Not the second coming, but a very enjoyable blockbuster

Rating: 8/10 (19 December 2009)

Well, both the bads and goods stood out. The screenplay is certainly nothing special. It follows a familiar plot with a lot of one dimensional characters. The bad guys are bad who were shouting out bad one liners with no redeeming qualities throughout. Also the political messages (or sarcasm such as "we will fight terror with terror with preemptive strikes") and environmental messages are definitely not subtle, and there are several blatant tear-jerking attempts with slow-motions and background music. This is no LOTR or TDK in terms of screenplay, but at least Cameron avoided ill-attempted jokes or making protagonists keep rising from near death.
That being said, good story is not really the point we're seeing the film here, is it? We want visuals and actions, and on both fronts, it's near perfection. It's like Jurassic Park meets LOTR, in 3D. The world Cameron created was immense and gorgeous. I know it's CGI, but it's very much worthy of a Cinematography nomination. The actions are intense with fine editing. After feeling dragged somewhat in the first 100 minutes especially since the story didn't get me, the last hour went by in a blink of the eye.
Overall, still very much recommendable. B+.