There are some very new and interesting aspects of Avatar - the idea of the Avatars themselves - and the obviously the technology of the production itself sets a new standard - especially in 3D (I saw in IMAX 3D) - but I felt the core story line was somewhat weak for all the hype. A big bad military force pounding a different civilization with bombs and bullets in order to recover a valuable mineral. Was this Cameron’s statement on our war in Iraq to recover oil? With such a huge investment of dollars and technology, I feel there could have been much more depth and engagement in the central plot. See Avatar for the movie technology in 3D – not so much for the story.