Avatar: The Way of Water It is already part of the history of cinema. Not only because of its dazzling visuals, moving story and amazing technical advances. Also for being the James Cameron film that takes his vision to entirely new places and makes it clear that the director is creating a franchise based on experimentation. One, moreover, so deep and well constructed as to give rise to the perception of a constantly expanding universe.
But it is not the first time that James Cameron has achieved such a feat. Since his first films, his inventiveness, creative capacity and audacity have allowed him to develop an inimitable way of dialoguing with the cinematographic. From pure action to the most philosophical science fiction. The director has moved through all imaginable spaces of the language of cinema to delve into a unique signature. Also in a way of reflecting on the future, uncertainty, and even the world as the scene of great ethical battles. All under great technical advances and a need to innovate that little by little became his hallmark.
Here are five essential James Cameron movies if you love this wonderful director’s point of view. In particular, if you find his way of understanding cinema, his speculation about time and his passion for the image of considerable interest. Five examples of how the director left his indelible mark on Hollywood history.
Terminatorthe most iconic James Cameron film
A few years ago, James Cameron recounted that he imagined the story of a robot that traveled from the future in the middle of a fever. Immediately, he took some notes that, years later, would become the script for Terminator. The story may not be true, but the core of its importance is obvious. The director trusts his instincts. Enough to create an entire argument from a sudden inspiration.
Considered one of the most important films in contemporary science fiction, it is also an ingenious plot and visual experiment. Cameron, who had limited resources to carry out an ambitious story, used them to produce atmosphere and a chaotic sense of the inevitable. Also an elaborate version on ethics and predestination. Actually, the premise of Terminator turns the usual hero’s journey into a curious journey through human greed, greed, and the inevitable. All around a little hope of redemption.
But he also did something else. She gave life to a female character who set a precedent in the powerful heroines of Hollywood. Sarah Connor, who started out as a disgraced victim and became a central figure in the story, dazzled the audience. Although not only because of the solid and sensitive performance of the very young Linda Hamilton. The film became a historic box office success and gave Cameron the first big hit of his career.
You can see Terminator on Amazon Prime Video.
aliens: return
With alien Ridley Scott’s cult following, James Cameron was offered the chance for a sequel. One that, moreover, had the mission of broadening, deepening and expanding the horizons of the original idea. It was no easy task: Scott had imagined his story and creature as part of an elaborate mythology. But Cameron was futuristic in vision and especially open to interpretation. One so wide, complex and hard as to change the very meaning of the original film.
Cameron himself has commented on more than one occasion that it was a measured risk. Especially since what characterized Scott’s work was a type of visual and formal language that was impossible to repeat. Or at least, not with the same result or from the point of view of James Cameron.
So the director went to the other end of the spectrum. Yes alien was contained, disturbing and dark, James Cameron created with the film of aliens: return an innovative and huge universe. Ellen Ripley’s (Sigourney Weaver) journey through space turned into a bizarre plot twist. One of her that put her back in the center of the action and led her to be not only the best character in the saga, but also a rarity in the cinema. But beyond Cameron’s ability to reinvent Ridley Scott’s ideas, Aliens managed to build his own narrative.
At the same time, a flawless run through something more elaborate about an ever-expanding universe. With a whole saga behind him, Cameron’s take on Scott’s idea is still the best today. The most precise and at the same time, the most eloquent in terms of his point of view on his possibilities.
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abysspossibly the lesser known James Cameron film
James Cameron has two obsessions. One is the ocean in all its forms and mysteries. The other, the ability of cinema to be a flexible and creative language capable of constructing an amazing vision of reality. The movie abyss It combines both and does something else: think about the intangible. Which makes this James Cameron film a rare mix of visual eloquence, technological audacity and a singular authorial sense.
For Cameron, abyss It was a space for experimentation that allowed him to freely explore technology. Although his plot has the usual combination between humanity and science fiction, it was evident that it was a new step for the director. Specifically, in the script’s attempt to weave visual spectacularity together with a sense of the moving that would allow the film to explore new spaces.
The combination resulted in a sober, elegant and intimate film, which did not have a special impact at the box office, but it did in the industry. The collaboration between James Cameron and Industria Light & Magic built a new frontier in digital effects. James Cameron’s film astounded for the way in which the technological advances of George Lucas’s company showed a kind of unknown visual possibility.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
It took James Cameron almost a decade to achieve what would be one of his most recognized films and a major cinematic achievement. Neither studio was betting on a belated sequel to a sci-fi hit, but Cameron insisted. And he also doubled the bet. He didn’t just write a script that expanded the original universe in several different directions. He also made brilliant decisions that turned this James Cameron movie into a milestone in contemporary science fiction.
First, Cameron made Hamilton’s Sarah Connor even more relevant. The director and screenwriter’s first idea was for a female killer robot, but the production company objected to the idea. So he rewrote the story line and gave the character new strength and power. The next thing was to create a whole world around the premise of a circumstantial messiah in the middle of a war that hadn’t happened yet. And for that he needed enemies to fear.
Oddly enough, he didn’t find them in Arnold Schwarzenegger, who reprized his role as the T-800, although this time he did so as a hero. Cameron focused on developing a ruthless, cruel and precise creature with the face of debutant Robert Patrick. In addition, to present a vision of a future controlled by machines in which technological advances were notorious. From the idea was born the terrifying T-1000, a robot capable of changing shapes and much more lethal than its predecessor.
James Cameron’s film was a resounding success and prepared the director for some of his most demanding challenges. But one thing was clear Terminator 2: Judgment Day it was the beginning of a new era of contemporary cinematic science fiction.
You may watch Terminator 2: Judgment Day on Amazon Prime Video.
Risky liesa film by James Cameron in a humorous tone
Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a boring and low-key husband, or at least that’s what his wife Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) is convinced. In reality, Harry is a secret spy with a carefully constructed facade behind the domestic peace of middle-class America. One of James Cameron’s most curious films is also the one in which he demonstrates his terrific sense of comedy and precise handling of the action.
Risky lies it’s a fitting combination of sexual tension, mocking humor, and action movie satire. But, at the same time, it is a brilliant look at the universe of adventure movies, with all the clichés of the genre turned into a new formula.
The result of this James Cameron film is surprising because of how little it takes itself seriously and its ability to build an unpredictable story. Also for its freshness, intelligence and a script that, even in its lowest moments, is entertaining. For Cameron it was the opportunity to build a whole journey through topics that until then had not been delved into in his filmography. Also turned into a box office success, it is perhaps the least “Cameron” of all the director’s films. But, at the same time, one of the ones that best demonstrates its versatility.
You may watch Risky lies on Disney+.