Enjoyable but overrated - kinda spoilerish

Rating: 5/10 (7 January 2010)

Technichally, with regards to visuals, this movie is outstanding. The world of Pandora was excellently produced. However, as far as the story and characters go....meh.
I am not a troll and I try to find something positive in everything. That being said, I was disappointed by this movie. About half way through I turned to my friend and said, "I liked this better the first time when it was called 'Dances With Wolves'."
Storywise, Avatar was much more than similar, all the way down to the narration. So much so that I was disappointed a third of the way into the movie, being able to predict exactly what happens. Unfortunately, I hit it right on the nose. I was surprised that James Cameron, who in my opinion has never made a bad movie (at least that I have seen), wrote a story that was so unoriginal.
On top of that, the characters, with the exception of maybe Sigourney Weaver's, were pretty one dimensional and cliché. I also have to commend Zoe Saldana for her ability to convey a lot of emotion through a CGI character. However, Giovanni Robisi did his best Giovanni Ribisi impression, and Colonel Quatrich was the most cliché military bad guy any of us could have come up with.
Im not saying this was a bad movie, in fact it WAS enjoyable. However, was it the end all be all that people seem to think it is? No, it is not. Does it deserve to be #32 on the Top 250? Not even close.
As an earlier reviewer put it, if you want a decent popcorn flick and cool special effects, this is a great movie to spend on a Saturday afternoon (when football season is over). However, if you are looking for something completely original, watch Terminator.