I knew the story ahead of time, but walked out with my jaw dropping on the special effects. I really like where it put the bar.
What you said!
I think word of mouth is keeping the money flowing in. Yeah, the plot is cliched, the acting is cheesy and the action scenes are too few and far between the long, boring, preachy parts. But the visual effects are just stunning. Pure eye candy. Avatar is the new state of the art.