M. Night Shyamalan may have hoped to reboot his career with the potential franchise starter The Last Airbender which represents a course change from his previous films, but critics are definitely not drinking the koolaid. The film, based on the Nickelodeon cartoon series has only scrapped up a 5% Fresh Rating on the Rotten Tomatoes site as of its opening day. Following is the consensus opinion on the movie:
Despite flashy special effects, The Last Airbender squanders the potential of its popular source material on an incomprehensible plot, laughable dialogue, and a joyless sense of detachment.
Nick Mamatas of Sci Fi Wire had this to say of the movie in his review: “Shyamalan was clearly trying to make a franchise along the lines of The Lord of the Rings or Star Wars, but instead he made The Golden Compass—an incoherent and boring spectacle, so full of nothing that almost everything good about the source material had to be left out.” Trying to give at least somewhat of a positive spin on the movie, Colin Covert of the Minneapolis Star Tribune said in his review that “The Last Airbender is one of the most visually luscious and exhilarating entertainments I have seen this year, full of giddy fireworks and kinetic pleasure.” Our own Johnny Jay liked the movie as well, telling theater goers to not “buy into all of the Shyamalan-bashing” as he thought it was a decent film. You can read more of the critics’ opinions at the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes page and you can see the trailer for the movie at its official website.
Getting an early release yesterday was the third movie in the Twilight saga Eclipse which did not appear to have much bite for critics. The film has garnered a 52% Fresh Rating thus far with the following consensus opinion:
Stuffed with characters and overly reliant on uninspired dialogue, Eclipse won’t win The Twilight Saga many new converts, despite an improved blend of romance and action fantasy.
Tricia Olszewski of Washington City Paper thought favorably of the movie having this to say in her review: “Step aside, you creepy cougars: Finally, there’s a Twilight suitable even for normal grown-ups.” Thomas Caldwell of Cinema Autopsy was less than impressed, though, saying this in his review: “The core problems with the Twilight films are still very much present in this new installment including the plodding pace, the trite dialogue and the very regressive subtext.” You can read more of the critics’ opinions at the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes page and you can see the trailer for the movie at its official website.
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