1. It treats its story with exaggerated somberness

The story of 'Avatar' is recycled from multiple sources, such as the real-life story of Pocahontas and the movies 'Ferngully' and 'Dances with Wolves'. Though many of the opening scenes have a lightness about them, featuring throwaway but charming jokes, you can feel the script working overtime to get the audience to like it. Once Sully begins to question his loyalty and allegiance to his fellow humans, the tone turns mostly sober, even as the plot machinations turn more obvious. The absence of nuance is heightened by the self-seriousness, which may have been shared by its forerunner, 'Dances with Wolves', but felt more earned in that case.

2. The special effects are not always as impressive as they should be

There is no denying that there are some great images throughout the film. However, for a movie that was lauded for its eye-popping effects there are also some less-than-stellar images, even for 2009. The biggest issue is that the film wants the audience to interpret the Na’vi like real people but it’s very difficult when they often look like cartoons, and even though their facial expressions are better than probably any film that came before, they still leave something to be desired. There are enough scenes that keep the audience at a distance that the choice to use motion capture now seems suspect.

3. The dialogue is clunky

For all of Cameron’s technical wizardry, his writing leaves something to be desired. Like Titanic before it, 'Avatar'’s strength lies in areas outside of its script. One of its most ineffective aspects is its dialogue, which is too often expository or just plain awkward. Because the film streamlines its exposition effectively, it, by necessity, puts big chunks of information that are important to the audience’s understanding in the explanatory opening scenes. To listen to the characters’ speech in 'Avatar' is to know what it feels like to fumble for the right-sounding words and not be able to find them. Again, it doesn’t stop 'Avatar' from succeeding; it simply stops it from amazing.

4. The performances don't rise much above average

For a movie that set records at the box office and was the frontrunner for Best Picture for a few months, there is not one great performance that stands out. This is not to bad-mouth any of the performers, who all put their heart into their characters. Sam Worthington does a fine job of playing the cocky soldier who must realistically become humble. Zoe Saldana is a talented actress and this is no exception. But none of the performances can quite eclipse the blockbuster that they are present within. Everything is meant to serve the effects and the action sequences instead of the characters.

5. The movie is overly long

When a movie stretches to two hours and forty minutes, viewers need to feel like every scene is essential and every moment serving a purpose. Though illustrating the beauty and majesty of nature is integral to the story that 'Avatar' tells, many of the scenes that depict Jake and the natives connecting with nature are drawn out. They get to showcase the regal CGI backgrounds, but serve to belabor the point. It has countless scenes that could have been cut to shorten the huge running time and tighten the story. This is not to suggest that audiences are exhausted by its length, simply annoyed when some moments don’t earn their time.

6. The love story is derivative

The central love story of the film is unable to attain anything more than symbolic status. That is to say, it is words on a page that put characters through emotions but none of them ever feel real. Again, Worthington and Saldana are fine and they do their best, but their characters’ love has no depth. The love story is older than Shakespeare. Two warring factions, ready to murder each other, discover that two of their own are actually in love. Those lovers then have to make a choice: stay on their side and fight against their love or find some way to prevent the fight or participate in it. Though this version of a love story can be compelling, when combined with all of the issues above, it creates a dull romance. 

7. The thematic implications are pedestrian

Movies are meant to be entertaining. The themes and lessons that audiences internalize from films are just a bonus for many. Nonetheless, the greatest movies of all time offer more than just thrills and chills. 'Avatar' struggles, though, to give more than just a great time at the movies. Like 'Titanic', its themes are obvious and blunt. Here, you have the straightforward idea that oppressive nations should not push out indigenous people. Also, the well-tread moral of overcoming your own biases in pursuit of love and affection.

8. The money it made overshadowed everything above

The bottom line in Hollywood is money. 'Avatar' made startling amounts of it, which made it seem for a time better than it actually was. Eight years on, though, the money that it made no longer protects it from the criticisms that bubbled under the surface. Perhaps forever it will be one of the top-grossing movies of all time. Now, though, it is seen as a pleasing popcorn movie and not as the visionary epic it was once declared. About two years ago, 'Star Wars  Episode VII: The Force Awakens' passed 'Avatar' as the top-grossing film of all time. The amount of money that a movie makes gives it cachet and speaks to its ability to please a multitude of audience members. What that amount of money does not do is guarantee that a movie’s impact will stand the test of time.