THE LAST AIRBENDER TV spot suggests a return to form for M.Night Shyamalan

It’s that time of year folks.  A time when a bunch of guys can get together, drink a shitload of beer, eat a shitload of pretzels and shout at their plasma televisions.  That’s right, we’ve just lived to see the passing of another American Super Bowl.

Luckily for movie buffs — and for anyone in the world not excited about American football — the Super Bowl isn’t just about the match itself.  Every year, millions and millions of dollars are spent on TV advertising space.  The worldwide audience for the event is huge and proves to be a ‘must have’ for the biggest films Hollywood is currently working on.  Every year we’re subjected to TV Spots of the year’s biggest films; in terms of budget anyway.

One of the most exciting TV Spots to rear its head was that of The Last Airbender, the first film in a planned trilogy based on the extremely popular – and exceptionally well made – animated series; Avatar – The Last Airbender.

I suppose part of the reason this TV Spot took a lot of people by surprise is the fact that the film is being directed by M.Night Shyamalan… and it looks great!

You know M.Night, the guy who made 3 amazing films early in his career (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs) then faltered a little (The Village), then must have fallen down some stairs and hit his head, resulting in two virtually unwatchable messes (Lady in the Water, The Happening).
Support for Night’s films has been steadily decreasing and the internet hate among various film communities seemed to be at a boiling point.  His writing was suffering and even his direction, which is usually rock solid despite a weak script, had pretty much disappeared in The Happening.

Although a previous teaser has been released, it’s this TV Spot that really gives us an insight into how the film will look and feel.  Its slick editing, gorgeous cinematography, breath taking effects  and the fact that James Newton Howard is scoring have me officially counting down the days till its release (8 July in Australia, July 2 in the US).

With such strong base material – the animated television show is very well constructed – I’m hoping that Night’s writing will be less cringe worthy than his recent efforts.    Although to be fair, neither of the trailers released have featured much dialogue.  Likewise, we haven’t had a chance to check out the performances of the cast, but at this point I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt.

I think I can be cautiously optimistic and ask; Could this be a return to form for M.Night? I really hope it is.

Here’s the official story synopsis from Paramount:

Air, Water, Earth, Fire. Four nations tied by destiny when the Fire Nation launches a brutal war against the others. A century has passed with no hope in sight to change the path of this destruction. Caught between combat and courage, Aang (Noah Ringer) discovers he is the lone Avatar with the power to manipulate all four elements. Aang teams with Katara (Nicola Peltz), a Waterbender, and her brother, Sokka (Jackson Rathbone), to restore balance to their war-torn world.

Based on the hugely successful Nickelodeon animated TV series, the live-action feature film “The Last Airbender” is the opening chapter in Aang’s struggle to survive.