just watched avatar today. fell asleep twice. visuals were great, but...

1) jake's taming the red bird was supposed to be a sign that he was a chosen one and he accomplished this by...wait for it...attacking it from above you mean to tell me that NONE of na'vi ever thought of this?

2) the white man being ruler to the natives is cringeworthy. there is just no way around it.

3) the military antagonist was too one-note. his intense desire to destroy these people were comical. he was like mo'nique in "precious" without the redemption scene at the end.

4) neytiri, this great female warrior, seemed to turn into jake's sidekick at the end. i know it's his story, but this is HER land. how much more original and awesome would this movie be if it was she who were fighting the "sky people."

Eve,

Think about it: If the Navi were to make a successful resistance against the armed, technologically advanced humans, they would need an insider guiding them. That doesn't mean Jake was 'ruling' over them, he just took charge in this particular case because clearly they couldn't do it themselves. That's not racist, that's just simple logic. For the rest of the movie Jake is clearly the one being 'ruled over', as he struggles to learn the different ways of the Navi, and must humbly accept their teaching.

Oh, great mash-up video, Scott, thanks. It is amazing how the two stories line up.

You forgot Fern Gully, too!

JD: At the end of the movie, it can be safely assumed that Jake will continue to be their "ruler", despite the military no longer being a threat.

Again, since this particular story has been told SO many times before, the racial element can not be ignored. It's cliche and tiring, no matter how beautiful the film looked.