With the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, the much-respected James Cameron now has 10 feature films under his belt. That may not sound like a particularly large amount for an auteur that has been in the industry for just over 40 years, but if Cameron is known for anything it’s for being meticulous. Well, that and being an adventurer, as was seen in his documentaries Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep. But today, for the purposes of this piece, we’re focusing exclusively on his feature films, not his docs, entertaining as they are. From his early, early days working on a sequel to a Jaws rip-off to his nearly two decades working on Pandora, the director has helmed some wonderful films.
Granted, not all of them are masterworks. But, typically, if Cameron is releasing a film, it’s either an event, something that is pushing the film industry forward, or a combination of the two. Let’s find out what the most important and the most entertaining of them all is.
10) Piranha II: The Spawning
While Piranha II: The Spawning was Cameron’s feature film directorial debut, it barely feels like his outside featuring longtime collaborator Lance Henriksen in the lead role. And that makes sense, considering he was fired not long into production, at which point producer Ovidio G. Assonitis took over.
Even still, Cameron co-wrote the script and directed at least some of its scenes, so it is technically his and, for that reason, it’s included here. But, yeah, unlike the first Roger Corman Piranha (Corman was not involved in The Spawning), it’s not a good movie, even if Scream Factory’s Blu-ray isn’t half bad to look at.
Stream Piranha II: The Spawning for free with ads on The Roku Channel.
9) True Lies
Most of Cameron’s movies have aged well, both visually and thematically. True Lies isn’t one of them. Some of its content, be its view of Middle Eastern cultures or the treatment of Jamie Lee Curtis’ character, have aged like countertop gouda.
There are a few fun action sequences, but True Lies is a tough watch these days. It’s also a bit on the long side. It was another win for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis at the time, but it’s not a necessary watch now.
Stream True Lies on YouTube TV.
8) The Abyss
There’s an argument to be made that The Abyss belongs above the Avatar movies, and that’s a fair argument indeed. And, like those movies and another of Cameron’s filmography we’ll get to later, it pushed the boundaries of what CGI could pull off.
However, for all its effectively tense atmosphere, The Abyss can be a bit of a slog. We get that Cameron sees the ocean as a magical place, but after a while the audience is rolling a finger like a film reel and saying, ‘We get it.’ Plus, once you realize its alien presence is a docile one, the only real source of tension is Michael Biehn crawling around going all Jack Nicholson in The Shining. It’s a relatively powerful one-time viewing, but most audience members aren’t going to be clamoring for round two.
Stream The Abyss on Disney+.
7) Avatar: The Way of Water
Credit is certainly due Avatar: The Way of Water for its worldbuilding. New characters like Kiri, born of Dr. Grace Augustine’s deceased avatar and “Spider,” Col. Miles Quaritch’s son, prove to be fine additions to the canon, and even allow the film to not only bring Sigourney Weaver back but add a slight amount of depth to Quaritch (who is now in a Recombinant avatar) as well.
But Quaritch also represents a problem, which is that, for all its efforts to flesh out Pandora a bit more, it still comes across as a rehash. It’s not a dry film, and it says a lot that it can make you feel truly sorry for a CGI whale creature, but Fire and Ash still feels fresher.
Stream Avatar: The Way of Water on Disney+.
6) Avatar
For a movie that is about embracing another culture and learning its ways, Avatar is surprisingly shallow. It really just boils down to bad people want natural resources, good “people” have resources, bad people try to exterminate them for said resources. It builds a clever, nature-focused world, but it comes off as hokey a little too often for its own good.
But there are certainly upsides, especially when it comes to Zoe Saldaña’s heartbreaking performance. She’s the only one who is really able to make you care about any of the walking talking CGI creations in a meaningful way (to be fair to Cameron and the film, there will always be a disconnect when it comes to viewing CGI individuals in the same light as flesh and blood individuals). Furthermore, it does a great job of making you hate the antagonistic private military operators. But even they only serve to reinforce the criticism that the film is thin. Not to mention, they have some occasionally very weak dialogue (all of the clichés are present, such as “Get some” and Jake Sully’s first act utterance of hooah). In the end, Avatar comes across as an amalgamation of a handful of much better movies, but the fact remains that it was visually a major step forward for the film industry.
Stream Avatar on Disney+.
5) Avatar: Fire and Ash
Considering it’s so new, one might accuse us of recency bias, but Avatar: Fire and Ash really is the best of the three. It has greater emotional complexity, especially when it comes to Jake Sully and Neytiri grieving over their son Neteyam. Then there’s the fact Neytiri holds so much resentment against human beings, and just how that sits with Sully who is, even in blue skin, a human being.
Like with The Way of Water there is an issue of repetition here, but overall, it’s just a more memorable experience. Not to mention, Varang, the leader of the Ash People, is the villain this franchise deserves. Quaritch is very much played out. And, in Oona Chaplin’s hands, she’s unforgettable. Second only to Saldaña’s, Chaplin’s is the best performance in the whole franchise.
4) Titanic
The 1990s’ biggest pop culture juggernaut, Titanic could have very easily gone to hell in a handcart. From the long night shoots and the massive, recreated ship, it’s amazing it came together at all, much less as a fully coherent and beautiful film.
This is one of the great romance films, with great chemistry between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, a compelling score, and a lingering, building sense of doom that makes you root for the romance more than you already would. Some have accused it of melodrama, but if you want to see how melodramatic it could have been, try to choke your way through Michael Bay’s insufferable Pearl Harbor.
Stream Titanic on Hulu.
3) The Terminator
Even with a limited budget, Cameron can build a massive world and establish an even larger threat. His breakout film, The Terminator, is the proof of this.
The Terminator works so well because it’s a relatively simple survival film. Two people are evading something that wants them (especially one of them) dead. It’s as straightforward as that, and from moment one the audience is forced to fear the T-800. That’s as much thanks to Cameron’s tight direction as it is the soundtrack and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s performance.
Stream The Terminator on Netflix.
2) Aliens
The first of Cameron’s six (thus far) movies under the 20th Century Studios umbrella, Aliens was proof enough that the director knows how to flip the script on a very successful movie and deliver a product that’s just as great. He did that once more, but we’ll get to that script-flipper in a second.
If this were an Alien ranking we’d still give the Ridley Scott original the number one placement, but Aliens would very much be nipping at its heels. It’s almost unfair to compare them. They may have the same protagonist and antagonist but they’re entirely different movies. Speaking of the protagonist and antagonist, Ripley was never better than she was here, taking on a maternal role for Newt. As for the antagonistic Xenomorphs, Cameron took a creature hidden in shadows and fleshed out its full life cycle by introducing the Queen. And, as far as ’80s practical effects beasties go, it’s hard to imagine one that is better looking forty years later than the mama Xeno.
Stream Aliens on Hulu.
1) Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Almost certainly the most ambitious and consistently enthralling action film of all time, Terminator 2: Judgment Day was a true step forward for the film industry. It’s blockbuster entertainment at its finest that simultaneously proved once and for all that CGI was the way of the future when it came to creating things practical effects simply could not.
While CGI has its flaws, it does allow for new stories to be told. It’s overutilized now, but in Cameron’s hands it was an asset. But the film’s well-aged visuals aren’t the only reason it’s taking the top spot here. This was also the film where Cameron was able to take a film that was already perfect (in the eyes of many), flip it on its head, and make another perfect film. That’s incredibly impressive.
Stream Terminator 2: Judgment Day on Netflix.
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