Still, it was a pretty hackneyed plot, well-worn from many previous incarnations. What sets the movie apart is the use of technology. That in itself isn't enough to make a move great, just interesting. And, I thought entertaining.
Avatar, fun. Best picture, alas, no.
I have no opinion on "best picture," except that I don't consider lack of originality to be a problem at all. West Side Story was Romeo and Juliet, The Lion King was Hamlet, etc. etc. I actually enjoy seeing reiterations of common myths in different contexts.
Besides the pure visual aspect and the supernaturally athletic blue people, what I enjoyed about Avatar was the idea of a natural system analogous to both a computer and a human brain at once. How convenient that animals and trees have USB inputs/neurological synapses! How did that work, evolutionarily, and what does it mean in terms of individual rights? What is an individual, anyway, in a context like that? Because it sure seems like Enwa, or Emwa, or whatever their goddess's name is, would count.
Not keen on the whole "males choose a female mate, and they are bonded for life" bullshit, though. Supposedly the Na'vi and his/her dragon are bonded for life, too, but that didn't stop Sully from cheating on his own dragon for a bigger, oranger one. Apparently monogamy is one-sided in this society.....