FISH MAN, I saw Avatar yesterday prepared to dislike it and write it off as an exercise in CGI, loud booms and blasts and hokey 3-D effects. While the screenplay will not win any Academy Award nominations, the IMAX experience was truly incredible. In your face 3-D effects were kept to a minimum, the holography was astounding and the aliens were more realistic than their human counterparts. My only quibble is that the sound track was louder than I like but not at ear-bleed levels. It's just that most theater sound systems suck and increasing the volume makes the crummy speakers sound crummier.
This may not encourage you to see the movie but if you go, be ready for something unlike any movie experience that you have ever had.