Very, very, very good.

Rating: 9/10 (7 January 2010)

I didn't want to buy into the hype. I really didn't. After seeing Avatar in 3D, however, I can't help it. It's good! The skeletal plot (goodies vs. baddies) does indeed lack some originality, but that plot is set in a film that is otherwise extraordinary in every way. The characters (for the most part, I'll come to that in a moment) are interesting and are more than capable of turning what could have been an "Oh my God, when is this over" experience into more of a "Good Lord, it's over?!" kind of day. As I said, the very basic plot is nothing new, but the media through which the plot comes to be are very amazing.
As someone who genuinely doesn't give a flip about graphics, even I was extremely impressed. Everything looked BEAUTIFUL, and completely tangible. I remember seeing The Dark Knight and hearing that some of it was filmed in Imax. Apparently this was a big deal. I came out of the theater saying "That was GREAT! But what's the big deal re: Imax?" That said, even a goon like me noticed that Avatar was visually stunning.
Now, the reason I gave this a 9.5 rather than a 10: the bad guys. They were cartoonishly evil and one-dimensional. That's the only negative I can come up with, and it's barely worth mentioning.
Don't believe haters who say this movie sucks, they just like hating what's popular. This movie is an exception: it's popular because it deserves to be. It's great!