Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Receives Paltry Critic And Audience Scores

February 22, 2024 ·

John F. Trent

Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender just released to the streaming service and the show is receiving paltry review scores from both audiences and critics.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series currently has a 62% score on the Tomatometer from 29 reviews. It currently has a mediocre 78% audience score.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Rotten Tomatoes scores

READ: Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Showrunner Albert Kim Admits To Changing Aang’s Character As Well As The Tone And Feel Of The Entire Show

Here’s what some of the critics are saying:

Jeremy Mathai at Slashfilm gives the film a rotten 4 out of 10. He writes, “Forget the threat of Zuko or Aang’s own self-doubts plaguing every step of his journey: the Avatar’s greatest challenge yet turns out to be nothing less than the streaming model itself.”

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw at TV Guide gives the show a 3.8 out of 10. She says, “Its thin writing and lack of emotional resonance provide a poor distraction from its technical flaws, reiterating that there’s no good reason for this remake to exist in the first place.”

Mae Adbulbaki at ScreenRant gives the series a 3.5 out of 5. She writes, “The Netflix series is a rather faithful adaptation, carrying the spirit of the original through intricate details and proper character development.”

Kambole Campbell at Empire Magazine gives the series a 2 out of 5. He says, “Some canny casting choices can’t rescue the show from uninspiring craft and tonal confusion.”

Alan Sepinwall at Rolling Stone gives the film a fresh score. He states, “This new Last Airbender is 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.”

Rollin Bishop at Total Film gives the film a rotten 2.5 out of 5. He explains, “Trying to please fans and newcomers alike makes for a middling, often baffling adaptation.”

READ: Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Showrunner Admits Changes Were Made To Katara’s Character: “Some Gender Issues That Didn’t Quite Translate”

Paul Tassi at Forbes gives the series a fresh review. He says, “I count the original as one of my favorite shows ever, and I have to say Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender is much better than I thought it would be. By the end, I genuinely enjoyed it.”

Angie Han at The Hollywood Reporter gives the show a rotten review. She writes, “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.”

Kelly Lawler at USA Today scored the show a 1 out of 4. She explained, “Both too slavish to the original and too far removed from it, the new Avatar fails in every way. And it’s infuriating.”

Over at Metacritic, the series has similar scores to Rotten Tomatoes. The critic Metascore currently sits at 55 while the User score is a 7.3.

For the Metascore there are 6 positive reviews, 8 mixed reviews and 4 negative reviews. The User Score has 32 positive reviews, 5 mixed reviews, and 9 negative reviews.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Metacritic scores

Here’s what critics are saying on Metacritic:

Jack Seale at The Guardian gives the show an 80. He writes, “The Airbender franchise has confidently revived itself; this won’t be the last we see of it.”

Jonah Krueger at Consequence gives the series a 75. He says, “More than merely pleasant, Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender offers an enjoyable mix of nostalgia and new ideas, fusing the novelty of seeing elemental bending in “real life” with the excitement of an evolving, worthwhile story.”

Elijah Gonzalez at Paste Magazine gives the series a 75 as well. He explains, “It’s easy to take small jabs at its shortcomings compared to the animated show. However, despite its imperfections, it still manages to make good on the sturdy bones of this tale, expressing the personal journeys wrapped up in this grandiose, world-threatening quest.”

READ: Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Showrunner Albert Kim Responds To Original Creators Exiting The Project

Devan Coggan at Entertainment Weekly rates the series with a 67. The writer says, “There is potential here. Drab visuals aside, the actual bending scenes are a vast improvement over Shyamalan’s version, and there’s a distinct thrill in watching characters lob fireballs, raise walls of solid rock, or freeze ocean waves into spiky shards of ice. The cast also elevates every conversation and fight scene, and the main kids seem just as comfortable grappling with heavy themes as they do executing a backflip.”

Anita Singh at The Telegraph gives the series a 60. She says, “It’s solid entertainment: fast-moving, action-packed, with decent fight scenes and some appealing performances, all done on a generous Netflix budget. Don’t expect subtlety – this is aimed at children so the characters and plot are broadly drawn.”

Nicola Austin at Radio Times also gives the series a 60. Austin writes, “Comparisons aside, the series proves a decent fantasy entry, setting up a compelling showdown between Aang and his allies against the fearsome Fire Nation.”

Brian Lowry at CNN gives the show a 40. He writes, “Netflix gets the look and action right in a lavish series based on the Nickelodeon show, but too-elemental dialogue and uneven performances make this eight-episode sit a bit of a grind for anyone who has gotten past puberty.”

Coleman Spilde at The Daily Beast trashed the show with a score of 30. He wrote, “This adaptation’s writers are far more preoccupied with pandering to existing fans than they are with crafting distinctive and memorable ways for the show to communicate its do-or-die stakes. That problem isn’t helped by the show’s actors, who all do little more than recite their dialogue with striking amateurism.”

Aramide Tinubu at Variety gives the show a 30. Tinubu writes, “While the show’s visuals and its Asian and Indigenous stars add authenticity to the series, the performances of the majority of the cast, no matter how earnest, don’t hold up to the weight of the narrative. …. Cheesy acting and some Disney Channel-like dialogue turn what could have been a resounding epic adventure into a whimpering thud.

READ: Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Actress Says Sokka Was Changed For Live Action Because Animated Version Was “Sexist” and “Iffy”

Over at IMDb it has the highest audience score with a rating of 8.1. Interestingly, the first episode of the series has the second lowest rating of the entire series only behind the third episode while the final four episodes all have scores higher than 9.0.

Looking at the overall reviews, the majority of reviews give the series a 10 out of 10.

Avatar: The Last Airbender IMDb scores

It’ll be interesting to see what happens with these IMDb scores as more people watch the series.

What do you make of these review scores for Avatar: The Last Airbender?

NEXT: Social Media Users Accuse Netflix’s Live-Action ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Of “Whitewashing” Despite Casting Actors That Look Like The Characters

Author: John F. Trent

John F. Trent was a prior editor of That Park Place. He is host of the YouTube channel The Trent Report as well as the stock racing focused YouTube Channel John Trent Racing . Mr. Trent is founder of Bounding into Comics and left That Park Place on November 8th to focus on a Substack strategy with FandomPulse.