This Avatar has great airs of fantasy (critic)

What if Shyamalan was right? The animated series comes to life with this second adaptation, a live action series with epic breath, visually spectacular, and not too far from the 2010 film…

Has everything changed in 14 years? Do spectators see things differently? Is it now possible to achieve a total adaptation ofAvatar, the Last Airbender, in live action? The quest for M.Night Shyamalan proved unsuccessful in 2010, failing at a box office considered too low at the time (320 million dollars worldwide, it wasn’t so bad in terms of current flops). In 2024, it is Netflix which is trying its turn with a new flesh-and-blood version of the famous Nickelodeon animated series, absolutely cult in the USA. A successful and successful attempt, which takes the form of great fantasy entertainment, in the vein of what the platform had managed to do with One Piece last year.

We already know the story by heart and the new series Avatar does not intend to upset her. Aang is a young airbender, destined to become the new Avatar who will ensure balance and peace in the world. But the Fire Nation does not agree and intends to use its superior power to crush the other nations (of air, water and earth) before the Avatar can prevent it. . Hunted, Aang is assisted in his reconquest by Sokka and Katara, while Prince Zuko despairs of locking him up, to satisfy his tyrannical father, the Fire Emperor…

From the first episodes, we tell ourselves that Shyamalan was not at all off the mark… Although a little clumsy, his fantastic enterprise did not lack panache and 14 years later, the approach to Netflix series is not much different. Visually, narratively, it has the same absolute ambition, that of creating a large fantasy world to explore in length and breadth. This is certainly the tipping point in relation to the feature film: as with the cartoon, Avatar, the series, has time. She can meticulously install her magical universe with its diverse tribes and their impressive powers, with its breathtaking cities and their grandiose decorum. Benefiting from Dantesque means and a staggering quantity of careful CGI, this new live version is truly astonishing. The spectacle is total, all the time, boosted by big, truly epic battles… like what the platform had managed to do for One Piece.

With the difference that One Piece is first of all a manga, sometimes brutal, sometimes scathing, often offbeat. What is not Avatar, intrinsically, a work for children. If this new adaptation pushes the cursors a little further, it remains a series with refined morality, devoid of any second degree and a real sense of humor. The dialogues are sweetly corny, not helped by a casting without much charisma. But what was not shown on the big screen for Shyamalan is much easier on the small screen. We take the series for what it is. We let ourselves be carried away into this extraordinary fantasy universe with countless surprises. Avatar: The Last Airbender is undoubtedly made to rule the TV nation.

Avatar, the last airbender, 8 episodes to watch on Netflix on February 22, 2024.