10 Brilliant Films That Are Easy Targets For Haters

The strangest thing about James Cameron's Avatar is that everybody seemed to love it during the film's initial release. It was a huge hit with critics and film-goers alike (and it still remains the top-grossing movie of all time). Then, almost out of nowhere, people began to turn on it. After all the hype had died down, Avatar’s reputation took a rather abrupt nose dive that's still being felt today. 

It's true, the narrative aspects of Avatar have been widely criticized for being formulaic and derivative, and the ecological message is pretty on-the-nose, but as a visual spectacle there is nothing quite like it. Cameron also delivers several massive action set-pieces that proved he hadn't lost his touch.

Sure, it's easy enough to disparage aspects of Avatar's story but the average criticisms seem to miss the point. Avatar works as a parable of sorts (man vs. nature), and a well-known plot that hinges on a Pocahontas-like story makes sense. To assume Cameron thought otherwise is to completely misinterpret his intentions. Simply put, Avatar is an epic, the technology and the detail is immense, and it will undoubtedly give you goose bumps (if you give it the chance).