Ahead of 'Avatar 2' release here's a ranking of all James Cameron movies: 'Titanic', Avatar', The Terminator'

Perhaps Cameron had not developed his directorial voice until then, or maybe he had no love for the material, but 'Piranha II: The Spawning', his debut, is one he likely wishes he could forget. The film, a sequel to 1978's ''Piranha', was laughably bad and not surprisingly has not aged well. The film had a shoestring budget, so one could conceivably forgive bad special effects, but the script and direction are just terrible.
 

Cameron has always been a miracle worker when it comes to visuals. 'The Abyss', apart from being a rock solid science fiction action movie, boasts of several visual moments that, despite the primitive technology at the disposal of the VFX artists, still leave one in awe.
 

Cameron had made two 'Terminator' films by the time he made 'True Lies'. The aim, I presume, was to slightly branch out. It worked big time and allowed Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis to show off their comedic acting chops. The action scenes remain a treat to watch.
 

There are few films in the science-fiction genre that have been as influential as 'The Terminator'. Again, working on a paltry budget, James Cameron embraced the B-movie trappings of the story to deliver a gripping, and supremely entertaining movie. It also made a star out of Schwarzenegger, who played the role of an android from the future to kill the woman who would give birth to the boy who ends up being the leader of humans in the impending war against machines.
 

'Avatar' gets a lot of flak for having a simplistic script. But it was, and is, a visual marvel. Never before computer generated imagery (CGI) had looked so realistic, so vivid, so awe-inspiring. If you are yet to see it, watch it before the sequel arrives. If you have, a rewatch wouldn't hurt. 
 

One reason I am really pumped up about 'The Way of Water' is that Cameron has been freakishly good with sequels. His 'Aliens' deliberately strayed away from the atmospheric, horror tone of the Ridley Scott original. This was a wise choice, for repeating that would be redundant. Instead, he made the film a bona fide actioner. And what an actioner it is. Truly, there are few characters in cinema as iconic as Sigourney Weaver's Ripley.
 

I know this romance disaster film does not have as good a reputation it had, say, 20 years ago. But the fact remains, it is one of the best in the disaster genre. It beautifully brings out the humanity of the characters, privileged though many of them are, who find themselves at the bottom of the ocean. Most of all, the romantic and ultimately tragic relationship between two young actors who would go on to become one of the most well-known faces — Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio — was the heart of the movie. The movie is still a blast to watch, and has as strong an emotional impact as it had in 1997.