2005 onward bore witness to a Nickelodeon series called Avatar: The Last Airbender. While not a full-on comedy cartoon show that fit the norm for the network it was on, it was a breath of fresh air as it told a compelling and ongoing plot about its hero Aang as he and his friends liberate the world from the grasp of the Fire Nation, being the fabled Avatar who brings balance to the plane of existence.

The series was highly revered by animation and anime fans alike that it spawned a slew of in-canon comic series post-Last Airbender, a follow-up sequel -The Legend of Korra- that was mostly on-par with the base series and even an upcoming sequel series dubbed Seven Havens.

In-between all that though? People have been clamouring for an adventure series focused on young adult Aang and Team Avatar, a worthy follow-up on screen to see how our favourite Airbender is doing. All you get though is a standalone film, but it’s still a helluva delivery.

Air Nomad? No, Mad

The film starts off a good number of years after the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender series where Aang (Eric Nam) and co. are young adults and fit as hell. Aang gets assaulted by the Denied, a group searching for a lost artifact that grants airbending. Aang and co. head out to one of the spots tied to the artifact, and come across a frozen airbender named Tagah (Dave Bautista). Aang bonds with him instantly given that they’re the last airbenders around, as they set off on a quest to head to dangerous territory for said relic: Sonam’s Staff.

Naturally, a ton of plot twists that you can see coming a mile away -especially if you’ve seen Avatar: The Legend of Korra and the Avatar: The Last Airbender canon comic series- do show up, and it ends as predictably as you would envision. There aren’t much at stake, save for whether Aang will break up with his group over new revelations. And even that seem more put-together just for epic battle setpieces rather that character relationship status and all the juicy lore updates one expects.

If anything, think of Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender as one of those semi-canon Dragonball Z movies with Broly, Bojack, and Janemba: they’re one-shots and they deliver on the awesome martial arts elemental-bending you expect, but that’s it. But hey, it’s all well-animated, well put-together, and lead to awesome vistas and dynamic shots that just fit well for cinema-level viewing.

As for the new voice cast for this film, they all did fine and do match their counterparts if they were a lot older. From Eric Nam’s Aang to Steven Yeun’s version of Zuko, to how nonchalant Dionne Quan’s Toph Beifong are, they do justice to the original VOs.

Fired Up

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender is a visual tour de force of elemental-fused martial arts action, drama, and comedy all rolled into one. It will require context from the long-standing Avatar: The Last Airbender 3-season series (despite the film’s earlier summary) and will resonate more with followers like myself. New audiences will at least appreciate the dynamic action, but this one’s strictly for loyal fans who stuck around.

With that said, this one’s worth the wait in spite of Paramount’s past f***-ups with the series’ marketing and distribution. If you’re able, do watch it in theaters; it’s a veritable feast for the senses. As someone who followed the series, it’s a helluva follow-up.

Final Score: 80/100