Years have passed since Avatar: The Last Airbender debuted, but it remains as popular today as ever. The show’s resurgence on Netflix has only expanded the fandom, but that means some people are finally discovering the infamous live-action adaptation of the animated series. The ill-fated film stands as one of the worst live-action adaptations to date given its incoherent story and acting. And over on social media, Avatar fans admit they’ll never forgive the film for one of its worst fight scenes.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Recently, the user chuuzus posted a video that has gone viral comparing the live-action film to the cartoon. The clips in question pit the same scene against one another as both projects tackled Katara’s fight with Master Pakku. The fight is a major one in Avatar… and you can imagine how badly the Hollywood adaptation of it went.
can you guys look at the difference between Master Paku vs Katara fight in Avatar the last airbender cartoon vs the movie. i am screaminggg pic.twitter.com/jThscpxNd3
โ c (@chuuzus) June 27, 2020
You can check out the clips below if you dare. The top video shows the animated version which is dynamic, colorful, and full of action. Its quick action kept fans engaged the entire way, and it really showed how dangerous water bending could be.
As for the live-action clip, it is a mess from start to finish. Not only is the action bungled but the cinematography feels sluggish at best. There is none of the magic in the live-action version that fans can find anywhere in the cartoon. The fight even made water bending unappealing, and that is saying something since Avatar is centered around the ancient art.
You can see a sample of reactions below, and they are as bad as you would imagine. Fans tend to ignore the existence of Avatar‘s live-action film, and it is hard to blame them after seeing how these clips compare. And as Netflix develops its own live-action series based on the Nickelodeon hit, we can only hope they avoid the mistakes the first adaptation made so often.
Did you ever see this live-action adaptation of Avatar? Or did you skip it? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
I Mean… Yes
That water bending was so slow and weak ๐๐ just throw hands at that point
โ BLM – crushedice๐ง๐ผโโ๏ธโจ (@sayurisansan) June 27, 2020
A Study in Casting
Itโs still the fact that the whole cast is predominantly white or not what Avatarโs cultural background is…….and u would think the director, coming from an Asian background (Indian), would properly cast people……bye
โ Tiara (@t_kay772) June 27, 2020
We’re Still Sorry
ATLA im so sorry honey you didnโt deserve this pic.twitter.com/U97RqNjdch
โ โฟ โฟ (@chulapayasa) June 27, 2020
Talk About a Burn
Not to mention her stance was hella off. She didnโt even adjust herself. Hand movements looking sloppy asf. Only seen a couple of segments but I never will watch the movie. what a disgrace. Even the fire nation propaganda did a better job than the movie itself. pic.twitter.com/dNL3MmS6kZ
โ Ria (@notoreahus) June 27, 2020
Remember That?
Now do the earth kingdom scene where it took 20 men to move that pebble ๐
โ MACK (@Thottie_Olive) June 27, 2020
Turn It Off
I tried to watch it on Netflix and when I seen those 2 white kids and their Golden Girl grandma in a tribe full of seemingly indigenous people… I- pic.twitter.com/G4gMw2fdQv
โ Arik thee Aries (@oneevpro) June 27, 2020
A Hard Truth
I did all the chores in the house to make up for it, and it still to this day wasn’t enough. I’ll never let what they did to that franchise and my parent’s trust in my taste go.
โ jayo chao (@JayAyanami) June 28, 2020