H. T. Davey Reviews

Review by H. T. Davey

Directed by: Lauren Montgomery

★★★★

Avatar Aang and his beloved friends return to screens with a fresh new adventure!

Avatar: The Last Airbender television series debuted back in 2005, the award winning Nickelodeon show had 3 seasons and although it ended in 2008, has since drawn millions of fans across the world. The show was considered one of the best animated TV shows of all time, with its deep plot, inspiring and complex characters. After the end of the TV show the world of Avatar continued with a live action movie directed by M. Night Shyamalan, drawing in millions of viewers to enter again into the mythical world. From a few years ago, the Avatar world has again resurfaced in the shape of a live action television series on Netflix. Now – we have another adaptation, the new Paramount + movie: Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender. 

Directed by Lauren Montgomery, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender starts with a much older Aang after the events of the original television series, after the 100 year long war.  Aang and Katara are focusing on creating a more balanced world by building up a city where all benders (and non-benders) live together in harmony, Republic City. Avatar Aang is still suffering as being the only airbender in the world, and visits the air temples frequently alone. After visiting a temple he gets into a fight with a new rebel group called The Denied and discovers that there is a staff that can bring airbending to non-benders, once belonging to a former avatar known as Tagah. Aang to search for this staff stumbles across a frozen man and unfreezes him on top of a mountain, this man is an airbender and together with Katara, Sokka, Toph and Zuko they try to find the staff to rebuild airbenders and bring peace to the world. 

The movie is a continuation of the avatar series in a well made animated adventure with popular characters and themes. The movie is fun, powerful and explores themes about the importance of belonging and feeling connected to our own culture and family. Avatar Aang grapples with loneliness and the heavy feeling of shame and how he abandoned his people by running away when he first was Avatar many years ago. It also explores anger and how anger can reshape our sense of the world and our sense of self. The movie is a fun one to watch but also showcases the real pain Avatar Aang feels about his identity. Another great adaptation in the series, and although this movie is not as deep as the original series, the movie is a solid addition to the world of Avatar and a must watch for fans.

You can watch Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender on Paramount + now!