Yes, 3-D is fun, and this film created an awesome new visual world, but it falls short of being a great, or even good, movie. Lord of the Rings had poignant dialogue and character development--Avatar comes no where close. Aliens had a dark, frightening moody drama-- Avatar had no such subtlety or richness (at least of I and II) . The visuals don't make up for shallow dialogue and predictable plot, including the transparent political agenda.
Didn't anyone else find the "joining" of the Avatar and animal a little creepy?