M. Night Shyamalan, Film Director, Producer, Screenwriter, and occasional Actor, ended his career this week. He is 39.

Shyamalan, who began making films at a very young age, became an Academy-Award nominated filmmaker with his revered and acclaimed 1999 thriller, “The Sixth Sense”. He additionally received critical acclaim for follow up films, “Unbreakable” and “Signs”. Shyamalan’s earliest films were characterized by unexpected twist endings which left audiences guessing and intrigued for his next effort. Once referred to as the next Steven Spielberg, Shyamalan’s career unexpectedly ended on July 1, 2010, coinciding with the release of his newest film, Paramount Pictures’ “The Last Airbender.”

Shyamalan leaves behind a film career of 9 feature films as a director, 8 as a producer, 7 as a featured actor, and 11 as a screenwriter. Movie website IMDB.com lists two additional projects, one completed and one in pre-production. A viewing of Shyamalan’s last work, “The Last Airbender”, will occur on July 1, 2010 for an undetermined number of weeks at local theaters around the world. Talks of a possible resurrection of Shyamalan’s career are premature at best.

In remembrance of M. Night and his previous successes, fans are encouraged to view previous films, “The Sixth Sense”, “Unbreakable”, and “Signs”. Viewings of “The Village”, “Lady In The Water” and “The Happening” are optional.

These are the thoughts that ran through my mind about 20-30 minutes into the viewing of “The Last Airbender.” I think it summarizes things pretty succinctly.

I simply do not understand what has happened to M. Night Shyamalan. How does a director once on top of the world, able to hold people’s emotions in the palm of his hand, become a generic, unrecognizable, and talentless filmmaker? Your guess is as good as mine.

Fans of “The Last Airbender”, the animated Nickelodeon series, remember the cartoon as “Avatar: The Last Airbender”. Many people also remember the animated series with fond memories and my exposure to the series stems from catching an episode here and there and little else. Shyamalan’s production company, Blinding Edge, purchased the rights to develop the cartoon into a film franchise and Paramount Pictures came on board. A decision, I can imagine, they undoubtedly regret at this juncture.

My apologies to devoted fans of the animated series, but under Shyamalan’s control, this whole “Last Airbender” world is incomprehensible nonsense. I have re-read the plot synopsis and still have no idea if that storyline exists in the film. It is one of the few times that I have watched a movie from beginning to end and have virtually no idea what was happening on screen or why characters were saying what they were saying. Shyamalan gives the viewer no sense of time, place, or purpose for what’s happening and as a result, I still have no clue what this whole thing is about.

We have a kid, Aang (Noah Ringer), who at the age of 12 learns he is an Avatar – the one individual who can communicate between the spirit worlds of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water (and sadly, legendary R&B group Earth, Wind, and Fire do not make a cameo…). Not wanting to live a life as the Avatar, Aang disappeared for more than 100 years and only returns when Katara (Nicola Peltz) and Sokka (Jackson Rathbone), siblings and members of the Southern Water Tribe, free Aang from a ball of ice brought to the surface by Katara from underneath ice-capped waters. Elsewhere, the Fire Nation, led by Lord Ozai (Cliff Curtis) have declared war on all the elemental nations and Ozai’s gung-ho nephew (“Slumdog Millionaire” star Dev Patel) steps to the forefront as the fearless leader of the Fire Nation. Aang’s return escalates the conflict between Fire Nation and in this film, the Water Tribe, and battles commence – and people talk – and 3D glasses are worn – and other stuff happens…

Strictly speaking, this film is a disaster of epic proportions. The CGI backdrops and effects are completely wasted largely because Shyamalan’s film is so dark, that most of the time it is impossible to figure out what is happening. Comically, Shyamalan randomly tosses up title cards of where things are taking place, as if it matters, but never bothers to set up or advise the viewer why these locations are important. And most disappointingly, the distinctive qualities that made M. Night Shyamalan such an exciting and intriguing director are absent, dead, and gone.

Dubbed as “BOOK ONE: WATER”, I cannot imagine the making of a second one, unless it is perhaps animated once again. Clearly, that should have been the approach the entire time as this “…Last Airbender” is a 103-minute calamity that may serve as the professional death of a once viable and credible filmmaker.