Okay, I don't want people to think I died or anything, but the moment I got back yesterday I just played FFXIII until I was too tired to continue. Here are my impressions of Avatar in RealD:
It is one of the best super generic films I've watched in a long time. At the end of the movie, I felt satisfied by both the visual awe and the skill of storytelling. Unfortunately as i discussed the movie more over dinner, my opinion of the movie definitely took a dip the more we talked about how generic and unoriginal the movie was.
Here's the thing. I find the pacing and the directing amazing. It's really well shot, the framing is REALLY good especially if you consider that none of these places exist. It's the sort of camera work and directing you get from really good animated features, but don't see often (or at all) in CG films and especially not in CG aided live action films with tons of green screen. The pacing is also excellent, and it never felt like 2 hours 45 mins to me. Breezed through, great fun.
But the movie has a problem from the start. It is a very generic story. It is filled with generic characters. I can't really say I was particularly moved by anything that actually happened in the story, because not only have I seen it all before, but Cameron seems to assume that people have seen it all before too. It's almost like a Disney animated feature in that sense - he's more focused on delivering a good time, and delivering on what you see on screen, than bothering with trying to tell an original story or even provide any sort of clutch for people who want "something more" out of the characters or story. There isn't anything wrong with that really, but considering it's a big scifi adventure story on an alien world, it's rather disappointing that there is not a single set piece, character or story angle which has not been done at least 3 times before.
Next disappointment - Horner's score. What a lazy fucking piece of shit. Maybe Horner only put in as much creativity into the movie as Cameron did in the storyline. That would explain why the movie not only unfolded just as I expected, but also why it kept SOUNDING just like what I would expect. Disappointing and lame. While Cameron can make an excuse and say he at least contributed to the excellent directing and visual elements of the movie, Horner can't even say he at least contributed a good vocal song to the credits - BECAUSE IT SUCKED BALLS. :/
Overall I really enjoyed myself, it was a fun ride, and a great adventure for the both young and old. It's just not the second coming, it's not revolutionary, it's not JESUS CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN AND TOUCHED YOUR EYEBALLS, and it's definitely not anywhere close to my favorite Cameron movie. It's better than The Abyss and maybe True Lies, but I'll take any of his R-rated movies any day over Avatar because they're just better made overall. Avatar might have some of his best camera work and largest scale set pieces, but it just isn't a well balanced overall piece to stand as a masterpiece.
Oh and RealD is great. It's light, it fits well, and it almost completely vanishes once I'm used to it and in the movie after a few minutes. Avatar uses 3D really well, and I think the depth of perception really added a lot to various scenes throughout the movie. I'm willing to eat crow for that, because I was really impressed with how awesome some of the scenes were in 3D, and now I just can't imagine them being as satisfying to look at in 2D.