Spectacular but deeply flawed

Rating: 6/10 (31 December 2009)

This is certainly a visually spectacular film. The CGI effects are very good, but much of it still feels like watching a cartoon. CGI has a long way to go to replicate real life.
Unfortunately the film lacks a sound plot and fully developed characters. Neither omission is acceptable in such a major film. To have neither makes this feel even more like a cartoon.
Worse, there is a plethora of character stereotypes, from the gung ho marine colonel, the military pilot with a conscience, the bureaucrat carrying out the dictates of the evil corporation, to the peaceful ecologically-minded (though blue rather than green!) tree-hugging spiritualist Indians (sorry Na'vi). This collection shows a pretty poor imagination, and a serious lack of originality.
Then there are the major plot defects and goofs. The major ones (and they are really major errors) are listed separately.
All in all a deeply flawed movie. It may have cost as much as the California budget deficit to make, and the publicity may have been even more expensive than the film, but I doubt its reputation will stand the test of time.