I was dazzled by the 3D, special effects, and concepts of this movie. Writer-Director James Cameron has created a unique world in which gravity is low, spirituality is high, and the plants and animals are beautiful and fierce. I especially liked the plants that looked like coral and the seeds that looked like jelly fish, only these floated in the air. Even more spectacular was the concept of a neural net between every living thing on the planet. The native Na'Vi, or Blue Monkey People, have a tail that is an extension of their spine, full of neurons that can entwine with the receptors of other animals and plants. The Na'Vi really can talk to the animals, and they store their tribal memories in a sacred tree, to be accessed at will with a flick of the tail. Sadly, one thing lacking was a neural hookup between the Na'Vi people. That would be the ultimate connection, but Cameron didn't go there.
Cameron could have gone anywhere with the Na'Vi culture. In my opinion, the story was marred by too close a correlation between the Na'Vi and Native Americans, with the Blue Monkey's hair and attire appearing like woodland Indians', with yells to go with. The link was made even stronger by the voice of Wes Studi (I like Wes Studi) as Father, the chief of the Na'Vi. His was a classic resonant and earnest chief voice. This imposition of culture was distracting, with the story trying to correlate with the removal of Native Americans from their land. But the Na'Vi are different from Native Americans. Indians were divided because they wanted to pick and choose bits of the settlers' culture--tools, certain foods, cloth. The Na'Vi needed nothing and so were able to stand together while there was still time to repel the invaders.
The story was also marred by a limited treatment. We learn at the end of the movie that Earth is a dying planet. Yikes, we've rooted to repel the Earthlings, and now they must slink back home. Yes, a handful of humans remain with the Na'Vi, but too few are redeemed. The story didn't give them the chance to be.