The Last Airbender (soundtrack)
Encyclopedia
The Last Airbender is the soundtrack album
of the fantasy film
The Last Airbender
, directed by M. Night Shyamalan
. The score was composed by James Newton Howard
.
gave it a full 5-star rating. Jonathan Broxton of MovieMusicUK also gave it five stars, stating that "It’s constantly pleasing harmonics, interesting orchestrations, and powerful and heroic themes are thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, making it one of the most satisfying musical experiences from 2010’s summer season." James Southall of Movie-Wave gave it 4 stars. Tom Hoover of ScoreNotes gave the score a rating of 9.5/10, stating that "As far as collaborations go -- this one is the best of the lot between James and M. Night Shyamalan."
Two criticisms have been leveled at the commercial pressing of the album: the fact that the album presentation is lacking "narrative flow", which is "an aspect shattered by a non-chronological presentation of tracks on the commercial album for The Last Airbender", and that of the choir having been reportedly edited out of the release of the album due to re-use fees. Jon Broxton, though, says this: "There has been quite a bit of criticism aimed at Lakeshore Records for apparently not licensing the full choral elements heard in the film for release on CD; having seen the film, I can honestly say that whatever choral elements exist in the film are not especially missed on the CD release, and the final cue – “Flow Like Water” – sounds exactly the same here as it does in the theater."
award in 2011 for Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film and Film Music Composition of the Year for "Flow like Water".
Soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
of the fantasy film
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
The Last Airbender
The Last Airbender
The Last Airbender is a 2010 American fantasy adventure film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It is a live-action film adaptation of the first season to the Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender....
, directed by M. Night Shyamalan
M. Night Shyamalan
Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan,known professionally as M. Night Shyamalan, is an Indian-born American screenwriter, film director, and producer known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots that climax with a twist ending. He is also known for filming his movies in and around...
. The score was composed by James Newton Howard
James Newton Howard
James Newton Howard is an American composer best known for his scores to motion pictures. He is one of the most popular and respected composers for cinema, and has scored over 100 films...
.
Track listing
Reception
Critical reception was uniformly high. Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks.comFilmtracks.com
Filmtracks.com is a leading modern film score review website created and maintained out of Missoula, Montana by its sole reviewer, Christian Clemmensen...
gave it a full 5-star rating. Jonathan Broxton of MovieMusicUK also gave it five stars, stating that "It’s constantly pleasing harmonics, interesting orchestrations, and powerful and heroic themes are thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, making it one of the most satisfying musical experiences from 2010’s summer season." James Southall of Movie-Wave gave it 4 stars. Tom Hoover of ScoreNotes gave the score a rating of 9.5/10, stating that "As far as collaborations go -- this one is the best of the lot between James and M. Night Shyamalan."
Two criticisms have been leveled at the commercial pressing of the album: the fact that the album presentation is lacking "narrative flow", which is "an aspect shattered by a non-chronological presentation of tracks on the commercial album for The Last Airbender", and that of the choir having been reportedly edited out of the release of the album due to re-use fees. Jon Broxton, though, says this: "There has been quite a bit of criticism aimed at Lakeshore Records for apparently not licensing the full choral elements heard in the film for release on CD; having seen the film, I can honestly say that whatever choral elements exist in the film are not especially missed on the CD release, and the final cue – “Flow Like Water” – sounds exactly the same here as it does in the theater."
Accolades
The soundtrack was nominated for two International Film Music Critics AssociationInternational Film Music Critics Association
The International Film Music Critics Association is a professional association for online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music.-History and purpose:...
award in 2011 for Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film and Film Music Composition of the Year for "Flow like Water".