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The Spectacle Blog

Shyamalan Fades into the Night

By Joseph Lawler on 7.1.10 @ 10:28AM

At 5 percent approval on the film review site Rotten Tomatoes, M. Night Shyamalan's new movie The Last Airbender is in the running for the title of worst-reviewed movie ever.

How did this happen? Unbreakable and The Sixth Sense were excellent by any standard. You could also make a strong case for The Village, although it turned some people off. But is there any other example of a director going from among the very best to among the very worst? Does this happen in any walk of life?

Lady in the Water was severely flawed. I watched the first 10 minutes of The Happening and then sadly turned off the DVD because it was so horrible -- only to be told by reliable sources that the first 10 minutes were by far the best part of the movie. The movie's ending was blatantly telegraphed in those first 10 minutes, which speaks volumes about how far Shyamalan, the master of the dramatic twist, had fallen.

And now this. Of the reviews I've seen, The Onion's AV Club's is the best:

Where to start with this one? How about this: If any movie ever warranted a class-action lawsuit against the filmmakers, it's The Last Airbender.

But many of the other reviews from the Rotten Tomatoes Page tell the same story:

The Last Airbender lays there, stillborn, potential squandered... a sad indicator of just how completely Shyamalan has thrown away his own gifts, the last stop on what has been a very disappointing career arc.

Full Review

Drew McWeeny HitFix

Ouch.

Nothing short of an incomprehensible fiasco. If one must go see it, avoid the 3-D version like the bubonic plague.

Full Review

Dustin Putman DustinPutman.com

There's no other way to say this: M. Night Shyamalan has completely lost it.

Full Review

Jeff Vice Deseret News, Salt Lake City

The addition of the 3-D is obviously an afterthought, and in most scenes it's pretty bad. Almost as bad as the writing and the acting. Almost.

Full Review

Gary Wolcott Tri-City Herald

View all comments (5) | Leave a comment

Ryan| 7.1.10 @ 11:55AM

I think it was CRACKED that recently did an article on how it appears that Shyamalan blatantly ripped off a Nickelodeon show when he wrote the Sixth Sense.

He's a hack, and it's showing more and more.

Eric Damon| 7.1.10 @ 12:44PM

I haven't seen the movie, but i porbably will because my kids and i enjoyed the cartoon version on Nick. But why do reviewers still watch these summer films and expect to see great works of art? Most summer films like this are meant to give the audience a couple of hours of entertainment, not enlightenment!

ggoblue| 7.1.10 @ 1:28PM

i'll take your word on airbenders...altho i didn't think anything could be worse than "the losers"....

lol

iamse7en| 7.1.10 @ 2:00PM

Here's a good review title from an IMDB user:

"Shyamalan just bent me over a table and raped me, 1 July 2010"

http://www.imdb.com/user/ur0338151/comments

dcjeanes| 7.1.10 @ 4:42PM

I actually have enjoyed all of Shyamalan's films, other than 'The Happening' which I didn't bother to see. Someone told me the gist of it and I decided not to waste my time. I'll probably give this one a peak, if only in the hopes that my tastes are still different than the reviewers, in general.