Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender

“Avatar Aang” succeeds both as a stand-alone film and one that stays true to the “ATLA” identity, while allowing the franchise to continue to grow. The movie connects the brand back to its beginnings, while creating a steppingstone for viewers to revisit the characters and find a new entryway back into the world.

The movie is a must-watch for fans of the original show who have been looking for a way to spend more time with their favorite characters. It stands alone as a transition point between Avatar and Korra, but also feels like it could easily kick off a new adult-focused series that would give the rest of Team Avatar their own glorious moment in the spotlight.

Considering that “Aang” is the first in a long line of “Avatar” productions, the debut venture for Avatar Studios makes a rock-solid mark that one can only hope gets sturdier in future entries. Nevertheless, it delivers a gratifying cinematic experience to the fanbase, as visually mesmerizing as it is a worthy storytelling contribution to a brilliant fantasy series.

This is a gorgeous work of animation that deserves to be seen on the big screen.

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender may be just as stunning if not even more visually appealing than the other Avatar franchise it often gets confused with. However, like that franchise, its narrative is just serviceable enough, especially if one isn't already invested in this complex world. Regardless of its narrative issues, which are overall minor compared to other big legacy sequels, the film is so visually riveting that it truly deserved a wider theatrical run.

For most of its run, the film is po-faced serious anime business, with little space for the humor and heart that made “The Last Airbender” so special. Sure, “Avatar Aang” is ostensibly more adult — but sometimes, growing up isn’t all its cracked up to be.

I went into Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender hoping for an all-new adventure with my favorite characters; what I got was a beautiful, but overwrought retread of Aang's biggest themes, and some new worldbuilding about a past Avatar and the Spirit World that was too thin to make me care about it much. There are brief moments of greatness, especially when the whole Gaang gets together, but Avatar Aang doesn't live up to the accolades showered upon the original series. Maybe that was never really an option.

What an amazing way to continue this series, it makes me kind of sad that this is going to be the last time we see these characters. The only thing wrong with it is that it was too short.

Incredibly enjoyable for fans, and they do a terrific job of onboarding new viewers. Although the story provides a fulfilling addition to the lore, the unveiling is, unfortunately, quite predictable. Fifteen minutes in, you can see the story beats to come. The script is riddled with spoon-fed recaps every 20 minutes. Luckily, the majority of the well-placed humor lands effectively. The intense action scenes are fun, and the animation is a step up from the show, making it feel larger. Not to mention, the film is supported by a wonderful score that plays throughout almost every minute. They had the right idea on how to deliver a proper, grown-up sequel without alienating new viewers, and despite its flaws, it still succeeds at entertaining. Yip Yip!

I’d say my rating is between a 6 and a 6.5. It’s definitely not as great as many in the fanbase are saying it is, but it’s also nowhere near as bad as negative critics are often saying; an above average film. The animation is certainly phenomenal. It was great to see Team Avatar back. And while I do wish they brought back the original voice actors back, outside of Steven Yeun (Zuko), I thought the recasted voice actors overall did a solidly good job. I also enjoyed many of the easter eggs and nostalgia dropped throughout. My biggest problems with Avatar Aang is that 1) the film is too short, 2) the villian and a few other aspects to the movie are essentially recycled plot elements from past moments of both ATLA and LoK, 3) the writing direction they took some of the characters on Team Avatar definitely misses the mark some and takes away development those characters went through in ATLA, and 4) some of the writing choices for the story and plot devices implemented dimish the emotional impact and high stakes certain moments from both ATLA but also LoK (especially the former) were meant to feel like and be. Overall it’s fiiinnnne, but I was certainly expecting more and definitely am fairly disappointed it wasn’t as great as it could’ve and honestly should’ve been.

This film is pointless and I say that as a fan of the original cartoon. It offers nothing new and is lacking any real plot or purpose. The firelord is gone, so there's no threat or purpose to this film. It's a cashgrab (or would have been if this film wasn't released on streaming due to being hacked and released online). I also really don't like the new voice actors. I don't see why they needed to replace the older ones.

The animation was technically good and the backgrounds were beautiful but the plot was paper thin and was basically a mix of rehashed storylines from the franchise that were previously done better. The plotline about dealing with Aang's grief ultimately loses focus by the finale.