Cube Critics argue about ‘Airbender’ on Netflix

Cube Critics Jacob Aloi and Kyra Miles disagree about Netflix’s live-action “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

The following is a transcription of the audio heard using the player above, lightly edited for clarity.

MPR News reporter Jacob Aloi: You can say “half-assed,” “you can say “kick-ass,” you can say “worked my ass off,” you just can’t say [BEEP] like, or refer to your [BEEP].

And with that, my name is Jacob Aloi.

MPR early education reporter Kyra Miles: And I’m Kyra Miles.

Aloi: And this is Cube Critics.

So Kyra Miles, thank you for coming back on Cube Critics. This week we both watched the live-action adaptation of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” on Netflix.

It’s adapted from the beloved animated series of the same name, which tells the story of Aang, The Last Airbender, who is picked as this mystical sort-of shaman sort-of otherworldly being called The Avatar, who is destined to save the world from being overtaken by the Fire Nation.

Miles: Boo!

Aloi: Yes, boo the Fire Nation, they are an imperial Force that needs to be stopped in the world of “Avatar.”

I will say that when the series started, back in the day, the animated series, I did not watch most of it. I was actually just not interested. It just wasn’t for me. I don’t know why.

Miles: For shame, for shame.

Aloi: But I will say with this live-action adaptation, I really enjoyed it. It was so fun. I really think that it held true to what I remember from the animated series. I think that the acting was fairly good. I thought that, sure, it was a little scrungly sometimes with the budget, but overall, I thought it was enjoyable and actually made me want to watch the animated series.

But I will say, I think you might have a different take, being a fan of the animated series.

Miles: Okay, first of all, the fact that you’re reviewing an adaptation and haven’t seen the source material is crazy.

Aloi: I’ve seen some of the source material, just not all.

Miles: It’s crazy.

Um, it was not as bad as I thought — I went in wanting to hate it. And I still kind of do. But it wasn’t that bad. I agree that the budget, the money, did not reflect the quality that I was expecting. I will say that the acting was clunky. The costumes were giving cosplay. They weren’t shooting on set.

We saw a lot of green screen in this “Avatar” live-action. It was a bit half-assed and I already was skeptical because the original creators did leave the production halfway through, we remember that.

But, overall, what I did like about it was that I think it had a nice backstory. It explained more about the backstory than we got in the animated version.

I think having it live-action, we were really able to see the atrocities of war. We were really able to see like, oh, people are being burned alive. Oh, the world is at war. But I also think that what makes the original show so beloved, and so good to rewatch again and again — even as an adult — is that it has those light moments and it still lets the kids be kids.

I think when it’s live action, and you see, like you said, the atrocities of the war and everything that’s going on, it’s hard for it to stay light. And I think the animated version is able to give that balance better than the adaptation was able to.

That’s why I said I just need to figure out who’s the audience for this. I don’t know.