After M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender, the prospect of revisiting Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender universe wasn’t a thrilling announcement. Granted the live action monstrosity wasn’t made by the original Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. But the series had been tainted by M. Night Twistending. After the first five minutes of The Legend of Korra, DiMartino and Konietzko proved they had nothing to do with the feature film. Korra had more action and emotional depth than Avatar. The Legend of Korra was originally slated for only one book. Thankfully someone at Nickelodeon gave it a green light to go longer. The Legend of Korra: Book Four: Balance sets up one final epic adventure that seals Korra’s legendary status.
The series picks up nearly three years after Book Three. Korra (Janet Varney) has vanished after her punishing battle with Zaheer (Black Flag’s Henry Rollins). Life has gone on without her. The dandy Prince Wu approaches his coronation as Earth King. Mako (David Faustino) is stuck guarding the crowned doofus. Bolin (P. J. Byrne) is now working with Kuvira (Zelda Williams). What’s she up to? She is using her metal bending skills to take the crown off Wu’s head. There is a battle for world domination. Tenzin (Oscar winner J.K. Simmons) and his air benders don’t want this to happen. Korra finally shows up,but she’s changed. Gone are her ponytails. She’s got a short haircut and fights in low budget battles. She’s so messed up by what Zaheer did to her. But the world needs her back as the Avatar to restore balance. Can she get her powers back?
Not to spoil the experience, but the final episode does a fine job of tying things together.The Legend of Korra is a show that deserves to be seen on Blu-ray so that viewers can soak in the details of her world that mixes pre-World War II technology with a magical space. Plus there’s no hunting to figure out where to find the show. This season started online and then ended up on Nicktoons. Nickelodeon had a prestige animated series, but botched the last two seasons. But that’s a moot point since they produced all four seasons. The quality of the show didn’t suffer from this confusing release schedule. A great show such as The Legend of Korra will find its audience over the years. She is too much of a legend to fizzle away. The only thing that could ruin its glory is reports that M. Night Shyamalan owns the live action remake rights.
The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer is much better than watching the episodes online. This is a show that deserves to be seen on the big screen. The audio is 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. The sound is mixed for the heavy action moments and the sweet end theme song. The episodes are Subtitle.
Audio Commentaries are featured on all 13 episodes. The speakers vary on the episodes. All the major folks have a chance to talk.
Kuvira vs. Prince Wu (1:41) is the Nick preview pointing out the battle for power. This was when you could only watch the show on Nick.com and the Nick App.
Republic City Hustle is a three part series that must have aired online. The animation looks like it was done on an Amiga computer.
Legend of Korra: 2014 Comic-con Panel Featurette (34:43) is the voice actors and crew united in New York City. The main trio does a fun sketch around the sound studio. I want the Korra rubber ducky.
The Legend of Puppetbender Presents: The Making of A Legend – The Untold Story – Part II (7:47) is a spoof behind the scenes tale. Korra is a puppet telling about her adventures. Where are the Korra puppets?
Nickelodeon & Paramount presents The Legend of Korra: Book Four: Balance. Starring: Janet Varney, David Faustino, P. J. Byrne and J. K. Simmons. Boxset Contents: 13 episodes on 2 Blu-rays. Released: March 10, 2015.
