Avatar cheesy or triumphant?

There is no doubt about it James Cameron's new film Avatar is a spectacular leap forwards for cinema in regards to the new 3D technology but what about the film itself? Well the CGI is incredible and the acting - whether it's done in person or through the voice - is top class but the plot, though undoubtedly spiritual, is far from original! The alien race are so obviously modeled on any of the indigenous tribes of our world, their spiritual perception of their world being a direct copy of some that they come across as poorly envisioned or lacking in imagination. Even if this was James Cameron's idea, to create a reflection of life on Earth and it's plight one leaves the cinema feeling it could have been done with a little more finesse or creativity. Even the alien animals are quite clearly horses and panthers given a glossy CGI camouflage and this combined with the now rather dated looking envisioning of future technology (think Alien but not so grungy) makes for a rather unoriginal fantasy. The saving graces then, apart from the 3D for me where the poignant sentiments (when our hero tells the Spirit of the alien world that humanity killed their Mother meaning the Earth) and the beautiful spiritual names that the alien race has for its world (the "home tree" and the "tree of souls") other than this sad to say for me Avatar was more cheese than triumph I'm afraid!