it still somehow far exeeded my expectations.

it was even more beautiful on the eyes than i thought it would be (and i had been to the 15 minute imax preview).

but beyond that, if it was just an insanely amazing piece of 3 hour eye candy i would have been happy, and that's all i really hoped for.

well, i did not expect to become so emotionally involved in this movie. and i sure as hell did not expect there to be the kind of character development that took place. despite all indications to the contrary (after seeing that 15 minute preview), i became very invested in these characters to the point where i was actually kind of missing them after leaving the theater.

yes the story followed that familiar arc...and thankfully so. its a timeless one, and allows people to enjoy the wonder and emotion of it all rather than the "cleverness" of the plot. its one of those important and prevailing themes in the tales of mankind (springing from our past, our present, and probably our future). and there are other themes beyond the "pocahontas" thing. it was largely an old familiar story, but still unique to itself.

the native american stuff was an appropriate and good aesthetic source to dip into for the na'vi. it works. this is a tale told by people who grew up learning about native americans, etc. it will always be a part of their inner creative library.

i could go on forever right now about this movie, but i couldn't figure out for the life of me how anyone with a pulse, a set of eyes, or a heart could come out of that film hating.