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Fan excitement for Netflix's live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender had been high after the trailers teased a vibrant and seemingly-faithful rendition of the beloved animated series. It appears this positivity over the series has not carried over past its premiere, though, with first reactions having a much more mixed outlook on the series first two episodes.
Among the common criticisms of the series emerging online is the general storytelling and writing for newest live-action Avatar, both of which have been described as stilted. It appears to be compounded by most of the cast's performances that have been described similarly to the writing, though there appears to be more forgiveness on this front due to much of the young cast still being fairly early in their acting careers.
I’ve seen the first episode of #AvatarNetflix and it’s rough. Way too long and way too much packed into it. Important moments are super underwhelming, acting is meh, costuming, bending, and fights look great but other VFX are hard to look at. Can we please lock up the volume! pic.twitter.com/8s1klS9Tf1
— JJ (@WildeePatrol) February 16, 2024
I am finally allowed to say that the first episode of #AvatarTheLastAirbender is a huge letdown. Sure, the bending looks great and generally the visuals are solid, but this is a mixed bag of an adaptation. Too much exposition, poor writing & horrible pacing. Dallas Liu rules, tho pic.twitter.com/AykmN17l5Z
— Rafael Motamayor (@RafaelMotamayor) February 16, 2024
Reactions become a little more mixed when talking about Avatar's special effects and CGI work.
On one hand, some online have felt the effects are very hit-or-miss when it comes to bringing the world of Avatar to life along with the various action sequences. The bending, however, has been widely praised for its accuracy to the series along with having some of the better VFX of the series' early episodes.
Viewers have still been finding other positives to praise the series for, chief among them being Dallas Liu's performance as Prince Zuko. The young actor has received almost rave reactions online for how he has brought the exiled Fire Nation prince to life and capturing the damaged psyche the character tasked with finding the Avatar.
For me, #AvatarNetflix's first episode brought together something new yet familiar that I greatly enjoyed immersing myself in! My favorite part of #AvatarTheLastAirbender has always been Zuko, and so you can trust me when I say that Zuko could not have been better adapted!🔥 pic.twitter.com/A8SAjGxN0T
— Rotem Rusak (@Moondancer1626) February 16, 2024
Others have preached patience to see what the entire series has to offer when it premieres on Netflix. The series red carpet premiere played only the first two episodes of an eight episode season and that the criticisms coming out of the premiere could end up being rectified in subsequent episodes.
Not sure why a lot of people thought #AvatarNetflix would be a 1:1 direct remake. It is an adaptation of the original story, meaning there of course will be changes. Not all changes will be bad, you just gotta keep an open mind pic.twitter.com/Rwyx6hGU0M
— MIKΣΨ (@bigram_99) February 16, 2024
One thing is certain from these reactions, though, and that it is still better than the 2010 live-action The Last Airbender film.
Avatar: The Last Airbender premieres on Netflix on February 22, 2024.
