Visually stunning, textually derivative... SPOILERS

Rating: 7/10 (18 December 2009)

It's a beautiful film, no one is going to argue with that. The milieu is stunningly and originally imagined - not just the incredible beauty of the planet itself, but of the futuristic technology as well...
That said, if you've seen Dances With Wolves? You've seen Avatar. Let's see.. injured and war-weary soldier? Check. Ends up alone on the frontier? Check. Gets friendly with the natives? Check. Goes native against his own people? Check. There's just nothing there that's surprising, and even the Navi culture is clearly and directly inspired by Native American cultures. So on that front, it's a little insulting to the audience's intelligence.
However, it's so well-executed that I'm persuaded to forgive the sin of it's derivative nature and just sit back and enjoy it.