I don’t have words.
The movie is just non-stop humans being absolute colonizer monsters and the people (and creatures) of Pandora, who want to live in peace, being forced to fight back (and kicking human ass).
The movie lives and dies by it’s visual effects and by god are they incredible. Pandora is just such a beautiful world, and Cameron lets you experience it in all its beauty and unity and peace before he shows the ugly human machines and weapons kill and destroy it. You feel the pain and the righteous anger when the Navi fight back. I was cheering for every human death of which there are many.
Is the story perfect? Nah. There are points where it’s cliche etc but I don’t mind that. There is a larger story about nature and colonisation and that’s what matters so much more. Pandora is a world that can fight back because the world itself is alive and connected and god just imagine if Earth was like that.
I’m definitely gonna see it again and I’m super pumped for the sequels.
The Tau were that, but the creepiest development head in Games Workshop, Matt Ward, went out of his way to try to retcon the Tau into evil mind controllers that sterilize their alien recruits. He's the same developer whose self-admitted favorite faction "The Grey Knights," (cw: Gambo-tier gory edgy misogyny)
spoiler
were written by him to have a habit of ritually mutilating and murdering Sisters of Battle to wear their body parts as magic talismans to protect against the Warp. You know, in a way that totally isn't Chaos sorcery at all. Morally grey. During a softball "interview" given by a Games Workshop employee, Matt Ward giggled like the manchild he is while remarking about how funny that was to him. :sus:
Jesus what a creepy loser.
I guess you can still homerule the Tau as being based.
There's some continuity mending later where the "Tau are mind controllers that sterilize their alien recruits" is presented in-setting as official Imperium of Man propaganda. That is to say, highly suspect and likely just made to stoke xenophobia further.
The Ultramarines even sign a treaty with the Tau and even trade some technology in the post Matt Ward era.