James Cameron Movies: Ranked with the Filmmaker in Mind

We all gotta start somewhere, right? Unless something goes horribly wrong in his future films, Piranha II will forever occupy the bottom of every ranked James Cameron filmography.

It's no surprise that the action in True Lies is next level. The set-pieces are pure Cameron, and they are just as exciting as anything he's done. 

What we might not have expected is the humor. Despite a throwaway joke here or a quick visual gag there, films directed by James Cameron are mostly humor-less. 

Tom Arnold had the freedom to improvise, and he didn't let that opportunity go to waste. The best "buddy cops" have undeniable chemistry and the Schwarzenegger/Arnold combination doesn't disappoint.

The bravura moment in True Lies is the action sequence that begins 30 minutes in. It starts with close-quarters gunfire in a public bathroom. The fight spills out into the streets as a horse-chasing-a-motorcycle sequence. They crash into a high-society dinner function and ride parallel elevators up to the roof.

The sequence stands up, especially considering it is crafted with practical effects. For how tech-savvy Cameron can be, he still takes the time to keep sequences like this grounded. Watch the video below to see just how crazy yet dedicated Cameron is to getting authenticity and realism into his films.

True Lies isn't a bad movie, per se. It's competently executed and rather exciting in certain parts.

The reason it lands so far down the list of the best James Cameron's movies has more to do with the other films being so good.

Even if Avatar's story is sub-par, the action is top shelf. The epic final battle, intercutting between multiple fronts, is massive and gripping. There's an art to crafting such colossal battle sequences, and Cameron has shown here that he's one of the best.

The success of The Terminator and Aliens granted him some clout. The Abyss is the first time James Cameron gets to indulge in his life's other passion fully. He took this opportunity to marry his passion for filmmaking and his obsession with the ocean.

Like every film before and after, The Abyss pushes what's possible in filmmaking. There's no discounting Cameron's success in personally evolving industry-standard CGI. The water column effect, for example, is still dazzling 30 years later.

Again, look at how Cameron was able to apply lo-fi techniques like miniatures and rear-projection with cutting edge CGI. This is a filmmaker who doesn't merely accept the status quo of what's possible. He pushes himself, his crew, and the entire industry forward.

The making of James Cameron movies is almost as exciting and jaw-dropping as the films themselves. The production on The Abyss is legendary and you can see for yourself in the clip below.

The showstopper in The Abyss is the rescue/salvage sequence. It is a study in claustrophobia and suspense that lasts for 15 minutes. James Cameron films the journey through sunken Montana plays like the scariest haunted house flashlight tour. The cold water, absolute darkness, dead bodies floating through debris, and the panic, when things go wrong.

Again, without CGI. 

The Abyss was a notoriously difficult shoot, but the results are breathtaking and somehow it is one of the most underrated James Cameron movies.

Jack and Rose's romance might be the focal point of the film's criticism, but that reflects more on the critic. Cameron pitched the film to the executives at Fox as "Romeo and Juliet on the ocean," and that's pretty much what we get. It is a raw, unassuming, and sentimental film that wears its heart on its sleeve. But is that really a problem? If we're honest, there aren't many love stories that are this effective and still hold up decades later.

Titanic was the #1 film at the box office...for 15 weekends in a row. That's more than just a fun bit of box office trivia. That's proof that there's something about Titanic that resonated with people for nearly four months straight. Was it the extent Cameron and his crew went to capture realism and authenticity? Was it the pitch-perfect romance bolstered by a pitch-perfect ballad? 

The film was the most expensive production of all time. It went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time. Once again, Cameron was swinging for the fences, and, once again, he smacked a seam-buster over the stadium walls.

Perhaps better than anyone, Cameron crafts compelling female characters, and performances. And he makes this look effortless. In this case, he inherited Sigourney Weaver's Ripley but amplified her qualities that were beginning to show in the original. 

The Academy typically ignores sci-fi, action, and horror films. But Weaver earned an Oscar nomination as the lead in a movie that combined all three. Just think about that for a second. 

We won't make the mistake of claiming Aliens is one of the rare sequels that is better than the original. But we will confidently declare that Aliens is just as good as Alien. And maybe better.

There's just no topping it. Terminator 2 is the best James Cameron film. It's also in the running for the best action film of all time, but that's a conversation for another time. 

Let's consider the areas in which James Cameron films excel. Show-stopping action sequences. Strong female protagonist. Sci-fi theme mythology. And filmmaking technology creating never-before-seen imagery. Now, is there any film that maximizes these elements more than T2?

Just like his approach to Aliens, Cameron's sequel takes what works in the original and expands it. When other filmmakers attempt the same thing, it often feels forced, cheap, or unearned. But Cameron has found that magic mix between homage and evolution. 

Linda Hamilton's follow-up performance as Sarah Connor cannot be overstated. The physical transformation is just the beginning. She is haunted, crazed, tough-as-nails, and sympathetic. We are supposed to believe that Sarah will raise her son, John, to be a military leader capable of leading the resistance against the machines. After the first Terminator film, this is a dubious proposition at best. In this film, we can see it immediately when she turns to face Dr. Silberman...with those eyes.

The last 45 minutes of T2 is one, massive action sequence. Read that last sentence again. It begins with a raid at Cyberdyne, turns into a freeway chase, and ends in a hellish fistfight at a foundry. Mixed in are motorcycles, helicopters, a semi-truck, a minigun, liquid nitrogen, and molten metal. Go big, or go home.

James Cameron films action set-pieces effectively with simplicity and authenticity. Sure, he likes using semi-trucks to chase people, but it's only ONE truck. He could use movie magic to fake these sequences, but almost everything we see is REAL.

He tends to only use CGI for elements that can't be created practically. And it is this commitment to restraint and realism that action filmmakers today could learn from.