But it’s a story that does have a powerful message. People have commented on the pagan practices in the movie, but no one has yet complained about the worship of consumerism and greed in the “human” culture.

I thought Avatar was a thought-provoking look at what can happen when two vastly different cultures mix, and the pitfalls that particularly the more dominant culture can fall into.

Now, about the story: sure the plot is worn out. In reality, what story isn’t? And, if it had been a “new” story, most people probably wouldn’t have liked the movie. It was simplistic because the movie wasn’t about the story… it was about the filming. It was all about the technology and the cinematics of the whole shebang that ran the show. The fact that the story was simple allowed the brain to sink into a rythme of just letting your eyes do the walking.

As for the spiritual undertones, I found it interestingly compelling because I felt like it had an interesting view of America and missions. One of the things that the “corporate boss” guy says was something like, “We built them a school, taught them English, and gave them food and water… what do they want?”

Cameron is a big fan of having a “corporate bad guy” (Paul Reiser in Aliens), and the idea of there being something that we can just give to people that will make them be like us is a very American idea. Although there was a STRONG push for the whole Mother Earth deal, I think the idea was more of the cultural changes that the “sky people” were trying to push onto the indigenous was right on from a historical standpoint.

I came away from the movie more inspired about missions because of the movie. Which is interesting because I get what you’re saying too.

I loved this movie. I saw it twice, and if money weren’t an issue, I’d probably see it again. Because in IMAX 3D… it was a sight for sore eyes.