Hi Michael,

Regarding your other points:

I also appreciate good world-building in both science fiction and fantasy (for the record, I consider Star Wars fantasy rather than science fiction). However, regardless of how great said world-building is, it should not happen at the expense of a good story well-told with relatable characters dealing with universal human themes. I wrote about this issue here, if you're interested.

The Lord of the Rings definitely meets the ideal criteria I describe in my article above (I discuss why in some detail). The Martian is also an excellent case in point, but within the science fiction arena. Avatar however, for all it's lovely world-building (and I agree it has that in spades), the film has a dull, preachy plot and therefore falls completely flat for me. All the world-building in the universe can't fix that. Only a good screenplay.