James Cameron's finest hour?

[Darth Snoopy]

Hey, you guys realize every Cameron film is a love story? (Except T2...unless you count Boy on Robot love...)

I do.........

Robosexuals...

 

[Rotfish]

At first I was thinking Aliens, but while that movie is brilliant, the Terminator films were indeed more original. He entirely created that world, unlike Aliens which was a sequel to an existing film.

 

[Khev]

Hey, you guys realize every Cameron film is a love story?

You're right!

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[occulum]

Avatar is the most overrated movie in cinematic history. There was nothing new about the concept of the movie, in terms of the script, storyline et.

I completely agree.
I commend what Cameron was doing and the message he was trying to send and the technology he advanced was ground breaking which was the real asset from the film's production.

But to think so much money was invested into a spit-shined rerun of a movie while movies like Aronofskys The Fountain has budget cuts, is shut down mid production and struggles to be made is truly sad for what is considered the "Art of Film"....

 

[Silasya77]

Voted Aliens. His best individual film, and the characters were much more memorable than the first movie. I prefer the Terminator franchise, for its originality, but as an individual movie stands, Aliens was great.

 

[cr`]

Cameron is a stylistic bore. Tarantino is anything but.

now now... both are masters at their own thing. just like cameron cant ape tarantino, likewise tarantino cant do what cameron does. hacks and imitators are plentiful, but no two artists are alike. there's a machine like precision to the way cameron designs his action set pieces. his ideas for actions are grand, and then he arranges his shots so perfectly that it becomes high art. and man, what ideas... all the t-1000 moments in t2, all the harrier jet scenes in true lies, the mechanical mother vs queen mother climax in aliens... all these were cool stuffs that were never seen before in movies and still much imitated today. cameron looks at the big screen canvas and thinks 'what's possible?', then he commands and pushes the film technology to bring us something new and grand that we've never seen. he's really equal to none.

of course, i could talk about how great tarantino is as well. but really... apples and oranges.

Avatar is the most overrated movie in cinematic history. There was nothing new about the concept of the movie, in terms of the script, storyline et.

Sure, it was eye-candy, but so are a lot of many other films in the history of cinema. That alone means nothing, and to state how much the movie earned is such hog-wash, especially when you take inflation into account, how many screens are open this era and how much is charged per ticket. Heck, if you want to take that into account, then lets bring up the fact that Jaws, Gone with the Wind, The Sound of Music, Star Wars, ET are far more successful and Avatar ranks in the teens to many other movies.

all those are right of course, but back then movies had no competition from cable tv, dvds, videogames, home theater, etc either. basically, it's harder now to get people asses into theater than it was before. so i think it's fair to just take the spots of titanic and avatar as the reigning queen and king of box office at their face value. we all know they're not the no.1 and no.2 best movie ever made anyway.

Voted Aliens. His best individual film, and the characters were much more memorable than the first movie. I prefer the Terminator franchise, for its originality, but as an individual movie stands, Aliens was great.

aliens is why ripley is now iconic. she was merely a survivor in the first film, but she's a mother warrior in the second. i'm sorry people, but undoubtedly, aliens > alien. that's one other thing about cameron films.. tough female characters. sarah connor, ripley, rose, lindsey. these are fierce warriors, one and all.

 

[EVILFACE]

Tarantino probably has more of a 'style' but to be honest I don't watch films for their 'style'. I'm a man of simpler tastes I guess. Camerons films are more enjoyable to watch and repeat watch and I think hes more consistent aswell. I can't speak of Piranha 2 but all the films in his catalogue are pretty good at the least and modern classics at best. Tarantino? a couple of recognised classics and some others that were good but I'm in no rush to watch again

I grant you sci-fi is and always will be my favourite genre.

Cameron is a artist with a eye for detail and mood. He also knows how to use humor. True Lies is funny but doesn't come off as hokey or campy.

Tarantino knows what makes a movie click. He is a fan making movies and they rock. Something someone like Kevin Smith fails at.

 

[King Darkness]

The Terminator
T2
Aliens
meh to the rest.

 

[CelticPredator]

You have to love True Lies. It's amazing....

 

[a-dev]

Nope, not pretending. Only once the ship starts sinking is that movie watchable, of course this is just an opinion.

ah see I totally bought into Cameron's enthusiasm for the ship and the era that I was able to appreciate the daytime, non-sinking scenes too.

