and nearly two weeks later, the film is STILL selling out! (i was at the first showing and i'm glad i got my ticket online cause i got the LAST seat in the theater)

so the pros:

visually, the movie was amazing. the 3-D glasses (cause the old school ones would have fucked up my eye sight big time) were great cause it really helped with being able to really experience the movie

--Sigourney Weaver: LOVE HER! She was perfectly cast as Dr. Grace Augustine. I'm glad Jim Cameron had the decent enough sense to GIVE her a role to play with...I almost was expecting her to go Ripley on a motherfucker in the scene where the solider came to arrest her, Jake and the other dude, on some "GET OFF ME, YOU BITCH!" but, she was great...as always.

--Zoe Saldana: folk are MISSING what she did in this film. I mean, she managed to make what is basically an imaginary alien be HUMANISTIC and REALISTIC...she was very good here. Given that she's only using her imagination and what little cues Cameron gave her, she had a VERY fully realized, three dimensional performance here. I can't hate on her AT ALL..she was great.

the cons:

Story has NEVER been James Cameron's strongest point in his filmmaking...EVER. So, I knew the dialogue and plot would be very average/piss poor..and it was...

No character development: so you beef up the lead women's roles, but don't give CCH Pounder ANYTHING to do? Michelle Rodqiguez (well, she's inconsistent as an actress as it is...)...everyone else? it makes no sense...

EDIT, DAMMIT! EDIT! I would have been MORE invested in this movie it they had CUT 40-50 minutes of unnecessary scenes with Jake learning to be Na'vi, Jake's wack ass narration and much of the final battle...that goes to con #1. But, i guess Cameron THOUGHT the long battle scene would make up for the lameness...

the white hero saving noble savages and taking the alien princess as his sexual concubine, ahem, i mean, bride/lover: i'm so OVER this...but this IS what hollywood is good at unfortunately


given all this, it was a good movie, not outstanding in an overall sense of the word...not anything id want to see again either.