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Friend and commenter Penguin has written a review of Avatar, which I am pleased to post here. I have not seen the movie myself, but, from what I have read about it, I believe you will enjoy Penguin's unique interpretation...

Avatar is Cameron’s first installment of a two movie series. How do I figure that? The laws of nature, that’s how.

The plot is a powerful commentary on the challenges, but ultimately rightful march of civilization. In the film, the human species has finally fulfilled its destiny to travel to, settle on and utilise, the resources of other planets. As any fool knows, a species that is limited to one planet will eventually die off due to meteor strikes and/or gross stupidity.

In Cameron’s future, the most valuable commodity in the marketplace, a mineral he very cleverly and cryptically calls “unobtanium” is in good supply on the planet Pandora. This mineral is the free market driver that allows humans to spread across the universe. The only difficulty is that one of the many tribes of natives on Pandora has located a village on top of the deposit.

The natives are an intelligent, but violent and superstitious species. They live in an uncivilized and Stone Age culture and, living as hunter gatherers, have the usual short life expectancies and high infant mortality rates. They suffer terribly by often being consumed for lunch by spectacularly nasty fauna, and suffer other brutalities such as not having invented toilet paper. Their history includes centuries of brutal clan warfare which has only recently concluded. They are ignorant of both the dangers of the wider universe and the technologies that will allow them to spread to other planets themselves and thus ensure their survival.

The hardy human pioneers, who have braved deep space to further the spread of knowledge and progress, are represented by a private corporation which, due to very real dangers, must employ impressive, courageous and skilled private security contractors.

The kind-hearted and well intentioned humans attempt to provide education and civilised progress to the tribe above the deposit and negotiate compensation, in a genuine attempt to obtain mining rights. Their honest and well meaning gestures are violently rebuffed. One of the film’s characters, a confused and troubled ex-marine who inhabits the body of one of the natives – this technique being the inspiration for the movie’s title – is almost murdered by natives in at least two unprovoked incidents. Despite this happening in front of numerous native witnesses, the natives do not hold their own to account. Thus, Cameron shows us the savage’s true nature.

Realising, that negotiations are pointless due to the local’s intractable ignorance and superstition, the humans conclude that they have no choice. They have invested billions of dollars, lost lives and travelled through space for six years to reach this point. With a heavy heart, they reluctantly relocate the natives using escalating force. This is so skilfully done that the dashing hero of the film, a colonel in charge of the security contractors, is able to drink a cup of coffee as it occurs. In the end there are casualties on both sides, but it is clear that Cameron is pointing out that in the broad sweep of history, nothing valuable is obtained for free.

Cameron, however, doesn’t leave his trumpeting of the ultimate victory of colonisation and capitalism there though. He also uses a sub plot to make other darker observations. The cause of progress and civilisation is yet again bedevilled by traitors from within. Just as a small minority of free citizens betrayed their own by actively supporting communist tyranny during the Vietnam war, so a small group of human malcontents sabotage the miner’s efforts. Here is where Cameron is his most pointed; in a backhander to the corruption of truth in the real world, the traitors are led by a scientist who in effect, is attempting to hide the decline of savagery.

To add spice to the sub plot, the traitors, free from any sense of irony, abuse the human technology that allows them to masquerade as natives to good effect against their own kind. Needless to say, Cameron shows his disdain for these types by showing the chief scientist-traitor descending into the madness of worshipping false deities, before dying needlessly due to a misplaced trust in the native’s superstitious medical practices.

To maintain the drama and fully illustrate the dangers of enemies who lurk within free societies, the human traitors lead the natives in a rebellion to a climactic battle which results in a tactical victory for the natives; the humans are forced off the planet into orbit.

Here is where Cameron attempts to be most clever, but falls short. He seems to be saying that the march of knowledge and freedom from poverty can be stopped by violent Luddites. However, he fails dismally. The simplest person with an understanding of human nature and the wonders of capitalism understands that the battle has removed the village above the mineral deposit and the area is free for development; the humans have achieved the more important strategic victory. But not without cost; the hero dies in a brave attempt to kill one of the main traitors, the troubled ex-marine who is aptly named “Sully”.

So that is how I know there will be a sequel. Clearly, with the unobtanium now very, very obtanium, the humans will inevitably return in force and commence the vital mining. They have paid too much to not do so. Hopefully, the sequel will include a scene where justice is also meted out to the evil traitor Sully who has stayed on the planet and gone completely native; a kind of “atavar” avatar. Scum.