BEST JAMES CAMERON MOVIES
“The Terminator” (1984) The movie that put director and co-writer Cameron on the map also gave Arnold Schwarzenegger one of his biggest hits, playing to the star’s very specific strengths by casting him as a cyborg sent back through time to the present day to kill a woman (Linda Hamilton) before she can give birth to a future revolution leader.
“Aliens” (1986) The original “Alien” wasn’t his movie, but Cameron knew how to carry the franchise forward with this first sequel that makes astronaut Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) a heroine you don’t mess with – even if you’re an extraterrestrial – as she becomes a surrogate parent to a youngster (Carrie Henn) who needs protection from aliens on the planet where the first one unwittingly was picked up. “The Abyss” (1989) The search for a missing submarine leads an undersea team to discover a new life form in Cameron’s intriguing saga, which is as interesting for its human drama – much of it involving estranged spouses played by Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio – as for its otherworldly elements. A sequence in which someone makes the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good, while others try to revive that person, is exceptionally suspenseful. Cameron’s fascination with things oceanic continues with the Disney+ series “Secrets of the Whales,” a National Geographic production premiering Thursday, April 22 ... Earth Day.
“Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991) It took Cameron eight years, but here’s an example of how to make an ideal sequel, introducing exciting new aspects and characters while retaining enough of what made the original movie popular. Just as Arnold Schwarzenneger says in his trademark line, he’ll “be back” ... but as a good guy instead of a villain this time, as he tries to protect the young revolutionary-to-be (Edward Furlong) and the latter’s mother (returnee Linda Hamilton) from an even deadlier Terminator (Robert Patrick).
“True Lies” (1994) Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger left sci-fi to tackle another popular genre together with this spy tale, a hugely entertaining combination of adventure and humor. Schwarzenegger plays a covert, terrorist-fighting operative whose wife (a terrific Jamie Lee Curtis) is shocked to discover what he really does for a living when she’s drawn into the danger. Cameron certainly doesn’t skimp on the action sequences here, whether they involve horses or Harrier jets.
“Titanic” (1997) Well, of course. In the film that made Cameron “the king of the world” – or at least of the Oscars for its year – he weaves fact and fiction together to set the love story of privileged Rose (Kate Winslet) and scrappy Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) against the maiden, ultimately fateful voyage of the title ocean liner. Some still may debate why Rose ultimately “let go” (if you’ve seen the movie, you understand), but there’s no arguing the impact this blockbuster had on screen history and the box office. “Avatar” (2009) The threat posed to the humanoid population of a mining colony being expanded by humans is the thrust of Cameron’s imaginative, massively profitable fantasy that has had multiple sequels long brewing ... but as co-star CCH Pounder recently confirmed to us, the filmmaker’s creative approach is, “When it’s ready, it’s ready.”