Think of it as getting an "experience" - not just seeing a movie.

Rating: Null/10 (23 December 2009)

There are three things you should know about this movie: (1) See it in the theater in 3D if you can (and IMAX 3D if you have the opportunity) (2) DO NOT BE LATE - there were no previews at my showing, so folks who were in the concession stands when the lights went down missed the beginning of the movie and (3) be ready for a long movie - it's 2:40 minutes.
OK - I'll make this quick. Avatar is definitely worth seeing, but the greatest enjoyment you'll get from seeing it is from experiencing the fantasy world of "Pandora" - not from traditional movie elements like performances, plot, dialog, themes, etc. Of course, those are all there and they are very well done, it's just that they're not what makes this movie great.
Being exposed to a spectacular alien landscape with vivid colors, 3-dimensional perspective, fantastical creatures big and small, intricately detailed imagery and exotic locations is a large part of what this movie is all about.
If the visuals of the movie were any less strong or the acting/script/etc. were not strong enough to support the world Cameron created, the movie could easily have been a disaster.
I strongly recommend watching this in the theater because after watching the previews on TV, you're definitely going to lose a lot of the ambiance and atmosphere by watching it on a small screen. I plan to see it in the theater again.