Alvaro Onieva Madrid
Madrid
Updated Friday, March 1, 2024-01:08
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Netflix
has had different luck when it comes to bringing
powerful intellectual properties with proven success
to live action : last year the
One Piece
series achieved the approval of fans of the
anime
it adapted.
However, a year before, his version of the
Resident Evil
video game bit the dust.
It doesn't matter: the formula of recycling ideas continues to be one of the favorites in Hollywood, it always works as a lure.
And the next to attract all the expectant eyes will be
Avatar
:
The Last Airbender
, the translation with flesh and blood actors of the epic story of one of the most beloved and cult cartoon series of recent years.
It is not the first time that it has been tried: in 2010 none other than
M. Night Shyamalan
(
The Sixth Sense, Knocking at the Door
) was in charge of writing and directing a film considered at the time as
one of the lowest points of his career.
.
Now there is room for redemption with Albert Kim (the writer of the
Sleepy Hollow
series ) at the controls.
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The platform's love affair with the
Avatar
brand , however, does not begin here: in 2020, despite having been completed for more than a decade,
Avatar, the Last Airbender,
the original series that is now being replicated, became
one of the most viewed fictions when he introduced it in his catalog
.
It was no wonder, because with
Avatar
not only was nostalgia activated but its story, both simple - the journey of a hero in a fantasy world of Asian inspiration - and interesting, was still capable of attracting new followers. .
Despite seeing the light on a children's channel like Nickelodeon,
Avatar, the legend of Aang
conquered the public in a transversal way
with a combo of mythology, adventures,
slapstick
humor and well-armed action scenes, but above all for a design of characters whom I wanted to accompany through an imaginary world that also seemed very real.
He did not reinvent the wheel and was faithful to the genre: there was a chosen one, a comic relief who found the courage to fight too, a villain who could redeem himself and a part of romance.
And also an ethereal universe, divided into four nations according to the classical elements (earth, fire, air and water) and with their differentiated peoples (each inspired by Japanese, Chinese, Indian and Inuit culture), corrupted by the greed of some. clichés that, far from playing against him, he takes advantage of in the best way.
Aang, the protagonist, was and is that chosen one: the Avatar.
Or what is the same, the one who will be able to dominate the power of all the elements and return peace to the place.
But at the beginning of the story
he is only a 12-year-old boy
and to achieve his goal, of course, he will have to go through a series of vicissitudes that, without the help of his faithful friends, would be impossible.
A total of three seasons (Netflix now adapts the 20 of the original version into eight episodes) cover this modern myth.
If things work out, the platform would have a vast universe on its hands to develop spin-off series, including the sequel
Avatar: The Legend of Korra
, as well as prequels and side stories.
As was the case with
Star Wars
and
The Lord of the Rings
, watching
Avatar
involves the pleasure of entering worlds other than our own, where not only the peculiarities of the landscape have value, but both its heroes and its villains are characters that viewers can follow. with interest.
Another point in its favor: things do not go around the bush, dazzled by the temptation to stretch their success.
There is an epic and satisfying closure for his followers, which is worth
the real feeling of having forged a legend
.
The young Gordon Cormier—Canadian of French and Filipino descent—takes on the challenge of playing the charismatic
child protagonist with the arrow tattoo on his head
, along with a cast of new faces and some old acquaintances from the small screen such as Daniel Dae Kim (the remembered Jin from
Lost
and whom we also saw in
Hawaii 5.0
and
The Good Doctor
) in the role of the ultimate bad guy.
They will have to reach a mass audience if they want to justify the enormous investment they have made in the product, with a budget of 120 million dollars.
In a matter of days we will see if this falls on the side of
One Piece
or the ignominious adaptations of
Fullmetal Alchemist
or
Death Note
.