The plot was better than I was expecting, with surprises and originality.
Err, the plot was okay, but
original? It was
Dances With Wolves set in space, with just a dash of
Fern Gully and the end of
Return of the Jedi thrown in for good measure. In general though, I'm trying to think of single plot point on which he deviated from Dances, but I'm struggling on that.
More disturbingly on the point of the plot was that buried in the cliches and stale social commentary are the racist overtones. It has a strong anti-colonialist message, which does need to be repeated over and over, but Cameron didn't manage to offer any sort of original take or twist on the theme. He even repeats some of the most offensive aspects of the plot; he manages to tell the story of the plight of the
Native Americans Na'vi from the perspective of the personal journey of a
white guy, who the natives decide to make their leader by virtue of his unique
whiteness awesomeness, because in the world of this movie and all others that follow this template, a native would never have been as capable of saving the day as a white person. Throw in the borderline racist stereotype of the "noble savage" with his connection to the environment, and you have a pretty cringe-worthy movie.
Unquestionably, the visuals were amazing. And this is probably one of those rare cases where the visuals can completely carry a movie with an uninspired and cliche story. It was amazing and worth seeing for the art and beauty and little details that went into the world. But I'm very surprised anyone seems to find anything to praise in the story itself.