On Films: Avatar and Percy Jackson

I finally got to watch Avatar.

First things first. Sam Worthington. Human, not avatar. *drool*

Now that that's out of the way, the 3D's fantastic, but everyone's been saying that, so I won't expound on it anymore. The story is not so bad, but predictable. I have to say I love the world of the Na'vi, and as seen through Jake's (hero) eyes when he was learning and training with Neytiri (heroine), it is breathtaking. We see nature in all her glory, the fierce beauty of the living creatures, the harmony and balance in the ecosystem, the way Eywa (somewhat like Mother Earth) maintains the balance of life. I could see why the Na'vi wanted to stay and fight when the Hometree was attacked and I felt their devastation when the Hometree was destroyed. We learned eventually that Earth has been destroyed and the humans now wanted to destroy the Na'vi's home in order to get the precious mineral called Unobtanium (great name, somewhat like unobtainable?), an energy source for Earth and which can also be sold for lots of money.

I believe there's an environmental message in there. In fact, a few of movies I've seen over the years have environmental messages in them. If people still don't wake up, if they still let greed lead their actions and continue the destruction, maybe in 2154, Earth will be as described in the movie.

While waiting for the show, we saw the trailer for Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Looks interesting. I've heard great comments about the book, too. Now my question is: Should I read the book first or watch the movie, then read the book? I've read all Harry Potter books, then watch the movie, and I enjoy the effects, that's it. I much prefer to read the book. What do you think?