I was really excited to see this movie initially but my interest has waned slightly upon hearing about the story... I'm just not really interested in seeing a low-tech society fight a big, bad corporation or military again. It's past the point of being cliched... It's just annoying now.

I'll probably see it down the road but I had been planning on watching it opening night.

Maybe I just haven't seen enough Dances With Wolves rip-offs to get tired of that yet.

Besides, this looks kind of like Beowulf: pure spectacle where you either go whole-hog, seeing it in theaters on the biggest screen you can find, or just skip it.

No Avatar is not like Beowulf. I find it sad that Avatar is being bashed on it's story simply because it's not as amazing as it's visual effects. The story is very great and a lot better than most other sci-fi and fantasy movies.

It's not a story like Transformers 2 or Terminator 4.

Really? I see the "plucky underdogs versus the massive corporation/government" all over science fiction... Return of the Jedi, Terminator 2-4, Battlestar Galactica (which I just finished the first season of and was mightily impressed). It's a constant theme in sci-fi. I was interested in Avatar until I heard its plot... my interest bombed at that point.

Dude, it's Dances With Wolves. I know it's not exactly original, but there's still something about it that's inheretly compelling. I mean, Hell, didn't you like DWW?

Shit, I would watch so many Seven Samurai rip-offs if I had the chance....

Dances with Wolves is a good film. I don't think it's incredible or anything but it's a solid movie. IMO, a lot of the impact of that movie is that it's based around real events, not giant smurfs on an alien planet.

Like I said, I'll get around to seeing Avatar but my interest isn't as high as it once was. Frankly, I think Cameron is an overrated director. He's a GOOD director but most of his movies end up annoying me in one way or another. One thing I have to say about him, though... He's damned good at pushing the technology envelope. But past that, I don't find his movies very engaging.