My wife and I saw Avatar 3D on 3/20 at one of the few local theaters where it's still playing. We had high expectations given all of the reviews and word of mouth buzz. Indeed, we were not disappointed.
In the movie trailers we saw online, we thought that the CGI looked video game-ish. However, in the theater, things looked very real and rich. The action scenes were thrilling, and the 3D effects were effective enough, without being a "distraction."