James Cameron movies: The 5 best (and 5 worst) movies by James Cameron

James Cameron has made two out of the ten highest grossing movies of all time. And his third may be on the way as the highly anticipated sequel to his 2009 blockbuster Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, is finally releasing this year.

Will Avatar 2 meet fan’s high expectations? Ahead of its premiere, let’s take a look at some of the director’s best and worst movies.

The worst James Cameron movies

10. Piranha II: The Spawning

Rating- 3/10

This was Cameron’s first feature film and it is known that he had very little creative control over it, so we won’t judge it too much. Still, I think we can all agree that this movie is a very weird attempt at horror. Piranha II: The Spawning feels very different from the movies that Cameron is known for, but this still was a start to his impressive career.

9. Aliens Of The Deep

Rating- 6.5/10

Another film by Cameron that involves the deep sea setting. Directed alongside Steven Quale, this movie had fantastic IMAX 3D visuals and even gave a lot of interesting information about deep sea creatures to the audience. This was a good film. However, it isn’t as good as his high budget fictional projects.

8. Ghosts Of The Abyss

Rating- 6.9/10

Ghosts Of The Abyss documentary is an exploration of the wreckage of the famous ship, Titanic. This movie is visually fantastic and recreates some of the most detailed views of the ship. Again, this one is a great documentary, but it doesn’t compare to his fictional works.

7. True Lies

Rating – 7/10 

Despite having a great cast (including Arnold Schwarzenegger), this movie left the audience disappointed. However, this is still a good watch and has some great action and comedic moments. The movie has some weird plot points, though.

6. The Abyss

Rating – 7.5/10

This movie won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effect. Not surprising for a Cameron film to be visually fantastic. This movie is in the ‘worst of Cameron’ section of this article, but this is a good movie. This is another one of Cameron movies that take place in Deep Sea.

The best James Cameron movies

5. Avatar

Rating – 8/10 

The movie Avatar is the highest grossing movie of all time since 2009. Well, it was surpassed by Avenger’s Endgame, but it got back at the first spot after it’s China re-release. This might’ve been one of the most overhyped movies of it’s time. But let’s be honest, this is a great movie. People who never watched it or watched it once a decade ago do make memes about it being forgettable, but honestly this is one of the most beautiful movies ever made. It’s almost like watching National Geographic but on a different planet. And the story is actually pretty good, too. Maybe not as great as it’s visuals, but it’s more about the world building than about the cinematic visuals. The sequel to this movie will release soon and we’re excited for it!

4. Titanic

Rating- 8/10 

Titanic is a classic, another one of Cameron’s insanely successful movies. The drama elements of it were very well done as well as the horror of it all. Even though it’s great, it’s interesting how so many decided to watch it. Kind of overhyped?

3. Terminator

Rating- 8/10 

Well this movie marks the start of a very popular and successful franchise with a lot of sequels, some better some worse. This film placed Arnold Schwarzenegger into his iconic role. Set in distant future (well not anymore) , a cyborg is sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor before she gives birth to John Connor.

2. Aliens

Rating- 8.5/10 

This is the sequel to Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror masterpiece. Aliens (1979) is a fantastic expansion of the series. This really took both the tension and action to a whole another level. This is one of Cameron’s best films.

1. Terminator 2 : Judgement Day

Rating- 8.5/10 

This was one of the most expensive movies of it’s time but it was still a huge box office success. And this is one of the rare occurrences when the sequel is better than the original movie. Everything about it was praised a lot and then it got a sequel which didn’t got that well.

Which of these James Cameron movies is your favorite?