Remake of Iconic Series Just Dropped on Netflix, and It's a Far Cry from 100%-Rated Original

Summary:

• Netflix just released its live-action adaptation of Nickelodeon's animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender.
• In the first few hours, the new TV show has lost over a quarter of its initial 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
• The original Nickelodeon series still maintains the perfect RT score despite having been released 19 years ago.
• It's too early to judge whether the new Avatar is the next Cowboy Bebop, but it's definitely not the next One Piece.

Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender might have been released almost two decades ago, but to this day, the animated series has a large and devoted following. Fans of the iconic TV show would have been happy to see it get a new life, but so far they've had no luck. The first live-action adaptation failed miserably, and Netflix's new series is seemingly following in its footsteps as we're writing this.

Netflix's Last Airbender Lost Its Footing Immediately

As soon as the new series dropped on Netflix, its Rotten Tomatoes score skyrocketed — but after a few minutes, it began declining. As of the time of writing, Netflix's Last Airbender is now sitting at a 67% Critic Score and a 75% Audience Score. The reviews have also been mixed so far.

"If the effort is admirable, however, the execution is decidedly not. Rather than breathe fresh life into a familiar world, this Avatar serves only to remind that some beloved properties might be better left on ice," THR's Angie Han wrote.

At the same time, some other critics pointed out that, while not flawless and perfect, Netflix's Avatar turned out "entertaining enough to work for newcomers to this world, and respectful enough to remind the cartoon's fans why they loved that world in the first place," as Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall eloquently put it.

Netflix's Avatar Is a Far Cry from the OG Series

If you weren't in time to share the first media excitement from the new TV show's immediate 100% RT score, you're unlikely to witness it again. The currently ongoing decline may or may not come to a halt in the near future, but Netflix's series has already lost its picture-perfect footing and will not regain it to the same extent.

Unlike the original Nickelodeon series that, even after almost two decades, still boasts a spectacular 100% Critical Score and a matching 98% Audience Score!

To give you an idea of the gap between the Nickelodeon and Netflix's versions, the former doesn't have negative critic reviews at all; it's even called the perfect textbook for franchise writers as it "lines up the audience's expectations, then satisfies them in a way that still manages to feel unexpected," as per Vanity Fair's Sonia Saraiya.

So far, it's way too early to compare Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender with the live-action Cowboy Bebop, but it's already easy to tell it's nowhere near as well-received as the recent One Piece adaptation.