The Last Airbender

The Last Airbender is a 2010 American action-adventure fantasy film written, co-produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Based on the first season of the Nickelodeon animated television 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 City on June 30, 2010, it opened the following day in the rest of the US grossing an estimated $16 million.

The film was universally panned by critics, audiences and fans of the original animated series alike upon its release with many reviewers citing inconsistencies between the plot, screenplay and source material as well as deriding the acting, writing, casting and dialogue. The film's 3D conversion was also criticized. However, James Newton Howard's score received critical acclaim. The film swept the parody Golden Raspberry Awards in 2010, with five "wins" including Worst Picture. It is sometimes considered one of the worst movies ever made. 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 the fourth highest grossing Nickelodeon film, behind The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), and The Adventures of Tintin (2011). The film was originally envisioned as the first in a trilogy of Last Airbender films each based on the three seasons of the show, but due to the unpopularity and the low profits of the first film, the planned trilogy was left in doubt for many years. In 2018, Michael Dante Dimartino and Bryan Konietzko announced a live-action remake of the animated series on Netflix, ending speculation of further films.

Plot
A century has passed since the Fire Nation declared war on the other 3 nations of Air, Water and Earth in their attempt to conquer the world. 15-year-old Sokka and his 14-year-old sister Katara, who belong to the Southern Water Tribe, discover an unusual iceberg. Breaking into the iceberg releases a beam of light and reveals a 12-year-old boy named Aang and his flying pet bison named Appa.

Zuko, a disgraced prince of the Fire Nation, detects the light from Aang's release and arrives at the Southern Water Tribe to demand the villagers hand over "the Avatar": the only person capable of manipulating, or "bending", all 4 elements of Air, Water, Earth and Fire. Aang surrenders himself to save the village, but escapes the Fire Nation ship and flies to Appa, brought by Katara and Sokka. The trio travel to the Southern Air Temple, where Aang learns he was in the iceberg for a century and that the Fire Nation wiped out the Air Nomads, including his guardian Monk Gyatso. In despair, Aang enters the Avatar State and finds himself in the Spirit World where he encounters a Dragon Spirit. Katara's pleas bring Aang out of the Avatar State.

Aang's group of companions arrive at an Earth Kingdom village controlled by the Fire Nation. When they are arrested and imprisoned, they incite a rebellion, battling and defeating the Fire Nation soldiers occupying the village. Aang tells Katara and Sokka that he only knows airbending and has yet to master the other three elements. They make their way to the Northern Water Tribe where Aang can learn from Water-bending masters.

During a side trip to the Northern Air Temple, Aang is betrayed by a peasant and captured by Fire Nation archers led by Commander Zhao. However, a masked marauder helps Aang escape. Zhao realizes that Zuko is the masked vigilante, and has a crossbowman fire a bolt that knocks Zuko out, but Aang uses his skills to escape with the unconscious Zuko. Aang watches over Zuko until morning, then leaves to reunite with Sokka and Katara. Zhao tries again to kill Zuko, but Zuko secretly survives and sneaks aboard Zhao's ship.

Upon arriving, Aang and company are welcomed by the citizens of the Northern Water Tribe, and Waterbending Master Pakku teaches Aang and Katara. The Fire Nation arrives and Zhao begins his attack while Zuko continues his independent search for the Avatar. After defeating Katara in battle, Zuko captures Aang, who reenters the Avatar State to search for the Dragon Spirit for help to defeat the Fire Nation. The Dragon Spirit advises him to let his emotions "flow like water".

Returning to his body, Aang battles Zuko until Katara freezes Zuko in ice, then leaves to join the battle. Iroh and Zhao make their way to a sacred cave where Zhao captures the Moon Spirit. Despite Iroh's pleas, Zhao kills the Moon Spirit to strip all the waterbenders of their abilities. Enraged by Zhao's sacrilege, Iroh reveals his mastery of firebending, frightening Zhao and his entourage out of the sacred cave. Princess Yue gives her life to revive the Moon Spirit. Zhao finds out Zuko survived and again attempts to kill him, but Zuko is saved by Iroh and Zhao is drowned by waterbenders. Recalling his life before being trapped in the ice, Aang enters the Avatar State and raises the ocean into a gigantic wall to drive the Fire Nation back.

The Fire Lord learns of the defeat, and tasks his youngest daughter Azula with preventing the Avatar from mastering Earth and Fire.

Cast

 * Noah Ringer as Aang, An airbender who disappeared from public sight a hundred years ago. While chronologically one hundred and thirteen 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, Age sixteen. A Fire Nation prince who travels with his Uncle Iroh. The former heir to the throne, he was exiled by his father, Fire Lord Ozai, who caused him a facial scar following a battle with him 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, Age fourteen. A girl of the Southern Water Tribe and its last remaining waterbender. Since the death of her mother, Kya, she has served as the motherly figure in her family, and is no stranger to responsibility despite her young age.
 * Jackson Rathbone as Sokka, Age fifteen. He is Katara's brother and a warrior from the Southern Water Tribe. 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 General Iroh, Zuko's paternal uncle and the brother of Fire Lord Ozai. 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. He is the only firebender shown in the film who is advanced enough to bend fire using only his ch'i.
 * Aasif Mandvi as Admiral Zha, 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 Yue, The princess of the Northern Water Tribe, who was Sokka's 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 Ozai, The mighty leader of the Fire Nation, the brother of Iroh, and the father of Prince Zuko and Princess Azula.
 * Summer Bishil as Princess Azula, Age fifteen. She is the daughter of Fire Lord Ozai and sister to Prince Zuko. She 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 Pakku, A waterbending master of the Northern Water Tribe, who taught Aang to waterbend.
 * Randall Duk Kim as Old man in temple, An Earth Kingdom villager, who often visits the remains of the Northern Air Temple.
 * Isaac Jin Solstein as Haru, He started the prison uprising by earthbending a pebble to the back of the lead Fire Nation soldier's head.
 * Keong Sim as Tyro, He 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 Spirit, A new composite character taking over the roles of Avatar Roku, Fang, Koh and Guru Pathik from the cartoon series.