Reviews from across the pond: Reception to "The Last Airbender" in the UK
Thanks to new reviews brought in from the UK, "The Last Airbender" has dropped back down to 7% off Rotten Tomatoes.
As well, at last check off Box Office Mojo, the film's worldwide box office gross stands at ~$224,085,643. Disappointingly high, but luckily still below the $280 million mark it would require to make back it's production and marketing cost, and possibly Green-light a sequel. Box Office Mojo does not have an updated total, but lists $2,579,229 as it's total gross from the UK, Ireland, and Malta as of 08/15/10, after it's opening two days prior on Friday the 13th.
Again, I personally hate that it was as high as it was (it makes me feel like I should have done more, or something,) but on the bright side, the UK is pretty much it's last major Foreign market. If it continues at this pace, it's foreign gross is as good as done, (and dead) finally bucking the trend of Shyamalan movies doing well overseas, as well as further dashing it's prospects for a sequel.
As well, another unforeseen issue...
From this review by film critic Peter Bradshaw.
The story is set in an imaginary era in which the world is divided into four nations based on the four ancient elements: earth, air, fire and water. The Fire nation is warring with the others for total domination. Yet each nation has a certain type of people, a favoured race different from the rest, people with the Jedi-like power to control or "bend" the elements. Firebenders. Earthbenders. Waterbenders. And airbenders. At the cinema showing I attended, the British crowd reacted derisively at key dialogue moments. One wise old lady says solemnly to a young man: "I could tell at once that you were a bender, and that you would realise your destiny." One character tells another wonderingly: "There are some really powerful benders in the Northern Water Zone." Another whispers tensely: "We want to minimise their bender sources." A key figure is taken away by brutal soldiers, one of whom shouts cruelly: "It's a bender."
And so on, for almost two hours. Each time, the response from the auditorium was deafeningly immature, and brought many of us to a state of nervous collapse.
Yeah, whether or not I or anybody else would have laughed at a similar cultural slip Stateside, I'm not entirely keen on the idea of casual homophobia keeping people from taking this mess of cinema seriously, but for those of you across the Atlantic, just keep up anything you've been doing to make sure the casting issue is the prevailing topic, and hope for the best.
As well, at last check off Box Office Mojo, the film's worldwide box office gross stands at ~$224,085,643. Disappointingly high, but luckily still below the $280 million mark it would require to make back it's production and marketing cost, and possibly Green-light a sequel. Box Office Mojo does not have an updated total, but lists $2,579,229 as it's total gross from the UK, Ireland, and Malta as of 08/15/10, after it's opening two days prior on Friday the 13th.
Again, I personally hate that it was as high as it was (it makes me feel like I should have done more, or something,) but on the bright side, the UK is pretty much it's last major Foreign market. If it continues at this pace, it's foreign gross is as good as done, (and dead) finally bucking the trend of Shyamalan movies doing well overseas, as well as further dashing it's prospects for a sequel.
As well, another unforeseen issue...
From this review by film critic Peter Bradshaw.
The story is set in an imaginary era in which the world is divided into four nations based on the four ancient elements: earth, air, fire and water. The Fire nation is warring with the others for total domination. Yet each nation has a certain type of people, a favoured race different from the rest, people with the Jedi-like power to control or "bend" the elements. Firebenders. Earthbenders. Waterbenders. And airbenders. At the cinema showing I attended, the British crowd reacted derisively at key dialogue moments. One wise old lady says solemnly to a young man: "I could tell at once that you were a bender, and that you would realise your destiny." One character tells another wonderingly: "There are some really powerful benders in the Northern Water Zone." Another whispers tensely: "We want to minimise their bender sources." A key figure is taken away by brutal soldiers, one of whom shouts cruelly: "It's a bender."
And so on, for almost two hours. Each time, the response from the auditorium was deafeningly immature, and brought many of us to a state of nervous collapse.
Yeah, whether or not I or anybody else would have laughed at a similar cultural slip Stateside, I'm not entirely keen on the idea of casual homophobia keeping people from taking this mess of cinema seriously, but for those of you across the Atlantic, just keep up anything you've been doing to make sure the casting issue is the prevailing topic, and hope for the best.