I'll have to see Avatar in 2D at some point to really judge how it helps. I can say that the 3D was never really distracting and instead felt natural about 10 minutes in. The trailers before the movie in 3D had way more gimmicky things in them then the entire presentation.

IMAX vs RealD is a hard one. IMAX gave me the bigger presence of course. But the 3D was a little more noticeable, in that it could be distorted a bit with head movement. If you do see it in IMAX, get good seats where you don't have to move your head around much. It is shown in a normal film aspect ratio, instead of the taller IMAX ratio, so ignore the very top and bottom of the screen when picking a seat.



I definitely don't miss the megaplex theaters though, and anytime I see a movie at one (very rarely these day), it does make me appreciate the higher end places more. The Alamo Drafthouse has very strict rules on talking, using a cell phone, and so on. And due to the wait staff serving food, the rules are enforced very quickly. The Arclight in Hollywood also has a great movie experience, due to auditoriums built to allow people to move their legs without kicking the seat in front of them, and by having assigned seating.

I made the effort a few years back to stop subscribing to cable TV, and in doing so, I've had more money in the budget to put forward towards a good theater experience. In turn, it's made me appreciate the experience more, and I do think a visit to the big screen is worth it from time to time at least.