Yeah, they really went for "less is more" in this case and it didn't pay off:

Prince Zuko gains the most from the show’s writing, with an expanded look at his rivalry with the human weasel Commander Zhao (Ken Leung), as well as his relationships with his uncle Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) and his father Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim). And yet, when it comes to condensing the 20-episode “Book One” of the original series into only 8 episodes, so much is lost. Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender suffers from the same issue as Disney+’s recent Percy Jackson adaptation in that the characters are too far ahead of the story, with so much of the meat of the source material getting cut that the plot developments come across as way too convenient.

I agree that making things bloated can be bad, but Avatar: The Last Airbender was great because of its filler and slice-of-life episodes; it could take a break and come back to the "serious" stuff later.

8 episodes

Game of Thrones

Netflix

I wish I could say I was surprised, but I am absolutely not

Stop getting hyped for live-action remakes of cartoons, they're always awful

At worst, it makes M. Night Shyamalan‘s 2010 The Last Airbender film feel like a mercy because at least that poor effort was only 2 hours long.

FROM THE TOP ROPE

One of the messages driven home by the first series, is that Aang's pacifist ideology is what's needed most in a time of war. He entertains, educates, and elucidates non-compliance, and resistance. And that resistance can be as loose as a gentle breeze or a powerful gale. The airbenders primarily are dodging and using their opponents movement against them, and Aang tries very hard to be a gentle soul, and he only accesses the Avatar State in moments of a) great peril, b) the need for overwhelming force. Aang learns to be more mature as the weight of the responsibility sets in, without fully losing himself in the journey. He is not a grimdark hero, and it is what's such a beautiful thing about the show. Even the cop-out at the end, with Spiritual Bending, instead of killing Ozai. He tried really hard to find an alternative to a moment of violence that would have continued repercussions (as every other moment of violent does, in this show).

https://hexbear.net/comment/4564984

Making the show grimdark is such a failure in understanding the source material and appreciating what make the show, the show.

Everyone else needs to stop trying to be like Game of Thrones. The best post-GoT show of this dark fantasy tv sub-genre is a Game of Thrones prequel.

From the article:

Avatar: The Last Airbender is set in a fantasy world where people can bend the four elements, but only the Avatar can master all four together. The Netflix original series opens with a sight that was only alluded to in the original — the moment the Fire Nation decided to start a war on the fellow lands. From the opening minutes, it becomes clear that this live-action remake aims to be both a dark and violent fantasy epic for the post-Game of Thrones crowd, while also trying to capture the silly and cartoony fun of the source material. However, this balancing act of sorts never fully clicks in the 8-episode season.

Too many shows nowadays try to do this.

Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead ruined television.

Fuck grimdark

Bad shot.

Doesn't capture the charm.

It definitely went for being too "realistic."

a live action adaptation of a beloved animated series is actually mid at best and otherwise terrible depending on who you're asking?? i'm shocked

This is bad:

Granted, there are some interesting results from Netflix’s approach, with the season able to make explicit what the children’s cartoon couldn’t. The fear of war and genocide and years of occupation weigh heavily on the characters we meet along the way, particularly Aang’s companions — the waterbender Katara (Kiawentiio) and her brother Sokka (Ian Ousley) who was left to protect his village when all the men left for battle. The problem is that the show can’t fully commit to a singular tone. Just when it’s about to make a poignant observation about the cost of war, it reminds the audience that it is still based on a cartoon and introduces an insane wacko character that feels out of place in this otherwise more adult adaptation — I’m looking at you, Bumi (Utkarsh Ambudkar).

Tries to become everything but becomes nothing.

It’s got the bullshit cgi pre-teen sheen that Rings of Power had. It’s cringey to even look at

At best, the show serves as a constant reminder of how amazing the original Nickelodeon cartoon was. At worst, it makes M. Night Shyamalan‘s 2010 The Last Airbender film feel like a mercy because at least that poor effort was only 2 hours long.

Lol

Jesus Christ, I was hopeful about this too!

The moment I read that they wanted to play down/cut out the themes of sexism between Katara and Sokka/the northern water tribe, I new they'd miss the mark on this.

@muad_dibber@lemmygrad.ml

Not sure what you think, old friend, but this review confirms my worst fears...

I'm still gonna watch that shit

Disappointing to know that, once again, was 100% correct in our prediction of how this would turn out.

I suppose it is disappointing considering how well the One Piece adaptation went. But not surprising.

Everyone with half a brain called this when the showrunners from the animated series cut ties to the production.