Good to see a fair and unemotional review (people get really scarily in the hatedom/fandom) most reviewers get too bog down in the politics to answer if a films worth seeing or not.
I don't think that turning Jake into a tactical genius would of suited his character -he just a grunt after all- it would of push him right into Mary Sue country and probably accidentally turn the Na'vi and human into morons. But hey the characters acted pretty dumb anyway and you can't go wrong with giant monsters ;)
As for the Mighty Whitely stuffs i personally don't see what the fuss is about. jake is hardly any better than the Na'vi, yes he killed the baddie got the girl but that what's heroes do in movies. This Troper isn't American (native or otherwise) so maybe there is a whole load of racist subtext i'm missing. but I feel that people are just being over sensitive on the issue.
anyway good review. The film not the best but it's still a fun ride.
Neytiri: "look out jake it's Quaritch's mecha! And he got a knife'
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Good.....Could Be Better
Avatar gives off conflicting reactions. I would flip back an forth between "This is awesome!" and "This is so cliche and predictable." It looks promising in the first half when you get to see the planet, at the part where Jake gets his first Giant Flyer, and the air battle and final mech fight was cool. These parts alone should be enough to warrant seeing it in a theatre.
But it's like everyone carries the Idiot Ball in this movie. After all, if it's not obvious the Na'vi won't move at the beginning of the movie, it is by the time its mentioned that they live in a giant sentient tree. And Neytiri's parents are idiots in that they engage her to one guy and then let her train and spend time with Jake and act suprised when they mate.
Then there's the whole Mighty Whitey aspect, which might have been justified but wasn't. Jake could have taught the Na'vi about human weapons, try to figure out how to make explosives using the alien chemistry, lead an elite team of flyers to steal the explosives during the battle, or at least talk the ground forces out of making a suicidal frontal assault (at least the speed and manoeverability of the Giant Flyers could offset the metal helicopters for a fair fight). Of course this just might be me wishing Jake would grow a brain and act like Paul Atreides or Lelouch. Instead he goes and gets the bigger Giant Flyer despite being the least qualified person to do this, the movie skips over the fight, and shows him afterwards without a scratch. Then there's the whole business of Eywa being a real god, and yet all she does is provide a "here comes The Cavalry" moment near the end. YMMV, but I think Avatar would be a better movie if Jake failed and Eywa sent a giant monster to annihilate the humans Eva style, while Grace lectures Parker about trying to take over a world he knows nothing about right before it kills him.