Day 25- Movie 20. The Last Airbender (2010)

It is apparent now that M. Night Shyamalan has completely lost any talent he might have had. I have never seen a director go from being brilliant to being awful in such a short amount of time. I used to be so excited for the next M. Night Shyamalan movie- now I dread it. I cannot think of another case where a director came onto the scene, created such high expectations, and then failed to even get close to his original heights.

The Last Airbender is the latest in the line of disappointing films, and I believe this one is his worst. The special effects are great, and I even think the story itself is fine. I understand the original cartoon is pretty cool, so you would expect that. The reason this movie fails is because of the awful, awful acting of the cast, and the laughable, atrocious dialogue uttered throughout the film.

I really didn't like the cast at all. Noah Ringer is the star of the film, and gives one of the most wooden, ridiculous performances I have seen in quite a while. He spends the film with his nostrils flared and his mouth open. I couldn't stand him. The rest of the cast isn't any better. I understand that they had a pathetic script to work with, but they made the movie worse with their terrible acting. They were completely disappointing.

I could talk more about this movie, but it is Christmas, and I have more important things to do. I wasted enough of my time just by watching this film. I would give this movie a 3.5/10.

On a similar note, does anybody actually still care about M. Night Shyamalan? I used to be a big Shyamalan fan, and I've been a bit of a Shyamalan apologist over the years. I thought The Village was great until the end, which ruined the movie. I also didn't completely hate Lady in the Water. But, with the pitiful The Happening and this film, I'm just done with him. Here's the downward trend of his movies (in my opinion, of course):

Not good, M. Night. Not good.

Okay, that's it for me. I spent a solid week watching movies to get caught up, then went 5 days without watching one. I've got to get back on pace, or I'm going to be in trouble. But, enough of that. It's Christmas, and I gotta get back. Merry Christmas everyone!