginning with massive Zuko fire scenes.
I suppose since the four nations are "loosely based" on certain cultures and martial arts styles (with overlap - nothing is strict derivative) there can be plenty of room for interpretation, but I still wish the cast was more diverse.
I *hope* that the martial arts and philosophy/religion will feature prominently in the movie, but that might be too much to ask.
I also think that most folks ought to watch the series first (and check out the research the creators did) first. Because that helps put things in perspective a lot.
I think they had the chance to make an excellent multi-racial children's action film there and they failed. And that's what is sad. Because there was such potential to knock down some of the stereotypes. I also think they made a bad director choice and someone like Ang Lee would have been better. But I know I'm biased because I love his work. It's also hard to translate to film.. to make it commercial, you want to make the kids older, but then you have to add on storylines and deal with the romance more, which is NOT the point of the series. It's just a little detail and is handled quite well. I think the series finale would make a great movie.. or the beginning with massive Zuko fire scenes.
I suppose since the four nations are "loosely based" on certain cultures and martial arts styles (with overlap - nothing is strict derivative) there can be plenty of room for interpretation, but I still wish the cast was more diverse.
I *hope* that the martial arts and philosophy/religion will feature prominently in the movie, but that might be too much to ask.
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