Eye candy but nothing else

Rating: 3/10 (14 October 2011)

I give the 3 out of 10 for visuals. Nothing else. I've seen it twice and the first time I was completely taken away by the visuals. James Cameron surpasses anything ever done (with the exception of maybe some Japanese videos like the Final Fantasy 7 advent Children movie).
However, that's as far as I can go with being positive about the movie. Sure the actors were good and believable but the characters weren't. Usually when someone tries to make a story out of something completely overdone they at least try for some originality (this is a Pocahontas story). Even the Disney version had characters who weren't complete stereotypes. Avatar makes no attempt to be original. Cameron flaunts the fact that his only selling point is the effects. I felt it was an insult to cinema that this movie was even considered for best movie.
On my second viewing of this I was bored. The shock and awe of the effects were gone and without them, this is a terrible piece of cinema. I do think people should watch this movie, if for no other reason than to get excited about what will happen when these visuals are actually matched by a good director and good story but don't go out of your way to see it.