Prior to the first time seeing this film I was skeptical of the odd looking alien characters and of big budget adventure movies in general. But James Cameron succeeded in creating an entirely new world with characters I can sympathize with and an amazing display of cinematography/visual effects.
Sure most film snobs will not enjoy Avatar because it's dialog isn't great and the acting isn't always superb, yet I still stand by my belief that this was the best film of 2009 and is far more entertaining than The Hurt Locker. The 3D effects simply make it more believable and allow the audience to invest more fully their attention and their emotions.
A very well done piece of visual storytelling and I'd recommend it to most anyone!