^That is a good point. Also, the immersive nature of the film. You don't necessarily have to watch it in 3D to get that immersive feeling. The way it was shot, and the overall cinematography are built around immersing you in this beautiful alien world that Cameron constructed. And that is all perfectly brilliant. I have to acknowledge that. I have to give props for it. And then when you add the 3D layer on top, I have to praise that as well. As has been pointed out ad nauseum, it was just done so well, and was made part of the experience rather than simply a gimmick to make the audience oooh and ahhh when the random object seemingly hurls out of the screen directly at them. It didn't rely on 3D as a cheap gimmick the way a lot of 3D films have. It was used extremely well. The film deserves its praise for all of that.
But at the end of the day, even giving props for all of that, it still doesn't change my overall feelings for the film. I'm still left with: Yeah, I liked it well enough. It was good, as far as summer action blockbusters go. Maybe even really good. But not something that hooks me the same way as a lot of other films or film franchises. I just can't put it on the same level as, say, Star Wars, or the MCU, or the LOTR films (originals, not The Hobbit trilogy, which was good, but also largely a hot mess). I guess I'd probably put it up there with the Harry Potter films. In the same way, I can appreciate those. And I can watch each of them a few times and enjoy them well enough. But they are nothing I am interested in watching over and over again, and very little that resonates on a very deep emotional level.