James Cameron sure does like to wait a long time between movies, although after Titanic I'm sure some people were glad he did. However, Avatar is a return to his over the top but satisfying movie-making.
In the movie, an ex-marine who lost the use of his legs in battle travels to a moon named Pandora, where he will pilot an Avatar - a cloned version of the locals. The locals call them Dreamwalkers, which is a much better name, really. While ostensibly part of a scientific effort, he's offered surgery to fix his legs in exchange for spying on the locals and helping to get them off of a huge deposit of "Unobtainium", a ludicrously expensive floating mineral native to Pandora. Once the marine gets to know the natives, he switches sides and helps them fight off the evil corporation.
Like all good Cameron movies, though, the plot is largely irrelevant. (In fact, an anti-technology plot in a high technology movie, especially once sponsored by McDonald's, is ironic on a scale as large as the movie.) It's just an excuse for stunning special effects, and Avatar is one long special effect. The CGI blends flawlessly into the live action, to the point where visually they are indistinguishable. And Pandora is gorgeous, especially in 3-D.
Verdict: See it on the big screen while you can. If you can bear to spend the extra $5 or so per ticket, see it in 3-D.
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