Shyamalan brings ‘Last Airbender’ to big screen

When: Opening today at local theaters

Cast: Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Dev Patel, Jackson Rathbone

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

The story: In a world made up of Earth, Air, Fire and Water nations — overseen by an "Avatar" who can command all four elements — the untrained 12-year-old title character, Aang , finds himself trying to restore peace when the Fire Nation launches a global war.

The buzz: Based on Nickelodeon’s hit animated series, this live-action feature had to drop "Avatar" from its title when some other movie got there first. This is the first adaptation on "Sixth Sense" writer-director Shyamalan’s resume; it’s also his first foray into 3-D filmmaking, although (like this year’s "Clash of the Titans" remake), the 3-D processing occurred after filming was complete. That’s because the decision to release "Last Airbender" in 3-D was made in April, less than three months before its Independence Day weekend release date.