James Cameron can be considered among the most influential filmmakers in history. His contribution to the sci-fi genre is undeniable with the likes of the Terminator, Alien, and Avatar.
The director has mastered the art of making sequels, following his Terminator: The Judgement Day, Aliens, and has done it again with his recent Avatar: The Way of Water. But amidst the success, the filmmaker hasn’t held back from calling out his box office rivals.
James Cameron doesn’t see Avatar as a superhero story
James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has been a colossal success among fans and critics for its epic world-building and for providing more depth to the characters. But the filmmaker hasn’t shied away from taking another shot at the comic book franchises.
In an interview with BTV, James Cameron explained his movie while drawing comparisons with superhero movies and shared how his movie feels in line with the previous one while moving in a constant flow as it comprises a singular villain, while superhero movies tend to rely on new villains in every film. He then went on to state,
“It’s not like a superhero story where there’s a new villain with every film. Same guy, right? Same adversary through the whole thing. But how he evolves is also very interesting once we bring in additional adversaries as we go along. Additional adversaries and additional allies.”
Although James Cameron is partially correct about the matter, as most DC and Marvel villains appear for just a single or two installments, with some of them being outright ridiculous and just existing in the story to serve the hero’s arc but it isn’t always the case. Following Marvel’s Thanos and Killmonger alongside DC’s Joker and Bane proved that even comic book IPs can produce great villains if done right.
James Cameron isn’t fond of the superhero genre
Although DC and Marvel comprise a mammoth fanbase from all around the globe, many Hollywood biggies like Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Francis Ford Coppola, and Jane Campion haven’t held back from sharing their distaste with the superhero genre. And James Cameron seems to share the same viewpoint.
James Cameron went on to share his reason for not liking Marvel as they lack depth and the character act like they’re in college despite their age and the relationships in the movie doesn’t serve any purpose and the love interest for the hero is mostly sidelined with no real purpose to serve.
James Cameron’s arguments seem to be reasonable, as most Marvel flicks don’t go in much depth and follow a more corporate-friendly plot. But there are some exceptions when filmmaker put their love and passion into the comic book characters and create meaningful cinema such as Matt Reeves’ The Batman, Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, and so on.
Even though the current box office market is dominated by superhero movies, James Cameron has again managed to surpass all expectations with his recent Avatar: The Way of Water, which garnered more than $1.7 billion at the box office in under 4 weeks.
Avatar: The Way of Water is now playing in theatres.
Source: Btv