The Last Airbender is a 2010 American action fantasy adventure filmwritten, produced, and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It is based on the first season of the 2000s Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The film stars Noah Ringer as Aang, with Dev Patel as Prince Zuko, Nicola Peltz as Katara, and Jackson Rathbone as Sokka.
Development for the film began in 2007. It was produced by Nickelodeon Movies and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Premiering in New York Cityon June 30, 2010, it opened in the United States the following day, grossing an estimated $16 million.
Many reviewers lambasted the film and cited inconsistencies within the plot and between the screenplay and the source material, as well as the acting, writing and casting; however, some praised the visual style, James Newton Howard's soundtrack and the acting from Dev Patel, Aasif Mandvi and Shaun Toub. The film swept the Golden Raspberry Awards in 2010, with five "wins" including Worst Picture and has been considered to be one of the worst films ever made.
Despite negative reviews, The Last Airbender opened in second place at the box office behind The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Produced on a $150 million budget, the film grossed $131 million domestically and $319 million worldwide. It is currently the third highest grossing Nickelodeon film, behind 2014's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and 2011's The Adventures of Tintin.
Fourteen-year-old Katara and her fifteen-year-old brother, Sokka, are near a river at the Southern Water Tribe, a small village in the South Pole. While hunting, they discover an iceberg that shoots a beam of light into the sky. Inside of the iceberg is a twelve-year-old boy named Aang and a giant flying bison named Appa. Unknown to them, Aang is the long-lost Avatar — the only person capable of "bending" all four elements of Water, Earth, Air, and Fire. One hundred years have passed since the Fire Nation has declared war on the other three nations of Air, Water, and Earth in their attempt to conquer the world.
Zuko is the sixteen-year-old exiled prince of the Fire Nation on a quest to find the Avatar and bring him as prisoner to his father, Fire Lord Ozai, so he can return home. Seeing the light that appeared from Aang's release, Zuko and some Fire Nation soldiers arrive at the Southern Water Tribe to demand the villagers hand over the Avatar. Aang reveals himself and surrenders to Zuko on the condition that he agrees to leave the village alone. On the ship, Aang is tested by Zuko's paternal uncle Iroh to confirm he is the Avatar. After being informed that he is to be their prisoner for passing the test, Aang escapes using his glider and flies to his flying bison brought by Katara and Sokka. Aang and his new friends visit the Southern Air Temple where they meet a winged lemur, who Aang later names Momo. Aang also learns that he was in the ice for a whole century and that the Fire Nation wiped out all of the Air Nomads, including his guardian, Monk Gyatso. In despair, he enters the Avatar State and finds himself in the Spirit World where he encounters a Dragon Spirit. Katara's pleas bring Aang back out of the Avatar State.
To seek shelter, Aang's group arrives at a little Earth Kingdom village controlled by the Fire Nation, but are arrested because Katara tries to help a young boy escape from Fire Nation soldiers. They incite a rebellion by reminding the disgruntled earthbenders that Earth was given to them. Aang tells Katara and Sokka that he only knows airbending and must master the other three elements. Katara is given a waterbending scroll that she uses to greatly strengthen and hone her waterbending abilities and to help Aang learn as they make their way to the Northern Water Tribe (where Aang will be able to learn from waterbending masters) and liberate more Earth Kingdom villages in the process, weakening the Fire Nation's food and water supplies.
During a side track to the Northern Air Temple on his own, Aang is betrayed by a peasant and captured by a group of Fire Nation archers, led by Commander Zhao, a Fire Nation Commander appointed by the Fire Lord. However, a masked marauder, the "Blue Spirit", helps Aang escape from his imprisonment. Zhao realizes that Zuko is the masked vigilante. He arranges to kill the prince, but Zuko survives the attempt on his life with Iroh's help. He sneaks aboard Zhao's lead ship as his fleet departs for the Northern Water Tribe, which is a heavy fortress, to capture the Avatar. Upon arriving, Aang's group is welcomed warmly by the citizens of the Northern Water Tribe. Sokka quickly befriends the Northern Water Tribe princess,Yue. After a few agreements, a waterbending master, Pakku, teaches Aang waterbending. Katara also becomes a much stronger and more powerful waterbender due to her training with Master Pakku.
