Gounds breaking visual, but not much else

Rating: Null/10 (25 December 2009)

Avatar did not disappoint in delivering grounds breaking visual and audio. James Cameron again pushed the envelop of the cinematic technologies. I expect the industry will follow, and bigger and better things will come. That's good for movie fans.
However, this movie is not up there with James' earlier classics such as Alien, Abyss, or T2. The story and characters are weak and clichéd. The plot is essentially bits and pieces from Miyazawa's legendary Princess Mononoke and Castle in the Sky.
For all these years, Hollywood still makes movies about the white guy maverick gets the beautiful exotic girl, while over-man-hooding all the local guys. This idea alone is not much above the anti-imperialism undertone the movie is trying to convey.