At The Movies

On July 2, 2010, newly graduated from high school, I, entered my local theater, and purchased a ticket for the movie that I had been anticipating for two years.

I still remember the rush I had when I went to see Transformers for the first time. I remember the way my mind marveled at the thought of a Pave Low helicopter converting into a gigantic death-machine. I remember being literally in tears when a Peterbilt truck unfolded right in front of my eyes into the familiar, powerful form of the valiant Optimus Prime, whom I had revered all my life. But that was nothing compared to what I would witness on this day.

Adrenaline was pumping through my veins as the previews rolled. I honestly couldn't remember any of them afterwards. But then, the theater went quiet.

A lone Chinese stringed instrument began to play a familiar tune that sent chills down my spine. It was the theme of the most epic story I had ever heard. Anyone who had heard the story knew that tune. And then a new, but strangely familiar voice, soft, but strong, began to speak.

"Water."

A silhouette of a man standing against a red background filled the screen. He raised his hands and a stream of water defied gravity in front of him. The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

"Earth."

Another man summoned a boulder out of the ground and launched it with incredible force. My spine tingled.

"Fire."

A teenage boy performed a series of punches and kicks, blasting fire out of every blow. It was intense. My pulse quickened.

"Air."

A young boy soared into the frame and sent a swirling cyclone at the camera, changing the view to a majestic, exquisitely-detailed map of a foreign land.

And then I followed along with the rest of the speech, mouthing the words as the girl's voice recited them as if I was following along with a familiar prayer. The music came to a crescendo as the girl's speech reached its climax: "I still believe that someday, the Avatar will return to save the world." But then, instead of hearing the triumphant theme music I had expected, I heard silence. The screen went black. A sound of a bitter, rushing wind began, and three words slowly emerged out of the black screen:

"The Last Airbender."

The title disappeared, and suddenly, I saw the South Pole, full of icebergs, the sun glinting off of the water. The camera soared over the landscape, and slowly, a small canoe, carrying two dark-skinned teens, came into view. I saw them bicker with each other, and the girl's protests manifested themselves in the form of rippling waves that tore apart the ice and revealed a secret hidden from the world for a century. I watched as the girl used her brother's club to break apart the ice, freeing a young boy from his nigh-eternal prison.

And I saw the boy open his eyes, and gaze into hers for the first time, as the seeds of an eternal love were planted.

I watched as a banished prince desperately tried to win back the respect of a father who never cared while a wise uncle who truly loved him stood by him and guided him subtly towards an enlightenment that he would not reach for a long time.

I watched the young monk from the iceberg talk to his past life about love. The man told the boy that he had given up on his duties as the protector of the world because he was in love, and it taught him a lesson that his animated counterpart didn't quite know at this point in his story: that when you find love, you need to hold on tight to it.

I watched as a young warrior from the South Pole broadened his horizons and reshaped his view of the world as he grew.

I marveled as the young monk and the prince battled each other again and again, one for survival, the other for acceptance.

I cried almost uncontrollably when the young warrior's first love sacrificed her life to bring back the balance of nature.

I cheered with righteous fury as the prince avenged himself, and, in a way, the people of the North Pole, by battling and defeating the Admiral that threatened them all.

I lost the ability to cheer and could only stare, stupefied, when the young monk's eyes began to glow.

I was chilled to the bone when the very spirit of the ocean dragged the Admiral under the waves to meet a watery demise for the suffering and death he had wrought upon its people.

I was relieved when I saw that they had won the day.

And then came the end of the first story, when the warrior, the monk, and the girl set sail for the Kingdom of Earth. The girl and the young monk sat together, side by side, on the bow of the boat, hands locked together in a platonic gesture of friendship. I smiled. Knowing what the future held for them, I simply thought, "And that's how it begins."

But then they turned to meet each other's gaze, and a slightly less well-known tune from the story began to play. But I recognized it. It was first played in another world, when the pair had been lost in a cave built eons before by two star-crossed lovers. And for what seemed like an eternity, my world stood still. "No..." I thought. "There's no way..."

And then he leaned in, and placed a small kiss on her cheek. She blushed, and looked away, but I could see the smile forming on her lips. My heart fluttered. "She knows," I whispered to myself.

The camera soared away into the sky, and, with a newfound sense of grandeur, the epic theme of the Avatar began to play once more, as the first end title flared into existence across the screen, to thunderous applause:

"Directed by M. Night Shyamalan."