Soon, the Fire Nation arrives and Zhao begins his attack while Zuko begins his search for the Avatar on his own. After defeating Katara in a battle, Zuko captures Aang as he enters the Spirit World to find the Dragon Spirit to give him the wisdom to defeat the Fire Nation who tells him to let his emotions "flow like water". Returning to his body, Aang battles Zuko before Katara freezes him. Before leaving to join the battle, Aang lowers the ice so that Zuko can breathe. As the battle escalates, Iroh watches Zhao capture the Moon Spirit, with which its Ocean Spirit counterpart had assumed the form of a fish. Despite Iroh's pleas, Zhao kills the Moon Spirit to strip all of the waterbenders of their ability to waterbend. Yue explains to everyone that the Moon Spirit gave her life, willing to give it back as she dies in the process. With the tables turned, Zhao finds out Zuko survived. They almost fight before Iroh appears and tells Zuko it's not worth it. Zhao is drowned by waterbenders after Zuko and Iroh leave him to his fate. Aang remembers his life before being trapped in the ice, including when he left his home, seeing his master's face. With his waterbending powers and his emotions "flowing like water", Aang enters the Avatar State and raises the ocean into a gigantic wall to drive the armada back. Aang now fully embraces his destiny as the Avatar as he, Katara and Sokka prepare to continue their journey to the Earth Kingdom to find an earthbending teacher for Aang. The Fire Lord learns of the defeat; angry over the betrayal of his brother Iroh and the failure of his eldest son Zuko, he tasks his youngest daughter Azula to stop the Avatar from mastering Earth and Fire before the arrival of Sozin's Comet.
CastNoah Ringer as Aang An airbender who disappeared from public sight a hundred years ago. While chronologically one hundred and twelve years old, Aang still retains his biological age of twelve. He is the latest incarnation of the Avatar Spirit. Though he is capable of bending all four elements, at the beginning of the film he has only learned to airbend.
Dev Patel as Prince Zuko A sixteen-year-old Fire Nation prince who travels with his Uncle Iroh. The former heir to the throne, he was exiled by his father, Fire Lord Ozai, and ordered to capture the Avatar (who had not been seen in almost a century, making the assignment a wild-goose chase) in order to regain his lost honor.
Nicola Peltz as Katara A fourteen-year-old girl of the Southern Water Tribe and its last remaining waterbender. Since the death of her mother, Kya, she has served as the maternal, motherly figure in her family, and is no stranger to responsibility despite of her young age.
Jackson Rathbone as Sokka A fifteen-year-old warrior from the Southern Water Tribe and Katara's older brother. He can be condescending, and has no waterbending abilities. He often takes up leadership roles by virtue of coming up with most of the workable plans and tactics.
Shaun Toub as Uncle Iroh Zuko's paternal uncle. He is very easy-going and friendly, and often acts as a surrogate father to Zuko. Formerly a great general of the Fire Nation, personal tragedies led to his retirement, and the role of heir-presumptive passed to his younger brother Ozai. He is the only firebender shown in the film who is advanced enough to bend fire using only hischi.
Aasif Mandvi as Commander Zhao A hot-tempered Fire Nation Commander in pursuit of the Avatar. He is Zuko's principal rival. He has an obsession with libraries.
Seychelle Gabriel as Princess YueThe princess of the Northern Water Tribe, who was Sokka's first girlfriend, and romantic love interest. In a tragic turn of events, she sacrificed herself to save the water tribe and the balance of the planet, by turning into the moon.
Cliff Curtis as Fire Lord OzaiThe leader of the Fire Nation as well as Prince Zuko's father.
Summer Bishil as Princess AzulaShe appears once at the battle where Zuko refuses to fight and again at the end where she accepts the role as hunter of her older brother and uncle, and destroying the Avatar.
Francis Guinan as Master PakkuA waterbending master of the Northern Water Tribe, who taught Aang to waterbend.
Randall Duk Kim as Old man in templeAn Earth Kingdom villager, who often visits the remains of the Northern Air Temple.
Isaac Jin Solstein as HaruHe started the prison uprising by earthbending a pebble to the back of the lead Fire Nation soldier's head.
Keong Sim as TyroHe and other earthbenders in his occupied village agreed to be imprisoned in exchange for the non-benders being allowed to live in peace.
John Noble as Dragon SpiritA new composite character taking over the roles of Avatar Roku, Fang, Koh and Guru Pathik from the cartoon series.
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