 

[DinoLast]

Apart from Piranha 2 I love all his films
I will own up and say I had tears in my eyes at the end of Titanic, I thought it was a very good film.
I loved Avatar too, it was a great experience watching it, it was wonderfully immersive and involving, I really could not care if it's like other stories. I love Dances with Wolves, but I never sit there arms folded thinking this movie sucks, it's too much like a Man called horse and it's sequel.
I did vote for The Terminator though

 

[WCK]

Here is my ranking:

1) Abyss Directors Cut
2) Aliens
3) Terminator 2
4) Avatar Extended Cut
5) Terminator
6) Titanic
7) True Lies.

I love all of his films though.

Cameron is still king. Even after a 10+ year hiatus, there isn't a single blockbuster movie made in the last decade as well constructed as Avatar, from the action to the pacing etc, it is a marvel, nevermind the incredibly in depth worldbuilding, the detail alone is astonishing. Cameron is pretty much a god tier filmmaker, no one in the action field comes even close to him IMO, and Titanic pretty much attained him sainthood anyways. There isn't a single other filmmaker alive that could have made that movie the way Cameron did. His success on that movie is one of the most deserved of all time if only due to all the parasites who wished failure upon the film before its release.

When it comes to action/adventure Cinema, theres Cameron and theres everone else. It was true in the 80s, and its still true today imo.

 

[Wolf873]

One thing I would say is that his movies are timeless, no matter if its Aliens or Terminator, you don't really get tired of watching them, unless of-course you keep watching them every day .

 

[Shatterer of Dreams]

Can't agree with that, his scripts are horrible and if he didn't have the awesome eye candy (which is the only reason why I even watch his movies) we would just compare him to Corman (where he started.

I will give him credit that he obviuosly has an incrediably technical mind and his special effects and actions scenes are great but he really needs someone else to write his dialog and overall plotting for his movies.

 

[WCK]

One thing I would say is that his movies are timeless, no matter if its Aliens or Terminator, you don't really get tired of watching them, unless of-course you keep watching them every day .

I can endlessly rewatch every single one of his movies and I will almost always find something in it that I never noticed before, they're just so packed with detail.

 

[WCK]

Can't agree with that, his scripts are horrible and if he didn't have the awesome eye candy (which is the only reason why I even watch his movies) we would just compare him to Corman (where he started.

I will give him credit that he obviuosly has an incrediably technical mind and his special effects and actions scenes are great but he really needs someone else to write his dialog and overall plotting for his movies.

Structurally and technically speaking, he's a much better screenwriter than most whose scripts end up as 80-100+ mil productions.

I mean, I won't name names, but a lot of movies these days, popular movies at that, are complete and utter structural messes, nevermind the constant gaps in logic and lack of consistency.

As far as his dialogue, it never bothers me because Camerons actors say it like they mean it. It pretty much always fits his characters and never feels out of place imo. I mean, you can give the dialogue of Colonel Quaritch to some random dude and it will come off as "lol wut" but Stephen Lang owns the hell out of it and sells it as part of his character, which is what Cameron was aiming for.

 

[Shatterer of Dreams]

Sure, I guess. Though I have a hard time telling myself that even though Cameron's scripts are a mess it's ok because there are worse screen writers out there. But again it's just my opinion and to each their own.

 

[cr`]

Can't agree with that, his scripts are horrible and if he didn't have the awesome eye candy (which is the only reason why I even watch his movies) we would just compare him to Corman (where he started.

I will give him credit that he obviuosly has an incrediably technical mind and his special effects and actions scenes are great but he really needs someone else to write his dialog and overall plotting for his movies.

the plots in his films might not break new ground, and yes his dialogue can be corny at times, but his script structure is lean, tight, and smooth as ice. like jigsaw puzzles, each scene in his films belongs exactly where it should, that's why the pacing in his films always feel just right, and that's also why his actions scenes have more resonant. i think cameron dont get enough credit for this since script structure is invisible while dialogue and plot are immediately apparent and easier to be judged, but any screenwriter will tell you that the 3 most important thing in writing screenplay is... structure, structure, and structure.

You have to love True Lies. It's amazing....

and yet it still ranks below piranha 2 in this thread. what's wrong with people?

personally, i would even place it higher than avatar.

 

[a-dev]

and yet it still ranks below piranha 2 in this thread. what's wrong with people?

personally, i would even place it higher than avatar.

True Lies isn't my favourite of his films but even not having seen Piranha 2 I'd bet True Lies is better. People voting for Piranha 2 are probably taking the p!$$, Cameron haters.

 

[WCK]

Piranha should not have even been in the poll, it doesn't qualify at all. Cameron spent what, a week before the producer took over and sent him packing?