This movie confuses me like few others have.
On the one hand, it's an exhilarating experience. An absolutely mindblowing moviegoing event. I've seen the movie three times (once in Liemax 3D, once in a regular screen, and once in RealD), and it's a consistently thrilling piece of cinema.
With that said, it's extremely hard for me to overlook the generic narrative. While it might have been a fairly original story when Cameron first conceived it, it sure as hell isn't now. I could see every single plot twist from a mile away, including
. That definitely bothers me. There's a very
been there, done that feel to the script, and I think that really holds it back from being a masterpiece. It's a technical masterpiece, to be sure, but as a complete film, not so much.
That said, I'm really looking forward to the sequel(s). As long as Cameron expands the narrative into some new, uncharted territory (and I'm confident that he will), I'll forgive him for Avatar's bland story. I have a feeling that this franchise will be much greater than the sum of its parts.
As far as awards go, I won't be totally pissed if it wins Best Picture, but I certainly don't think it deserves it. I have no beefs with Cameron winning Best Director, though. The man certainly deserves that award.