Critics Club 12: Cameron

[Neon Ignition]

Time for the next challenger! James Cameron is next, the renowned director of several classic films with a favouring of sci-fi and the helmer of the two highest grossing films of all time.

Of all the movies he's directed, what are your thoughts of them and which is the greatest?

[teddymeow]

T2. Aliens is great but Arnie trumps Weaver.

[Dogg Thang]

The first Terminator for me. As awesome as T2 was as a teen's movie, it doesn't play as well to me as an adult (it's about a robot who befriends a little boy and learns to love). Same with Aliens too actually. It was a perfect movie for me as a teen and it is still awesome in so many ways but when put up against something like Alien as an adult viewer, I'm very conscious that it seems aimed at me as a teen and not me now. They're family movies. Not that that's a bad thing in itself.

But the first Terminator has an oppressiveness that I think still holds up today in spite of some dodgy clothes and fake heads. It's a tight, focused movie with a great atmosphere and, as simple as the story is, it feels much more grown up to me.

If I'd answered this as a teen though, it would probably have been Aliens so it's not that I think it's a worse film than Terminator. It's simply aimed at a different audience.

[Terry Tibbs]

A week ago I would have immediately said Aliens. But, after almost a decade of not seeing The Terminator, I bought the BluRay and watched it the other night paying full attention. Now I'd find it difficult to choose between the two. For me, both films can be taken seriously whereas T2 is a bit of quality action fun, but lacks that seriousness. Think I'll go with Aliens followed by Terminator as a close second.

[originalbadboy]

Thats actually quite difficult as apart from Piranha and Avatar the rest are all bloody good films in their own genres.

I don't think T2 has aged as well as some of the other films, not that its unwatchable or anything. Titanic is 'technically' his best film even though there are plenty that don't like it, for purely non technical reasons. So if we were going just on that critera I would choose that.

The Abyss is really good as long as you are watching the Extended version, so that kinda knocks that out of the running as the theatrical version is a mess really.

True Lies is an acquired taste but I love it, or at least I did at the time, and where is the bloody Bluray of this an The Abyss, what is Cameron playing at?

That leaves The Terminator and Aliens really ... Which is pretty tough as both are classic films, I think that Aliens just nabs it for me, although I couldn't tell you why .. Too close to call.

[wakka]

The Terminator is a tighter film, but T2 is a more fun romp that I enjoy more frankly. Even with the ridiculous cheesiness of the thumbs up.

Aliens is good but it pales in comparison to Alien. The rest of them I don't really rate that much. Except for The Abyss. I haven't seen that one.

[PaTaito]

Aliens for me.

To take on that sequel and be brave enough to change the formula, while still keeping the quality...

Amazing.

But i also adore the abyss.

[bash]

Aliens easy. Its too easy to dismiss this as a simple action film which over expands of what was originally a claustrophobic sci fi horror into all out xenomorph v human battle.

The film is more iconic and has had a greater influence on our gen than its predecssor. Yes, Alien gave us a female heroine and Space Truckers but Aliens gave us Space Marines, drop ships, Power Loaders and turned the Xenomorph from lanky cold killer to complex hive mentality ants working via a Queen.

FFS, how many subsequent sci fi games and movies have we seen that dont feature at least something from Aliens? Alien Breed, Starship Troopers and Halo I could do on and on.

[Guts]

They're family movies. Not that that's a bad thing in itself.

I can't tell if you're being serious here. Are you?

Terminator or Aliens for me, it's a close call, but I went with The Terminator.

Avatar was a cringeworthy Pocahontas rip-off and moved Cameron to the "George Lucas Club" with Spielberg and Peter Jackson for me.

FFS, how many subsequent sci fi games and movies have we seen that dont feature at least something from Aliens? Alien Breed, Starship Troopers and Halo I could do on and on.

Aliens borrowed heavily from Starship Troopers (the book) in the first place. They even mention "another bug hunt" in the dialogue. Still, I agree that it's a very influencial work of sci-fi.

From Wiki:

The 1986 James Cameron film Aliens incorporated themes and phrases from the novel, such as the terms "the drop" and "bug hunt", as well as the cargo-loader exoskeleton. The actors playing the Colonial Marines were also required to read Starship Troopers as part of their preparation prior to filming

[bash]

Fark, did NOT know that. Is it too late to change my mind

[Neon Ignition]

It's definitely an awkward field to judge despite so few films to his name. T2 and Aliens are the ones my mind goes to and despite how great T2 is Aliens is probably the one where I feel he had the greatest impact as a film maker and it's brilliantly made, one you could talk about for hours.

Terminator, I do enjoy, but age and budget haven't been kind to it and despite the set up I don't feel any real tension to it, certaknly T2's approach to concentrate more on sci-fi than horroresque tension paid off.

In terms of pure personal favouritism though I go True Lies. Frickin' love that film, plays the old concept off so well and is great moment to moment. A thousand times superior to even the popular riffs that followed like Mr and Mrs Smith.

I can enjoy Titanic and to a lesser extent Avatar but they pale to his best.

[Atticus]

Got to be Aliens for me. It's given me so much pleasure over the years.