Blah blah Avatar, 3D sucks blue cat people DAE no cultural impact?? Can you remember any character names??
but seriously it was bold as fuck for someone like James Cameron to make something so blatantly anti-US-military at a time when literally the entirety of Hollywood was united in jerking off American imperialism. It was not the least bit subtle and that makes it all the more impressive that Cameron was able to make a pointed takedown of Iraq-era militarism on such a scale.
To parapharase you don't have to hand it to them, the anti-imperialism themes get mired with the white savior narrative that is a big part of the story. I get feeling a connection with a movie but as you get further along the left from when you were when younger things like that get harder and harder to ignore.