I started to breathe again. Unable to move and completely exhausted, I could only sit in my seat, watching the credits roll as the theater slowly emptied. Eventually, I was the only one left. The credits finally reached their end, and the screen went black. I started to get up to leave, but a scene began to play. I saw a red, fiery-looking palace in an inactive volcano at twilight. The camera floated in the front gate, through the vast halls, and into a throne room were enormous fires blazed in front of a tall, ominous figure robed in red. I never saw his face, but I recognized his voice. I had heard it in China, once upon a time. He was furious. A smaller figure was kneeling before the throne, listening to the man give orders.

"Your brother and uncle are failures and traitors!" he shouted. "They failed to capture the Avatar, and attacked one of my most trusted Admirals. They have conspired with our enemies to defeat us. It falls upon you to bring them back..."

The camera cut to a close-up on the figure kneeling on the ground. It was a girl. She raised her head to look at him, and I saw her eyes. Even in live-action, there was no mistaking the cold, calculating evil behind those eyes.

"...Princess Azula."

With a single drum beat, the screen cut to black, and the Paramount logo appeared one final time.

I was practically shaking with anticipation when I left. Now I had to wait even longer for the second film.

But it would be worth it.

See if you can figure out who my dream-cast Ozai is by the clue I gave about his voice. Cookie for you if you do.

This is what I hope going to see The Last Airbender will be like. I've been pretty worried for a while, but after reading Bryke's and Shyamalan's statements about it, it sounds like he's really taking this seriously. And if Shyamalan is taking it seriously, I think we're in for a wild ride. The films that didn't work for him were just bad ideas from the beginning, like The Happening. He already has the idea given to him, and he's actually a really good writer and director. Watch Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, or Signs again. He loves the series for the human relationships and the philosophy, not for the high-flying action scenes. Hell, if he's focusing on the relationships, this movie will rock. And one of the audition sides for Aang involved a scene (and here's a departure from the series, folks) where he talks to Katara about a vision he had.

He says that he saw Avatar Roku give up being the Avatar because he had fallen in love with Ta Ming. He says Roku loved her and just wanted to be with her. He's pacing around the room in frustration as he says this (wonder what he could possibly be thinking about), and the scene ends with Katara and Aang making eye contact.

Now if that doesn't scream "KATAANG IS STARTING IN THE FIRST MOVIE INSTEAD OF THE LAST EPISODE" than I really need my brain checked. They have said that this is somewhat of a reinterpretation of the series, and if this is what they mean, then I say AWESOME.

People, Shyamalan is absolutely in love with Avatar. He has called it a Shakespearean story. His favorite parts of it are the relationships and the mythology. As long as the premise is good, Shyamalan can make an awesome script for anything. Bryke freaking LOVES his script. My feeling is that the only thing that could mess this up is bad casting. But wait and see. If they can get past that one obstacle, this may very well go down in history as the blueprint for doing a cartoon-to-live-action movie RIGHT.

Also, here's my thoughts on how the movies should be divided up.

Book 1 should take place in South Pole, Kyoshi Island, possibly Omashu, and then the North Pole. Haru, Jet, almost all of the minor characters will be gone, with the exception of a select few.

Book 2 should take place almost entirely in Ba Sing Se. Appa vanishes, perhaps Wan Shi Tong's library is deep underneath the city, the Bei Fong family live in the inner ring of the city, and it will end (Now bear with me, here) with the Day of Black Sun. The Gaang, along with Hakoda and a small group of soldiers that was able to escape Ba Sing Se's takeover, invade the palace, and, like before, they (Aang, Katara, and Toph) find Azula instead of Ozai. They fight, fight, fight, until the eclipse ends, and Azula shoots Aang in the back with a bolt of lightning. The movie ends with the Gaang barely escaping with their lives. The entire world is in the clutches of the Fire Nation, and Katara uses the spirit water to just barely bring Aang back to life. He is able to point to the Western Air Temple on a map before passing out again, and that's where they head, followed by Zuko, who has just betrayed his father.

Book 3 is basically "The Western Air Temple" through Sozin's Comet. And by then, the new Avatar series that Nickelodeon is working on will be well into the thick of things, and so maybe after the credits, we see something like "200 years later" and we see the new Avatar from the new series born in the North Pole as Yue watches from above. Or something like that.

I leave you with one final thought: Bryke didn't like Shyamalan's first draft of the script treatment. Do you know why? HE WANTED TO KEEP EVERYTHING. They said that it was TOO MUCH like the series. THEY had to make HIM change it from the original. He honestly didn't want to let go of any of the characters because of how much he loved them all. That alone should tell you how dedicated to this series he is.

-Doctor Worm of the East Towne Gurus