It actually was previewed extensively to the press/reviewers, starting at ComicCon this year. Back then it was just a few pieces, but as it got closer, more and more was shown. On December 10th, more then a week before the release, a reviewer friend of mine saw the entire thing. The reviews themselves may have been embargoed for a bit, but it did even win an award from the New York Film Critics Online before the general release.

Ok, sure, the story is a rehash of ideas in the past, and as Bruno here said, "Dances with Wolves" in space. That doesn't diminish it though. Ideas are rehashed all the time, but what is unique here is a very well done detailed new world.

The main point I was trying to get at with the marketing/creators difference is that it's marketings job to slap it on the side of happy meal boxes or whatever. Marketing doing so though isn't directly connected to the quality of the movie, instead it's tied more to the cost of the movie.