James Cameron: Ranking His Films From Worst To Best

5. Avatar (2009)

An idea that had been in development since 1994, Avatar finally made it onto big-screens across the world in 2009. Why the long wait? The technology needed to realize James Cameron's vision simply didn't exist at the time, so the director spent the intervening years developing it himself. Since its release, Avatar has greatly divided opinions but there is no arguing the fact that watching it at the theater in 3D is one of the most immersive cinematic experiences one can have. During his extended absence from cinema screens, Cameron had been extensively developing and testing the 3D camera system needed to create the world of Pandora. By the time the movie entered production in 2007 the technology was now available to create the photo-realistic performance capture needed, with the director shooting on a stage known as 'The Volume', which was six times bigger than any other of its kind. With a budget rumored to be nudging $300m and a crew that almost numbered 1000, Avatar was once again seen as Cameron making a massively expensive gamble. Of course, once again the director proved his detractors spectacularly wrong as the movie grossed a ridiculous $2.78bn at the box office. The narrative aspects of Avatar have been widely criticized for being formulaic and derivative, and the ecological message is pretty on-the-nose, but as a visual spectacle there is nothing quite like it. As well as the groundbreaking performance capture and incredible use of 3D, Cameron also delivers several massive action set-pieces that proved he hadn't lost his touch in that department. Although Avatar loses much of its appeal when viewed on home video, it was a movie that simply had to be experienced in theaters to be fully appreciated. With Avatar 2, 3 and 4 on the horizon, the director once again has huge expectations to live up to.