Some of you may, at this point think that Terminator 2: Judgment Day comes next. Well hold your horses their skip. There’s another – The Abyss, a somewhat unforgotten underwater psychological thriller that sees a team of explorers searching for a lost submarine and encountering a strange alien life form. Between the theatrical cut and the director’s cut, the film does lack a clear identity but regardless, it’s an underrated film well worth rediscovering. There are great performances all round, including Michael Biehn who plays the Lt. Coffey, gradually succumbing to a psychotic meltdown to the threat of his crew. I repeat…can we please, get Michael M.F Biehn, back on the big screen!!??
So The Abyss, which included some revolutionary CGI liquid FX would ironically have a significant stamp on Cameron’s next; Terminator 2 would see Arnold return as a reprogrammed Cyborg, now acting as protector against a new breed of Terminator. Now the very conception of T2 kind of feels exploitative. Arnold riding high at the time, Cameron in need of a sure fire bounce back whilst he still had credit in the bank from Aliens, and throwing a young protagonist in the mix too. It would mean overwriting some stated facts from the first film (as in, the cyborgs throw their last roll of the dice… only, it obviously wasn’t their last roll). Yeah, there’s a degree of that calculated cash-grab, but Cameron doesn’t do anything by half here. He upscales everything (the film was one of the most expensive made at the time). It’s more action focused. It expands and develops Sarah Connor as a character, and introduces the key man in the entire mythology, a young John Connor. The set pieces are immense too with some exceptional stunts and pyrotechnics (done practically too).
Cameron teamed with Arnold again a couple of years later for True Lies. The film came out, and it did great business. It’s funny, it’s action packed. Arnold is excellent in it. Jamie Lee Curtis is even better. It’s got Tia Carrere in it, which is a good thing. The trouble with True Lies is, it just hasn’t aged well thematically or politically. It’s been largely forgotten. It’s kind of been put in the dustiest corner of the cupboard over time and it’s understandable in a post 9/11 world. Though much of the stereotyping in the film is done with a degree of irony, it still feels a little too dated. I suppose another reason True Lies is forgotten is that it is sandwiched between T2 and Titanic.
Titanic is just huge. Is it objectively a great film? Not particularly, but it has great moments even if it succumbs to cliché a little too much and predictability (no, I don’t mean the boat sinking…) and it’s too long. The film also cemented both Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as superstars.
Titanic seemed to last in cinemas forever. It became the highest grossing film ever made, making an insane amount of money. Everything worked for the film. The star leads capturing a huge wave of popularity. Celine Dion’s song, whilst a little unbearable, seemed to play on repeat on radio stations for the next year. Additionally, if you’re going to focus on a real life disaster, the sinking of the Titanic is legendary. From 9-90, everyone who’s sat down in a schoolroom at any point, probably knows about the Titanic. Whilst it may contribute to being overpacked, the film does cater to everyone. To the people who like the romance, to those who relish the technical aspects of the sinking itself (which is astonishingly realised).
It took Cameron over a decade to follow up and a large part of that was ensuring that the 3D technology was ready for his ground-breaking vision. So Avatar arrived, and then outperformed even Titanic at the box office. It gained a slew of more Oscar recognition too (to complete a very good one-two punch of films for Cameron). Avatar is much maligned it must be said. It has its fans, but it’s almost been forgotten in the years since thanks to Marvel becoming all consuming. The most disappointing aspect of Avatar is how flat the script and performances are (with the exception of the excellent Stephen Lang). The technical achievements are immense, and the 3D was engrossing, but the story just wasn’t that involving.
SEE ALSO: Could the Avatar sequels break the wrong kind of box office record?
Now Cameron continues working feverishly on the sequels to Avatar. It remains to be seen how the film will perform both critically and commercially. I’d personally like to see Cameron get back to live-action work, but he’s always been one to forge ahead with technology and the Avatar franchise is testament to this (for better and worse).
What is your favourite Cameron movie? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @FlickeringMyth…
Tom Jolliffe is an award winning screenwriter and passionate cinephile. He has three features due out on DVD/VOD in 2019 and a number of shorts hitting festivals. Find more info at the best personal site you’ll ever see here.
Originally published August 2, 2019. Updated November 29, 2022.
