The Last Airbender (2010)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A young Avatar must master the four elements to bring balance to the world while stopping the Fire Nation from conquering the other nations.
The story
A century after the Fire Nation declared war on the nations of air, water, and earth, Sokka and Katara discover an unusual iceberg. Breaking into it releases a beam of light and reveals a twelve-year-old boy named Aang and his pet flying bison, Appa. The trio soon encounters Zuko, the disgraced prince of the Fire Nation, who seeks the Avatar—the only person capable of bending all four elements. Aang joins forces with Sokka and Katara to master the elements and stop the Fire Nation's conquest, beginning a journey to find balance in a world threatened by war.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After being released from an iceberg, Aang, a twelve-year-old boy and the Avatar, joins Sokka and Katara. They are pursued by Zuko, a prince of the Fire Nation seeking the Avatar to stop the Fire Nation's conquest. The group travels to the Southern Air Temple, where Aang learns the Fire Nation destroyed the Air Nomads. They later travel to the Earth Kingdom and the Northern Water Tribe. During their journey, Aang is captured by Commander Zhao but is aided by the 'Blue Spirit'. At the Northern Water Tribe, Aang and Katara learn waterbending from Master Pakku. Zuko captures Aang, who enters the Avatar State to seek help from the Dragon Spirit. Following a series of battles, Zuko's uncle Iroh and Zhao reach a sacred cave where Zhao kills the Moon Spirit, stripping waterbenders of their abilities. Iroh reveals his firebending, and Princess Yue sacrifices herself to revive the Moon Spirit. Aang enters the Avatar State and raises a wall of water to drive back the Fire Nation. The film ends with Fire Lord Ozai tasking Princess Azula to stop Aang from mastering earth and fire before the return of Sozin's Comet.
- First release year
- 2010
- Runtime (minutes)
- 103
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- M. Night Shyamalan
- Writers
- M. Night Shyamalan · writer
- Cast and characters
- Noah Ringer · Aang; Dev Patel · Zuko; Nicola Peltz · Katara; Jackson Rathbone · Sokka; Shaun Toub · Iroh; Aasif Mandvi · Commander Zhao; Cliff Curtis · Fire Lord Ozai
- Genres
- fantasy; action; adventure
- Themes
- Balance; Sacrifice; Responsibility
- Tone and mood
- Serious; Action-oriented
- Setting
- A world divided into four nations (air, water, earth, and fire) during a period of war.
- Premise and plot tags
- Martial Arts; Fantasy; Based on Animation
- Source material / true-story basis
- Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008)
- Franchise connections
- Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Reception
- The film was universally panned by critics, audiences, and fans, with many criticizing the casting, direction, and script. It is often considered one of the worst films of all time.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 5% · scale: 100% · review count: 192; Metacritic · score: 20 · scale: 100 · review count: 33
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Picture · Win; Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Director · Win; Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Screenplay · Win; Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Supporting Actor · Win; Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Eye-Gouging Mis-Use of 3D · Win
- Production trivia
- The title was changed from 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' to 'The Last Airbender' to avoid confusion with James Cameron's film.; The film was intended to be the first of a planned trilogy.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…
