The Last Airbender

I realize the review's title isn't very imaginative, but that's the only way to describe this. James Newton Howard was an outstanding choice for the soundtrack to this film; as directors tend to go with the ones they trust- Lucas/Williams, Burton/Elfman, etc- M.Night Shayamalan and Howard have a good relationship, blossoming in his under-appreciated effort on The Lady In The Water. The general public knows him from his collaborations with Hans Zimmer on the Batman Begins/Dark Knight scores, but as of this moment Howard is about to become a household name. Last Airbender is powerful in its composition, crystal clear in its vision and astounding in its depth and scope. This is the Oscar- right here.

Some folks have decried the lack of usage of the existing themes from the tv show; while these concerns carry a certain validity, believe me- you will never miss them. Howard delivers an outstanding piece of work that at times may well move you to tears from its sheer...Read more

The Last Airbender, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, is a fantasy adventure film based on the extremely popular Nickelodeon animated TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which ran from 2005 from 2008. The film is set in a world where civilization is divided into four nations based on the elements - water, earth, air and fire - and the concept that, within each nation, people called "benders" have the ability to manipulate their element by practicing different kinds of martial arts. In addition to elemental benders, there is also one person who can manipulate all four elements simultaneously - the mythical Avatar of the title - and his presence brings peace and stability to the world. In Shyamalan's film, the current Avatar, an air nomad named Aang, has been missing for almost 100 years, and in the intervening period the ruthless Fire nation has begun to dominate the other three elemental kingdoms. After Aang is discovered frozen in ice by two young members of the Water...Read more

James Newton Howard is my favorite film composer. His music is ageless and maintains the environments created in the corresponding movies, something most film scores fail to do.

The Last Airbender is a perfect example of this. Each song is perfect (which is the case with many of his scores) and the album starts and ends on high notes which makes the experience of hearing the soundtrack even better.

The first track is the longest, though It flies by rather quickly. It starts slowly, but then slowly builds as the song progresses, introducing the new themes and giving a summary of what the album might bring. Halfway through the suite the music becomes very triumphant, and you suddenly realize that James Newton Howard has created one of his best film scores of all time. And you're only in the first song.

Track 2 introduces my favorite theme, a loud and epic set of notes that I believe is in one of the film's trailers, and which will make more...Read more