Critic says Avatar franchise shifted James Cameron's filmmaking focus

Movieweb reports a contributor wrote that James Cameron was his favorite director until the Avatar films, and now argues the franchise has shifted Cameron's focus away from the storytelling that defined his earlier work.

The piece traces Cameron's rise through The Terminator, Aliens, Terminator 2, The Abyss, True Lies and Titanic, saying those films combined technical innovation with character-driven stories. It credits Avatar with technological advances and major box-office success — noting Cameron became the first director to have four back-to-back films gross over $1 billion — but contends the sequels increasingly prioritize visual spectacle over tight narratives, singling out Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: Fire and Ash for lengthy sequences, padding, rehashed third acts and diminished emotional impact.

The article also argues that nearly two decades spent on Pandora have deprived audiences of other potential Cameron-directed projects, cites Alita: Battle Angel as an example, and says Cameron has yet to break from the singular path of the Avatar franchise.

Key Topics

Culture, James Cameron, Avatar Franchise, Avatar Sequels, Titanic, Alita: Battle Angel