I finally saw Avatar last night. I really enjoyed it, although I wish Cameron would be less heavy-handed with his messages. A little subtlety would have gone a long way.

It might be my lack of familiarity with Middle Eastern culture, but the Na'vi seemed like they represented Native Americans rather than Iraqis. Having said that, is it really necessary to use phrases like "shock and awe" and "terror for terror?" That stuff always takes me out of the movie, and do we really need to be smacked on the head with it?

Vaderisnothayden said:

A friend who saw the movie told me that the human guy who becomes Navi becomes the coolest of the Navi. That's an old racist cliche. The cliche basically goes White guy goes in among the non-whites and he's the best among them, because you know, whites are superior. Like I said, racist. Funny that Cameron would do that while trying to be so politically correct.

It would have been interesting to see an African American in that role.